Jim Tunney

Who is Jim Tunney?

Dr. Jim Tunney is a former American football official in the National Football League from 1960 to 1991. In his 31 years as an NFL official, Jim 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 is still the only referee who has worked consecutive Super Bowls, and likely will be the only one to do so.

Nicknamed the "Dean of NFL Referees", Tunney was the first official to be named to the "All-Madden Team" in 1990 and won the "Gold Whistle Award" in 1992 from the National Association of Sports Officials. He wore uniform number 32 for most of his career, but when the NFL numbered each position separately from 1979 through 1981 rather than assigning one number per official, he wore number 3. Tunney's trademark signal upon a successful field goal, or extra point, featured raising his arms with fists clenched, then opening both fists simultaneously to indicate the attempt as "good".

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.