BREAKING: Legendary NFL Referee Passed Away On Sunday
Legendary NFL Referee Art McNally passed away on Sunday at 97, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced.
McNally was an on-field official for nine seasons � he served as a referee for eight of them � before becoming the NFL's director of officiating in 1968. He remained in the role through the 1990 season and then returned to work as an assistant supervisor of officials from 1996 to 2007. He then served as an observer until his retirement in 2015.
"Art McNally was a quiet, honest man of integrity. To see Art's decades of service recognized with his enshrinement as part of the Class of 2022 was a special moment for the Hall," Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement Monday. "His legacy as a strong leader who helped usher in the advanced training of officials and the technology necessary to keep up with a faster and more complicated game will be preserved forever in Canton."
McNally's days in the NFL began in 1959 as a field judge and ended in 2007 when he was an assistant supervisor to officials. In between, he helped to shape the league as it related to officiating and beyond.
While baseball, basketball and hockey had inducted several officials into their Halls of Fame, McNally was the first to receive the honor in the NFL back in August.
There couldn't have been a more appropriate choice for the honor than McNally, whose fingerprints are all over how games are officiated even today.
After a nine-year career on the field, McNally overhauled the department when he took it over in 1968 and remained involved until retiring in 2015.
«Art McNally was a quiet, honest man of integrity,» Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in a statement. "To see Art's decades of service recognized with his enshrinement as part of the Class of 2022 was a special moment for the Hall. His legacy as a strong leader who helped usher in the advanced training of officials and the technology necessary to keep up with a faster and more complicated game will be preserved forever in Canton.»
