Col Pearce
Referee
Player Bio
- Inducted:
- 2024
- Date of Birth:
- -
- Birthplace:
- Newtown, NSW
- Nickname:
- -
Career
Milestones
- Refereed 340 first grade games 1947-67
- Controlled grand finals in 1955, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968
- Controlled games under limited and unlimited tackle rules
- Officiated in nine Tests (1960-67), three World Cup games (1968) and nine interstate games (1959-68)
- Controlled 513 games at grade and representative level
- Col Pearce Medal awarded to NRL Referee of the Year from 2004
Biography
Col Pearce was regarded as one of the game’s greatest referees, controlling 513 matches at representative and club level during a 21-year career from 1947 to 1968.
Pearce refereed six grand finals (1955, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968) and nine Tests, as well as three World Cup matches in 1968. He controlled matches under both the unlimited and limited tackle rules, with four tackles introduced in 1967.
After hanging up the whistle, Pearce worked in the media and called games for Sydney radio station 2UE, while writhing columns for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald. He was also a regular on Channel Seven’s Controversy Corner program, hosted by Rex Mossop.
One of the most respected referees in the game’s history, Pearce was honoured after his death in 2004, aged 86, by the naming of the Col Pearce Medal for the NRL Referee of the Year.
Hall of Fame Referees
National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.
