2011 Red Hill Awards for Football Officiating Excellence Announced

CENTERVILLE, Mass. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced on Friday the recipients of the 2011 Red Hill Award: Kevin McGurk (Western New England Chapter), Angelo Scaccia (Boston Chapter) and Robert Straughter (Southern Chapter).

The trio of this season’s Red Hill Award will be honored on February 16 at the annual Eastern College Football Awards Banquet presented by FieldTurf.  The event will take place in the Chase Club of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

McGurk began officiating football at the high school level in 1971 when he became a member of the Western Massachusetts Football Officials Association. He has served as president of that organization on two occasions and has been its rules interpreter for more than a decade. He joined the EAIFO's Western New England Chapter as referee in 1989, serving on the chapter's executive board and as president of the chapter in 2006. During his college football career he has officiated more than 200 games including NCAA and ECAC playoff games as well as the Amherst-Williams game, “the biggest little game in America” that is one of the nation’s longest-running rivalries.. He concluded his college career in 2011 by officiating the Springfield College-Union College game with his son, Andrew, who worked as the head linesman. In addition to officiating football, McGurk is also a member of the College Baseball Umpires Association's New England Chapter, umpiring games at all levels before retiring. He is also a lifetime 24-year member of the Western Massachusetts Baseball Umpires Association. He has been married to his wife, Susan, for 40 years. The couple also has a daughter, Brenda.

Scaccia boasts a 24-year college officiating career.  He has officiated two NCAA Division III national quarterfinal games, five ECAC bowl games and an installment of the Harvard vs. Yale rivalry.  On the varsity level, Scaccia has officiated numerous high school Super Bowls and the Latin vs. English game, the oldest high school football game in America, for the past 12 years.  The William Stewart Award winner, awarded by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston for the Official of the Year, is a Boston Latin School Football Hall of Famer.  In addition, the former United States Marine has been a State Representative to the General Court of Massachusetts since 1973, serving in various leadership positions and currently holding the title “Dean of the House of Representatives.  He has been married to his wife Sandra for 40 years and has three children, Michael, Andrea and Aimee, along with seven grandchildren.

Straughter started officiating with the Washington District Football Officials Association (WDFOA) over 20 years ago, and has served the WDFOA in several leadership positions, including secretary and president.  During his career that has spanned from Division I FCS Football to NFL scrimmages and practices (Washington Redskins), Straughter has officiated two ECAC Bowl and Division III playoff games each.  Through his time as a charter board member of the non-profit Thomas Beard Football Officials Clinic (TBFOC), he played an integral part in training and educating football officials at all levels.  The TBFOC currently holds an annual clinic in Washington, D.C., during March.

This award is presented annually in memory of Red Hill, who was an ECAC football official for 29 years.  Hill served as the director of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Football Officials (EAIFO) Boston Chapter for 12 years.  He served as the vice president and the president of the EAIFO, and was responsible for instituting many of the EAIFO policies.  Over his career, Hill has made numerous contributions to the EAIFO and to the professional and individual development of college football officiating.

-- Bryan Montgomery, Asa S. Bushnell Communications Assistant

All-Time Red Hill Award Honorees

1999
David Carter (Boston)

2000
Jerome Miranda (Metro)
William Dixon (Southern)

2001
John Spencer (Metro)
Herb Stayton (Philadelphia)

2002
Joseph Donnelly (Philadelphia)
William Ward (Boston)

2003
Jim Dinkel (Western Pennsylvania)
Henry Finelli (Metro)
Carmine Picardo (Metro)
James Sheehan (Empire)

2004
Richard Anderson (Boston)
Thomas Wheatley (Metro)

2005
Daniel Carr (Western Pennsylvania)
William Mara (Western New England)
Edwin Shanahan (Boston)

2006
Rick Ranucci (Empire)
Larry Sciancalepore (Metro)
Tim Schmidt (Western New England)

2007
Jim Kearney (Boston)
Tom Mawhinney (Western New England)
Peter Walsh (Metro)

2008
Dennis Redding (Boston)
John Coady (Metro)
Ralph Zingarella (Connecticut)

2009
Jack Farley (Boston)
Todd Boyd (Western New England)
Steve Angelella (Metro)

2010
Bill Riccio, Jr. (Connecticut)
Jerry Hughes (Metro)
Gary Janis (Empire)

2011
Angelo Scaccia (Boston) 
Kevin McGurk (Western New England)
Robert Straughter (Southern)