Bob McElwee, who served as a National Football League line judge and referee from the 1976 through the 2002 seasons, turned 90 years old on Aug. 21, 2025. McElwee is recognized for his long tenure as an official and his role in numerous playoff and Super Bowl games.
McElwee wore No. 95 for most of his officiating career. He started as a line judge from 1976 to 1979, working under referees Jim Tunney and Ben Dreith before being promoted to referee when NFL crews expanded in 1980.
Throughout his NFL career, McElwee was assigned to 21 on-field playoff games—two as a line judge and the remainder as a referee—including five wild card playoffs, nine divisional playoffs, and four conference championship games. He officiated Super Bowls XXII, XXVIII and XXXIV, becoming one of only two NFL officials to work a Super Bowl in three different decades along with Al Jury.
Born in Camden, New Jersey, McElwee attended The Naval Academy and helped Navy win the Sugar Bowl in 1955 before serving as an officer in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot and engineer. Following his service, he joined his family’s contracting business and later established his own firm focused on building water treatment facilities along the eastern seaboard.
McElwee began football officiating at the high school level before moving up to Ivy League college games. In 1976 he joined the NFL’s ranks of officials.
Among his Super Bowl experiences were unique challenges such as handling television timeouts during extended drives—as recounted by McElwee in Richard Lister’s book “The Third Team.” For example, during Super Bowl XXVIII when Dallas controlled possession with multiple running plays: “With three minutes left in the third quarter, and four TV timeouts and millions of dollars of commercials to go, McElwee was starting to worry about the lack of natural breaks in the action to punch out to a commercial (… ) Finally, Dallas came to the line and quarterback Troy Aikman saw the Cowboys had twelve men on the field and called a team timeout and McElwee gave NBC a commercial break. ‘I was the happiest man in the Western Hemisphere,’ McElwee recounted.”
In addition to his football career, McElwee received several honors including being named the first recipient of pro football’s Art McNally Award for officials’ lifetime achievement in 2002. He also earned recognition for contributions beyond sports; he co-founded Renew—a nonprofit that builds affordable housing—and led fundraising efforts for organizations like American Red Cross.
His son Scott followed him into both family business operations and football officiating at collegiate levels.
On this occasion marking Bob McElwee’s milestone birthday, colleagues noted their appreciation for his dedication throughout decades overseeing play on some of professional football’s biggest stages.
Congratulations were extended: “Congratulations to Bob McElwee on his special day and we salute one of the NFL officiating mainstays of the 1980s and 1990s.”
