Legendary NFL executive Jim Tunney, known as the head of officiating, died Thursday at the age of 95.
The cause of death has not been announced.
NBC rules analyst and former NFL official Terry McCauley called Tunney an “absolute legend of the game” during Sunday's Packers-Seahawks game, while broadcaster Cris Collinsworth called him “a class guy.” He added.
Tunney played in more than 400 NFL games from 1960 to 1990, including officiating in three Super Bowls.
“In the world of hosting, Jim Tunney is Babe Ruth,” CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz said. told the LA Times At the beginning of this year.
Tunney was active in some of the most famous weather-affected games, including the Ice Bowl at Green Bay in the 1967 NFL title game and the Fog Bowl at Chicago in the 1988 playoffs.
“Jim Tunney was the first referee we had to embrace television,” said former NFL referee Gene Steratore. “He projected himself into our living rooms to understand what the guys in the striped shirts were doing. And he did it in an easily digestible way. .”
Perhaps his most famous call was a good call on a field goal attempt by the Packers' Don Chandler in the 1965 playoffs, although it may have been off to the right. Green Bay tied the game and defeated Don Shula's Colts in overtime.
“We started out as adversaries,” Tunney said of Shula.
“He said, 'I never want to argue with you.' Every time you came to the sideline and we argued, you always won.' I had to win.” I was representing the league, not you. ”
However, after his retirement, the legendary executive and the winningest coach in history became golf buddies and started watching soccer games together.
“I thought he was still wide,” Tunney said. “I said to him, 'If we had won that game, we would have won 348 instead of 347. We would have to change the hat, the logo, everything.' We've been talking about that for years. We were joking about it.”
Tunney also became friends with John Madden, who wrote the foreword to Tunney's book Fair Judgment.
Tunney is also the first referee named to the All-Madden team.
While working in the NFL, he spent weekdays as a high school principal.
“Friday afternoon was a day off from school, so the next morning I would get on a plane from Los Angeles International Airport and fly by myself to Detroit, Green Bay, Miami or other places,” Tunney said.
His students often provided feedback.
“They'd come back Monday morning and say, 'Oh, that play definitely messed up,'” he recalled. “I would just laugh and say, 'Oh, maybe it was.'”
Tunney's father worked as a football official.
Tanney graduated from Occidental College and became a high school teacher and coach.
To earn extra money, he began playing prep football and junior college football games before moving up to the Pacific Coast Conference.
In 1960, he had offers to referee in the AFL and NFL, but chose the latter for stability.
He and his wife Linda had six children and 16 grandchildren.
what did you ask him This is how I wanted his legacy to be.“Every game, when I left the field in the locker room, I said to myself, 'Could I have finished this game better than I expected?'” Tanney said. if [yes is the answer]Then you succeeded. ”
