The Pro Football Hall of Fame continues to ignore the contributions of officials

Commentary by Chris Suebert

When Art McNally was finally enshrined in 2022, many in the football officiating community thought the proverbial dam had burst. The Pro Football Hall of Fame had at last recognized the people who have quietly upheld the integrity of the game for over a century. It felt like progress. It felt overdue.

But apparently, we were wrong. Completely wrong.

The latest list of finalists released by the contributor blue-ribbon committee included exactly zero officials. Not one. After all the talk of progress and appreciation for the “third team on the field,” the Hall of Fame has once again slammed the door shut.

Although the initial list of nominations was not publicly disclosed before the current reduction, this is the first time in decades — perhaps ever — that an official has not been on any published list of nominees for a class of enshrinees.

While the halls of baseball, basketball, and hockey have long recognized their top umpires and referees, Canton remains obstinate. They continue to pretend that those in black and white stripes had little to do with the sport’s success. Art McNally remains the lone representative, standing by himself in the Hall that should have welcomed his peers long ago. Here is some sad math: if the Pro Football Hall were to induct one official every three years starting now, it would still take 27 years just to catch up to baseball.

In the nomination list for the 2026 contributor finalist are 6 scouts, 5 owners, 3 front-office executives, 3 from television, and 1 statistician. Rounding out the list to 21 are Ralph Hay — the contributor finalist that was rejected by the Selection Committee last year despite the fact that the committee’s choice has been a shoo-in nearly every year — and Clark Shaughnessy, a coach. Hay was a key figure in the founding of the NFL, but departed after three years. In addition to last year’s rejection, he was also not selected when he was one of the three finalists in the enlarged 2020 class voting. Saying nothing of whether he merits enshrinement, Hay has taken a finalist spot twice from a contributor who might have been selected. Shaughnessy is on the contributors list and the coaches list, which also seemingly blocks other contributors with the double nomination.

At Football Zebras, we started nominating officials years ago to draw attention to this ongoing slight and to provide a list of officials the committee could draw from. These are not obscure figures. These are names that define professionalism and integrity: Tunney, Markbreit, Seeman, Hochuli. People who have become synonymous with officiating excellence on the field. Yet the contributors committee apparently thinks the architect of the USFL’s L.A. Express deserves more serious consideration. That’s not just misguided; it’s absurd.

Football Zebras Pro Football Hall of Fame Nominations

• 2018: Art McNally Enshrined 2022
• 2019: Jerry Markbreit, Jim Tunney, Burl Toler, and Stan Javie
• 2020: Jerry Bergman Sr., Ron Botchan, Tom Kelleher, and Bob Beeks
• 2021: Ben Montgomery, Jerry Seeman, Tony Veteri Sr., and Ron Gibbs
• 2022: Jack Fette and Norm Schachter
• 2023: Ed Hochuli and Dean Look
• 2024: Fritz Graf
• 2025: Pat Haggerty

Each of these officials left a lasting mark on the game, and each continues to be ignored.

At this point, it’s hard to see that changing anytime soon. The Hall’s revamped selection process has made the problem worse, not better. The message is obvious: officials still don’t matter enough to be recognized.

If something doesn’t change soon, Art McNally may be by himself in Canton for a very long time and will be a reminder of how far the Hall of Fame still has to go to truly honor everyone who made professional football what it is.

Ben Austro and Cam Filipe contributed to this commentary.