Art McNally was an NFL official and executive who introduced the instant replay for reviewing plays.
- Died: January 1, 2023 (Who else died on January 1?)
- Details of death: Died at a hospital in Newtown, Pennsylvania of natural causes at the age of 97.
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Hall of Fame career
McNally began his career as an NFL referee in 1959, but it wasn’t the first time he’d even refereed a football game. While serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in Japan during World War II, he refereed a friendly game between fellow troops. Back home after the war, he refereed for a variety of sports before settling into the NFL, where he worked as a referee for nine years before being named the league’s director of officiating. In 1985, McNally introduced the first instant replay system into the NFL, allowing officials to review plays and calls while audiences could see the same information and understand the calls that were made. He had a variety of positions with the NFL before his retirement in 2015, and in 2022, he became the first referee inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. McNally was briefly the oldest living person in the Hall of Fame after the death of Charley Trippi (1921–2022).
Tributes to Art McNally
Full obituary: The Philadelphia Inquirer
