WILLIAM DOWNES, JR.

Inducted: 2019

Downes was a referee in the National Football League for 34 years and had been scheduled to be an official observer of games starting in 1975. William passed away three months before the season started that year. Downes was the referee for the NFL championship game in 1947. William worked in the aviation industry since 1927 and assumed the post of Chicago’s Aviation Commissioner in 1956.