Don Weiss, 77; Led Game-Day Operations for Super Bowl

Don Weiss, 77, a top aide to former NFL commissioner Peter Rozelle and longtime director of game-day operations for the Super Bowl, died Sunday night of a heart attack at his home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

A native of Aurora, Ill., Weiss served in the Navy during World War II and graduated from the University of Missouri in 1949. He spent 14 years with the Associated Press as a sports writer and editor. In 1963, he joined the United States Golf Assn. as public relations manager and publications editor before moving to the NFL in 1965 as director of information.

In 1968, he became director of public relations for the NFL and continued in that capacity until 1977, when he was appointed the league’s executive director, overseeing all football operations.

Weiss retired in 1994, but served as head of game-day operations for the Super Bowl until two years ago.

In 2002, he co-wrote “The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World’s Greatest Sporting Event.”