Tony Oliver (referee)

Anthony Philip Oliver was born in Chelmsford on 6 March 1931,^[1] and was educated at the city's King Edward VI Grammar School.^[2]

Oliver began his career in Chelmsford, refereeing local matches. He was promoted to Class 2 in 1954 and Class 1 in 1956,^[3] after which he was placed on the Linesmen's list of the Football Combination.^[4][5] In a 1959 Essex Senior Cup match, Oliver accidentally scored a goal.^[6]

In 1962, after moving to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, Oliver was promoted to the Supplementary Referees List of the Football Combination; a year later he was promoted to the Full list, and was also added to the Linesmen's List of the English Football League.^[7]

In 1968, Oliver was promoted to the Football League Referees List,^[8] after serving the previous five seasons as a Linesman. Between 1968 and 1974, he refereed every club except Sunderland.^{[citation needed]} He was the referee for the first ever professional football match played on a Sunday in England when Cambridge United played Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup on 6 January 1974. Several other games were played that day but this was the first to kick off at 11.15 am.^[9]