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First Down Park features plaques and benches that contain quotes from Red and Lou Cashion, as well as various authors, that encourage guests to consider the legacy they want to leave behind.
Red Cashion served as an NFL referee for 25 years, calling two Super Bowls, and was widely known in the sports world for his signature call, when he would enthusiastically proclaim “First dowwwwwn!”
In August 2020, the City of College Station dedicated First Down Park as a tribute to the legendary Cashion, who passed away in February 2019. The ceremony included members of the Cashion family, former Texas A&M football coach R.C. Slocum, family friends Barry Nelson and Cal McNeil, and College Station Mayor Karl Mooney.
The park’s location is on the site of the former Cashion home where Red and Lou Cashion raised their family. It’s now off of Health Science Center Parkway between Viasat and Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. The park features a football-shaped centerpiece and plaques and benches containing quotes from the Cashions and prominent authors that encourage guests to consider their own legacies.
Cashion began officiating in 1952 as a student at Texas A&M and went on to work for numerous high school and college football conferences. He received an array of local community service awards, including Brazos County Volunteer of the Year in 1972 and Brazos County Citizen of the Year in 1994.
This park now lives in the exact location where Red Cashion and his beloved wife Lou raised their family. Here they instilled a spirit of kindness and optimism within their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Take away all of Red Cashion’s accolades, awards, trophies, and halls of fame, and you’re left with one simple yet often forgotten reminder that he left for humanity – be kind to one another.
Read the full blog here: Inspirational First Down Park honors legendary NFL referee Red Cashion
