NFL playing career Botchan was drafted by the
Baltimore Colts in
1957, but went to play football in the
United States Marine Corps. He was selected to the All-Marine and All-Service teams playing linebacker for the
Marine Corps Base Quantico and Camp Lejune teams. In
1960, Botchan was approached by scouts of the new upstart
American Football League (AFL) and signed a contract for $6,000 to play for the
Los Angeles Chargers under head coach
Sid Gillman as a starting linebacker. Botchan signed with the
Houston Oilers the next year only to have his football playing career ended due to a knee injury. He played in the first two
American Football League Championship Games, losing the first with the Chargers vs. the Oilers, and winning the second when the Oilers again defeated the Chargers in the 1961 AFL Championship.
Coaching career In 1965, Botchan was hired as the head football coach at
North Hollywood High School in
Los Angeles, succeeding
Doug Gerhart. The following year, he took on the same role at
Los Angeles City College. In early 1972, Botchan assisted
Rod Humenuik with spring practice at San Fernando Valley State College—now known as
California State University, Northridge.
Officiating career Botchan's officiating career began in 1972 and until 1976 he officiated
high school and
junior college football games. He was assigned two games as an umpire in the
Pacific-10 Conference between 1976 and 1979 before applying and being accepted to the NFL in 1980. In 1980, Botchan joined the NFL as a
line judge because no openings were available as an umpire. As a rookie, he received a rare opportunity to officiate a playoff game. Historically, rookie officials in the NFL do not participate in the playoffs. An opportunity opened up for Botchan the following year at the umpire position, which he accepted, and stayed for the remainder of his career in the league. Botchan was the umpire during a
1988 NFL season game on December 31 between the
Philadelphia Eagles and
Chicago Bears at
Soldier Field played under heavy fog. This game became known in NFL lore as the "
Fog Bowl". During a game in the late 1990s, Botchan was knocked to the ground and suffered a cut to his head. He continued without missing a single play of the game, but later required eight stitches. He worked
Super Bowl XXXIV, in which the
Tennessee Titans came up one yard short from tying the score against the
St. Louis Rams on the game's final play. The play become known as "
The Tackle". Botchan's last game was an
NFC Championship Game between the
Philadelphia Eagles and
St. Louis Rams on January 27, 2002, and his final appearance was at
Super Bowl XXXVI, on February 3, 2002, as an alternate official. He also served as an assistant supervisor of officials for the NFL. Botchan's record of officiating five Super Bowls is shared with
Tom Kelleher,
Jack Fette, and
Al Jury. Botchan once proposed a helmet designed to look like an officials' hat worn by the umpire to protect against head injuries. ==Honors==