Ford, Al

He retired as a Southeastern Conference football referee in 2007 after 20 seasons. He referreed all the major rivalries in the SEC at least once. including the Iron Bowl four times. His postseason games included the Blue-Gray All-Star game, the Independence Bowl twice, Hall of Fame Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Sun Bowl and Fiesta Bowl twice. He also officiated SEC basketball games for three seasons. He played baseball and basketball at Hallsville High School in Texas and played basketball at Panola Junior College. He officiated football, basketball and other sports in Texas, and later in Birmingham before moving to Florence. He joined the gulf South Conference football officials association in 1974, and worked the high school basketball tournament three times.