Marvin Jones - Referee

One of the most important parts in the psychology of a wrestling match is the referee. Marvin Jones did an excellent job in that respect making the matches more entertaining. His job was tough because he was the only referee on a card of five to six matches until 1967. Dick Raines, another retired wrestler, came in to help with the refereeing duties.

Marvin was very vocal when it came to enforcing the rules on hair pulling and hiding of foreign objects. He was more active during the preliminary matches than the main events. In the match between Fritz Von Erich and Joe Blanchard on YouTube, Marvin was pretty much in the background except for his blade job on Blanchard. The blade job was cut out on the YouTube version but it was obvious that Blanchard had been cut deeply.

Another match that I remember involving Marvin was one between the Destroyer and Timmy Colt. During the match, Destroyer threw Colt over the top rope which is an automatic DQ. It was obviously not the finish because Marvin just stood there. Usually the bell is rung immediately when someone is thrown over the top rope. Colt came back in and threw Destroyer over the top rope. Marvin held up the index finger of each hand saying they were now even and the match will continue. Paul Boesch, the TV announcer, verified the decision. They went on with the match like nothing had been messed up.

On October 22, 1968 Dick Raines beat Marvin Jones in a match which the loser had to retire. Bill Watts said in his book that Marvin was refereeing in the Oklahoma Territory when Watts bought into it around 1970. There had been heat between the two several years earlier in Dallas. Watts said that he held no grudges and that Marvin was dependable and worked hard.

In my 45 years of watching wrestling, Marvin Jones is the best referee in my opinion.