2017 Obituaries

[LJP]

Former Bears, Browns, Packers & Falcons DE/LB John Thierry died on Friday aged 46.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/fo ... story.html

[mark22photos]

John Land, former Colts & Eagles player also famous for appearing in the Pottstown Firebirds NFL Films specials. He died November 22.

http://www.congofuneralhome.com/notices/John-Land

[BD Sullivan]

==Deleted==

FWIW, next Monday marks the 50th anniversary of Harry Wismer's death--one day after he drunkenly fell down some steps and less than five years after he ran the Titans into the ground.

[Eagles One]

Ken Gray, former six-time Pro-Bowl guard and linebacker with the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Oilers died November 25 at the age of 81.


https://www.dailytrib.com/2017/11/28/ll ... y-dies-81/

[Shipley]

Here's a link to the NFL Films documentary "Pottstown Revisited" that features John Land reminiscing about his days as a Firebird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUEMGHbugRE&t=1641s

[Eagles One]

Not a player but former NFL official Fritz Graf who officiated the 1967 "Ice Bowl Game" between the Packers and Cowboys died on November 28 at the age of 94.


https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/brown ... dies-at-94

[BD Sullivan]

Former Patriots and Colts head coach Ron Meyer has died at the age of 76:

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/n ... 925508001/

[Gary Najman]

Not a player but former NFL official Fritz Graf who officiated the 1967 "Ice Bowl Game" between the Packers and Cowboys died on November 28 at the age of 94.


https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/brown ... dies-at-94

Graf also worked four Super Bowls and another 6 League or Conference Championship games.

[Rupert Patrick]

Not a player but former NFL official Fritz Graf who officiated the 1967 "Ice Bowl Game" between the Packers and Cowboys died on November 28 at the age of 94.


https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/brown ... dies-at-94

Graf also worked four Super Bowls and another 6 League or Conference Championship games.

Was Graf the one who blew the whistle and it froze to his lip and when he tried to remove it, it pulled a piece of skin off his lip? It happened to one of the referees at the Ice Bowl very early in the contest. They went to hand signals after that.

[Gary Najman]

Not a player but former NFL official Fritz Graf who officiated the 1967 "Ice Bowl Game" between the Packers and Cowboys died on November 28 at the age of 94.


https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/brown ... dies-at-94

Graf also worked four Super Bowls and another 6 League or Conference Championship games.

Was Graf the one who blew the whistle and it froze to his lip and when he tried to remove it, it pulled a piece of skin off his lip? It happened to one of the referees at the Ice Bowl very early in the contest. They went to hand signals after that.

Yes, he was. He wore no. 34 for the major part of his career (he also worked Super Bowls V, VIII, XV and XVIII, his final game). From 1979-1981 he wore no. 7, as (inexplicabily) they numbered the officials according to their positions. Thus Graf officiated Super Bowl XV with another 3 officials who wore no. 7 that game.