It’s the goal of NFL officials to essentially go unnoticed. When a game is over, they want fans and pundits to talk about what’s happening on the field, not the people in stripes and whistles.

Jim Tunney and Al Jury lived – and thrived – by these standards.

The two giants of their profession recently died, and the absence of the two Southern Californians is deeply felt throughout the officiating world.

Tunney, who at 95 was the oldest living retired referee, died Thursday at his home in Pebble Beach, California. He had been the NFL’s youngest game official when he was hired as a field judge in 1960 and the following decades contributed some of the most memorable games in league history.

Jury, who died at age 83 in San Bernardino, his hometown, was considered one of the NFL’s best downfield officials. He played in a record five Super Bowls and would almost certainly have been on the field even longer had he not suffered a career-ending broken leg during a game in 2003.

When he wasn’t officiating games, Jury was a mail carrier and later a California Highway Patrol officer. He wore thick goggles on the field and was popular with his fellow officials.

“Not only was he great mechanically, but he had uncanny judgment on the field,” said retired NFL referee Mike Carey. “The league is not black and white, so knowing what to call is really important. Both Al Jury and Jim Tunney were great not only at demonstrating this, but also at sharing this wealth with new officials.”

NFL field judge Al Jury explains a decision to the Kansas City Chiefs coaches during a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in August 2001.

(Al Messerschmidt Archives / Associated Press)

Tunney, a graduate of Occidental College, held a day job as principal of Fairfax High in Los Angeles for seven years.

“School was closed on Friday afternoon, and the next morning I got on a plane at LAX and flew alone to Detroit, Green Bay, Miami or somewhere else,” he told the Los Angeles Times earlier this year. “First class trip thanks to (then NFL commissioner) Pete Rozelle.”

The reserved Tunney was not unrecognized by many of his students.

“Especially in Fairfax because those kids were so smart,” he said. “On Monday morning they came back and said, ‘Oh, you really messed up that play…’ I just laughed and said, ‘Yeah, I probably did.'”

Among the legendary games Tunney worked on were the Ice Bowl, an icy classic between Dallas and Green Bay; “The Catch,” when Joe Montana’s pass to Dwight Clark brought down the Cowboys and sent the San Francisco 49ers to their first Super Bowl; and “The Fumble” when Denver beat Cleveland in the AFC Championship Game. He officiated three Super Bowls.

When the NFL used an illustration showing which gesture was used for a particular call, the league used a drawing by Tunney.

CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz put it best: “In the world of officiating, Jim Tunney is Babe Ruth.”

Former NFL referee Jim Tunney sits in front of a portrait of himself at his home in Pebble Beach, California.

(Sam Farmer/Los Angeles Times)

Jury began officiating high school games at age 18 after graduating from Pacific High in San Bernardino, where he was a multi-sport athlete. He began his NFL career in 1978 when the league increased its rosters from six to seven as passing games became more sophisticated.

“The most difficult decision in the game is pass interference or offensive pass interference, which is fighting for the ball,” Carey said. “It’s a whole other art and science in that you have to spend a lot of time not only following the rules of what you can and can’t do, but also learning the nuances of what receivers and defensive backs are doing.

“You have to pay attention to all four limbs and the ball all the time. These are real skills that Al has mastered and helped teach.”

The jury was selected to examine the Super Bowls between Chicago and New England (1985 season), Washington and Denver (1987), San Francisco and Denver (1989), Dallas and Buffalo (1993), and St. Louis and Tennessee (1999). lead.

“Referees usually get all the attention, but Al Jury was as good at his job as any referee at his,” said Mike Pereira, Fox rules analyst. “He was the right person to talk to for every difficult game you had. Nobody challenged this man. He didn’t take any nonsense – that was the CHP in him – and he was just a great guy.”