NFL Hall Of Fame Referee Art McNally Dead At 97

Art McNally, a previous NFL referee and the very first authorities to ever be preserved in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has actually passed away, his household revealed on Monday.

Art’s boy, Tom, shared that his dad, an on-field authorities for 9 seasons, died on Sunday due to natural causes. He was 97 years of ages.

McNally, born in Pennsylvania, worked as a field judge and ref in the NFL from 1959-1967. In 1968, McNally rotated, ending up being the NFL’s director of officiating.

McNally’s NFL profession covers numerous years — and he’s most revered for his work as director of officiating, where he carried out a program for assessing authorities utilizing video game video.

McNally left his function as director of officiating in 1990 … however he went back to the NFL front workplace in 1996 as an assistant manager of authorities, where he served because function up until 2007.

In 2008, the Philadelphia native transitioned to a function where he observed and qualified authorities after investing over a years as an assistant manager.

Art was chosen to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022 and formally inducted in the summertime.

“Art McNally was an extraordinary man, the epitome of integrity and class,” commissioner Roger Goodell stated Monday. “Throughout his distinguished officiating career, he earned the eternal respect of the entire football community. Fittingly, he was the first game official enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. But more importantly, he was a Hall of Fame person in absolutely every way.”

“Our ideas head out to his spouse, Sharon, his kids Marybeth, Tom, and Michael, and his grandchildren.”