Man of impeccable integrity, Art McNally: 1925-2023

The football world today is celebrating the life and legacy of ART McNALLY, a former NFL on-field official and supervisor of officials who had an immense impact on the game of professional football.

Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022, McNally was the first game official to achieve that distinction. McNally died Jan. 1 of natural causes at a hospital in Newtown, Pa., near his longtime home, one of his four children, son Tom McNally, said Monday.

“He was surrounded by his loving wife, Sharon, his kids and his grandkids,” Tom McNally said. McNally was the oldest living member of Hall of Fame’s 362 members at the time of his death; he was 97. 

A Philadelphia native, McNally was born July 1, 1925, and graduated from Roman Catholic High School and Temple University. He served with the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and it was there that he got a taste of life as a referee, officiating a game among service personnel because he was deemed the man with the most integrity to do the job.

“Art McNally was a quiet, honest man of integrity,” said Jim Porter, president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “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.”

Everything McNally did for the NFL was done with the goal of reinforcing and supporting the integrity of the game, family, friends and peers said.

"Art McNally was an extraordinary man, the epitome of integrity and class," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "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 thoughts go out to his wife, Sharon, his children Marybeth, Tom, and Michael, and his grandchildren."

His son Tom echoed that sentiment: “Above all, he was honest. That’s why he lasted so long in the game.”

Integrity was a consistent philosophy of McNally’s whether he was officiating at the sandlot level or in professional games.

“I couldn’t always be right, but I always tried to be honest,” he said. “I was that way when I was working sandlot games in Philadelphia, and I was that way in the NFL. I gave it my best shot every time out.”



McNally’s commitment to integrity wasn’t lost on others.

Veteran NFL referee Jim Tunney once declared, “I would play poker over the phone with Art McNally. That’s how much I trust him.”

“I believe every NFL game official for the last 50 years would be unanimous in saying Art McNally epitomizes integrity, quality and professionalism in officiating more than anyone who has ever worked in the game,” retired NFL official Ed Hochuli said during an interview with FootballZebras.com in 2018.

After serving as an official (Field Judge, 1959; Referee 1960-67), McNally accepted the position as NFL Supervisor of Officials until his retirement in 1991.

"This has been a tough job," McNally told The New York Times before his final season, "but I think we've accomplished a lot for the league."

No truer statement could have been made.

As supervisor, McNally led a department of five individuals coordinating and directing a staff of 112 game officials. He was responsible for the scouting, screening, hiring and grading of the officiating crews.

"Overall, the caliber of our officiating is excellent," he told the Philadelphia Daily News in 1990. "I grade the films, eight hours a day, so I should know.”

During his tenure as supervisor, McNally in 1988 promoted Johnny Grier to referee – the first Black official to be named to that position.

After his 1991 retirement, McNally became Supervisor of Officials for the World League of American Football.

McNally returned to the NFL in 1995 as Assistant Supervisor of Officiating and continued in that capacity until 2007.

From 2007 to 2015, he was an officiating observer and trainer.

McNally’s impact on the game was so great the officiating command center at NFL headquarters is named “Art McNally GameDay Central.”

“It’s a fitting tribute to have his name on that room,” former Senior Vice President of Officiating and Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino wrote on the NFL Operations website, “because he is NFL officiating.”

Then-NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE created the Art McNally Award in 2002. The recognition honors an NFL game official who exhibits exemplary professionalism, leadership and commitment to sportsmanship on and off the field. 

A list of McNally’s contributions to the NFL include the implementation of training and evaluation systems, key technological advances and a formal evaluation system for officials.

“He led a wonderful group of the best officials in the land and taught them how to be even better,” former official Jerry Markbreit told FootballZebras.com

“He created a structure within the officiating department that still exists today. He implemented the first evaluation system designed to teach and train game officials and also hold them accountable. He demanded that crews watch game film as part of that evaluation system and to prepare themselves for upcoming games,” added Blandino in the FootballZebras.com article.

McNally is also credited with creating specialists at all seven officiating positions, and he organized meetings by position to provide a chance for every crew member to discuss his specific challenges and solutions.

Among the key technological advances: the implementation of the initial instant replay system, allowing McNally to be considered the “Father of Instant Replay.”

“We had a lot of pressure to get involved in instant replay in the late 1960s and ’70s.  In 1975, we were going to conduct the first experiment in replay – without affecting the game whatsoever,” McNally explained.

“Bottom line was, by the time we finished with it, the limitations of cameras and so on, it turned out you literally couldn’t do much with it at all and everybody agreed, ‘Forget about it.’

“In 1985, now the clubs really got serious,” he continued. “They decided they would have instant replay and have an effect on the game. The difference this time … they had the capability … to move it forward, move it back, slow down, full stop. Now we have a gold mine. … This led to the beginning of our replay, and the system we used from 1986 to 1990 was very good. Not as good as it is now.”



Additionally, equipping referees with wireless microphones occurred during McNally’s watch as a supervisor.

According to NFL Operations, “Beyond the entertainment value, the ability for fans to hear the calls added credibility to on-field rulings, increased transparency on rulings for fans and the media, and reinforced the integrity of the game.”

Regardless of the changes and improvements, McNally noted, “One thing hasn't changed: the pressure. It will always be there.”

In practice, McNally’s every move was aimed at improving officiating and fortifying the integrity of the game.

“I never wanted our men to hurt a team by making a mistake,” he declared.

Formal acknowledgement of McNally’s innovations came via his receipt of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Ralph Hay Pioneer Award in 2012 (known then as the Daniel F. Reeves Award).

“When seven officials walk out onto the field, for the most part, people don’t even begin to notice them,” McNally said upon receiving the award. “This is the greatest thing, I think, for an official: Do the job. Hopefully, nobody is even going to know you’re around. Make the calls the proper way, the way they should be — with a heavy dose of common sense.”

McNally said he “had the great pleasure to be able to work with, consistently, one of the finest staffs of officials throughout the country.”

Tagliabue said McNally’s greatest achievement might have been his work on the NFL’s Competition Committee. A member of that committee concurred. 

“Because of Art's honesty, integrity, vast experience and dedication, no coach disregards what he has to say,” Hall of Fame coach DON SHULA said.

McNally is enshrined in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, was the first recipient of the National Association of Sports Officials “Golden Whistle Award” in 1988 and received the “Reds” Bagnell Award from the Maxwell Football Club. The Bagnell Award recognizes “an individual who, through his efforts, has helped to foster and promote the integrity of the game of football.”

“Every single person involved in officiating is proud of Art McNally,” Fox Sports officiating analyst Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former head of officiating, told SI.com regarding McNally’s election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “He represents everyone for what he accomplished in his time. The level to which he took officiating will never be matched by anybody else. It’s so deserving, and I’m so happy for him and happy for the Hall.”

Pro Football Hall of Famer BILL POLIAN succinctly stated that McNally was “a pillar of integrity” and “a monumental figure in officiating.”

When discussing McNally’s enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Polian added, “His enshrinement is really more about what he has done for the profession of officiating in virtually every sport.”

That legacy will be preserved forever at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.