LEBANON — Bill Pack Sr. formed the Central Tennessee Football Officials Association in 1948.

He couldn’t have known then that all five of his sons would become officials, combining for more than 200 years on the field.

Three are still officiating, including Lebanon’s Bob Pack, who is 71 and in his 48th season.

Bill Pack Sr was a hall of fame official and the founding member of what may be considered the first family of high school football officiating in Tennessee.

Bob Pack has been officiating on Friday nights at high school games for 48 years.

Bob Pack and twin brother Dick Pack started their officiating career along with younger brother Kenneth Pack in 1969. Billy Pack and Pat Pack followed suit.

All five brothers and their father officiated together on two occasions, which is believed to have never been done before in Tennessee.

TSSAA assistant executive director Gene Menees, who oversees officiating for the state high school association, believes it is the largest family to be involved in officiating in the state.

“If you added up the numbers of years total that family has been involved in high school officiating, it’s almost mind-boggling,” Menees said. “You have to have a love of high school sports to get in but also to stay in. It’s the love of the game. It’s the love of the other officials. They are certainly the epitome of high school officiating in our state.”

The family has been involved in 31 state championship games. Bob Pack’s sixth was in December’s Class 3A final between Alcoa and Christ Presbyterian Academy, leaving him with more than 500 games under his belt.

The Packs grew up in Tullahoma. Bob Pack and his twin brother, Dick, were golfers at Tennessee Tech before Bob served in the Navy in Vietnam, receiving a Purple Heart after suffering ear damage due to gunfire.

Following the stint in Vietnam, the twins resumed their college education and started their officiating career along with Kenneth.

“We’d go just about every Friday night with (my dad) and mother,” said Kenneth Pack, who lives in Tullahoma. “We grew up with that in the back of our mind that we were going to do that one day. That’s what we did and still do as a hobby, just like some people fish and hunt.”

Kenneth Pack has served as the supervisor and assigning officer of the Central Tennessee association since his father’s death in 1994.

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“When we got married, daddy said the only prerequisite was that we couldn’t get married during football season,” Kenneth Pack said. “Our wives knew that when we got married that’s what we were going to do … that’s what the Pack boys do.”

Among the most memorable games for Bob Pack was a 2012 Class 5A quarterfinal between eventual state champion Beech and Northeast, pitting current Tennessee teammates Jalen Hurd and Jalen Reeves-Maybin against one another. Beech won 44-43.

“It was wild,” Bob Pack said. “Hurd scored to go ahead (in the final minute), and then, Clarksville (Northeast) drove down the field. They threw a pass down in the end zone (on the final play) that Hurd knocked down. That was one of the wildest.”

The Pack brothers have seen changes in officials and officiating itself, such as when penalty flags changed from red to yellow in the mid-1970s.

““A lot of the ones in it now are in it for the money, and I like getting paid, too,” Kenneth Pack said. “The biggest thing is that some don’t want to take the abuse. We just knew that was part of it.”

Bob Pack hopes to be on the field at least through 2018.

“A lot of people our age never get out of a chair,” he said. “Daddy used to say that when they raise that flag before the game, if you don’t get that chill, you might as well give it up. If it doesn’t excite you, you might as well hang your shoes up.

“In two more years, I’ll work 50 years. I have a plaque back there of daddy’s where he worked 50 years. I’d like to get one of those.”

Reach Craig Harris at 615-259-8238 and on Twitter @CHTennessean. 

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Lebanon’s Bob Pack began his 48th season as a high-school football official last Friday.

Bob Pack