Known as the greatest quarterback to ever play for the University of Tennessee, and arguably as the best signal caller in Indianapolis Colts history, too, Peyton Manning has plenty of fans. One of his biggest fans had a front row seat to several of Manning’s on-field accomplishments as the recently-retired Butch Hannah began his career as a referee in the SEC before he ever had a chance to officiate an NFL game.

Interestingly enough, Hannah worked Tennessee’s 1998 SEC Championship Game (the Vols’ first year without Manning on the team) and served as an alternate referee during both of Manning’s Super Bowl wins in the NFL. After 18 years of officiating in the NFL, this will be the first season Hannah hasn’t reffed a game since 1984.

Hannah recently caught up with Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga Free Times to tell his best Manning story. The story has nothing to do with Manning’s accomplishments on the field but exemplifies the type of person the soon-to-be Hall of Famer is off the field.

“Peyton’s next-to-last year, the Broncos were facing the Dolphins in Denver and the whole game was a struggle for them,” Hannah said. “I called back two Denver touchdowns. But they pulled it out by two or three points (39-36). But late in the game, the clock about to run out, Peyton mistimed a snap and they had to run one more play. Peyton said something off-color to me, which was not at all like him.

“I told him, ‘Peyton, you’re better than that.'”

The story could have ended there on a bad note, but apparently, Manning must have felt he crossed the line in his reaction to Hannah. Manning then did something Hannah claims no other person has done to him in his lengthy career.

An unexpected FedEx package soon arrived addressed to Hannah. It was a letter from Manning.

“He said he wanted to apologize for his reaction to me that day against the Dolphins,” Hannah related. “Would I please accept his apology? That’s the only time that’s happened to me in all my years of officiating.”

Again, Manning did his best to apologize to Hannah before a Denver-Seattle preseason game months later. Hannah, who was at the game to referee the contest felt an arm around his shoulder.

“It’s Peyton,” said Hannah, who’s known Manning since both were in the SEC in the mid-1990s. “He asks me, ‘Did you get my card?’ I said, ‘Peyton, you’ve got to let this go.’ He says, ‘You have no idea how upset I was with myself.’ That’s the kind of son Archie and Olivia raised. Pretty impressive.”

The gesture clearly struck a chord with Hannah as he mentions this story over all the many accomplishments he must have seen first hand from the quarterback. Not just concerned with being a Hall of Fame player, Manning shows his character is just as important to him as his accomplishments on the field.