Jim Tunney (American football)
Jim Tunney | |
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Born | official (1960–1990) | March 3, 1929
Jim Tunney (born March 3, 1929) is a former American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1990. In his 31 years as an NFL official, Tunney received a record 29 post-season assignments, including ten Championship games and Super Bowls VI, XI and XII and named as an alternate in Super Bowl XVIII. He remains the only referee who has worked consecutive Super Bowls and likely will be the only one to do so.
Following Ben Dreith's death in April 2021, Tunney is the only referee from the first 16 Super Bowls who is still alive.
Life and career
Nicknamed the "Dean of NFL Referees",
Officials who worked on Tunney's crew for many years included former NFL great Pat Harder at umpire and head linesman Burl Toler, the NFL's first African-American official.
Tunney graduated from Franklin High School in Los Angeles class of 1947 then after he graduated from nearby Occidental College in 1951, Tunney began officiating football and basketball working high school, college and Pacific Coast Conference (Pac-10) games until 1967. In 1960, he was hired to work in the NFL as a field judge before being promoted to the referee position in 1967 where he would stay for the remainder of his career until retiring after the 1990 NFL season. His final game was the 1990 AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Raiders played January 20, 1991. He currently works on the NFL officiating staff as an Observer, attending games each week helping with improvement of the current game officials.
Still active in league affairs and many sports issues, Tunney was a member of
Jim Tunney was the Boys' Vice Principal at Abraham Lincoln High School in the City of Los Angeles, California. He also served as the Principal of Fairfax High School in Los Angeles from 1964 to 1970.
Memorable games
Here is a listing of some notable games Tunney was involved in:
- "The Field Goal" - Baltimore at Green Bay (December 26, 1965) - field judge
- "The Ice Bowl" - Dallas at Green Bay (December 31, 1967) - alternate referee
- "The Kick" - Detroit at New Orleans (November 8, 1970)
- 1979 AFC championship game - Houston at Pittsburgh (January 6, 1980) (In this game, Oilers wide receiver Mike Renfro was ruled to have been out of bounds on an apparent touchdown pass from Dan Pastorini late in the third quarter that would have tied the game. Replays showed that Renfro got both feet down inbounds, but Houston had to settle for a field goal.)
- "The Catch" - Dallas at San Francisco (January 10, 1982)
- "The 100th Game" - Green Bay at Chicago (November 20, 1983)
- "The Snowball Game" - San Francisco at Denver (November 11, 1985)
- "The Fumble" - Cleveland at Denver (January 17, 1988)
- "The Fog Bowl" - Philadelphia at Chicago (December 31, 1988)
Other game notes
- Tunney is the last referee to conduct the coin toss for the Super Bowl, and was also the first referee to supervise a coin toss conducted by a special guest. Prior to Louisiana Superdome.
- During the 1987 AFC Championship game, two legendary referees were on the field when Earnest Byner fumbled near the goal line late in the contest. Alternate referee Jerry Seeman was forced to take over at field judge (now back judge) when Dick Dolack, the regular field judge who was also a long-time member of Tunney's regular season crew, pulled his hamstring on a long touchdown pass from John Elway to Mark Jackson. Seeman gave the initial signal that Denver's Jeremiah Castille recovered Byner's fumble.
- Tunney would indicate a successful field goal or PAT by raising both arms with fists clenched, followed by unclenching his fists and extending all ten fingers upward.
- Tunney worked as the referee for the first 18 editions of Battle of the Network Stars.[citation needed]
- As of 2021, Tunney is the only referee from the AFL-NFL merger, still living.
Educator
Off the field, Tunney had a long career as an educator and school administrator,
Books by Tunney
- Impartial Judgment: "The Dean of NFL Referees" Calls Pro Football As He Sees It, 1988 (ISBN 0-531-15095-X)
- Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan's Soul, 2000 (ISBN 1-55874-875-X)
- It's The Will, Not The Skill, 2004 (ISBN 1-4134-5832-7)
- "101 Best of Tunney Side of Sports" 2014 (ISBN 978-1-60679-301-5)
References
- ^ Schultz, Mark (March 3, 2019). "Happy 90th birthday, Jim Tunney!". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ Jim Tunney, motivational speaker, leadership skills and team building
External links