Franke and McNally will be inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame

PHILADELPHIA – Fencing Head Coach Dr Nikki Franke and Temple alum Art McNally were announced as two of 17 inductees into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. The Class of 2022 will be dedicated on Thursday, November 3 at the Event Center to Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia.

This season, Franke celebrated the 50th anniversary of the fencing program she founded in 1972. During that time, she amassed 898 wins and 26 consecutive NIWFA championships. Franke led the Owls to fifth in the program during the 2019-20 season and qualified the maximum number of fencers (six) for NCAA championships the following year. Swordsman Marguerite Calderaro finished in sixth place while a sabrist Eva Hind tied for seventh place, with both earning second-team All-American honors, marking the first time in program history that the Owls have won two top-8 finishes. Calderaro also set the program record for the highest individual epee result at the NCAA championships.

This is the former Olympian’s fifth Hall of Fame induction, with her most recent inductions being the International Sports Hall of Fame and the Hall of Fame Athletics Hall with the National Team 1992 fencing champion. Franke was also inducted into the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame as an individual, the US Fencing Association Hall of Fame, and the Brooklyn College Hall of Fame. She also received Female Fencing Coach of the Year honors from the United States Fencing Coaches Association in 1983, 1987, 1988, and 1991.

Franke was a member of the 1976 and 1980 U.S. Olympic teams and was the United States Fencing Association (USFA) National Foil Champion in 1975 and 1980. She was a national finals runner-up in 1978 and finished third in 1976, 1977 , and 1979. Franke was a member of the USA team that placed fifth at the 1973 World University Games in Moscow, as well as the USA team that competed at the World University Games in Bulgaria in 1977. Member of two American delegations that competed at the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games, she won a silver medal in the individual foil in 1975 and a bronze medal in the 1979 competition. On both occasions she helped the United States team United to finish third.

McNally is a Philadelphia native and a graduate of Roman Catholic High School before graduating from Temple. He was a teacher and coach in the Philadelphia School District at Central High School until his appointment as supervisor of NFL officials prior to the 1968 season.

Before becoming Director of Officiating, McNally served as a field judge and referee in the NFL for nine years, from 1959 to 1967. During a 22-year span, he umpired more than 3,000 Soccer, baseballand basketball games, which included a year in the National Basketball Association.

As the NFL’s director of officiating, McNally headed a five-person department who coordinated and led a team of 112 game officials. He was responsible for scouting, selecting, hiring and ranking the seven-man teams that work every NFL game. After retiring as Director of Officiating, McNally accepted the position of Supervisor of Officials for the American Football World League in December 1991, a position he held for five years. McNally continued to serve as a league consultant and game observer thereafter.

McNally, a 2022 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is also a member of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (consecrated in 1987) and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (consecrated in 2022). He received the Reds Bagnell Award from Maxwell Football Club in 2004. In 1988, McNally was the first-ever recipient of the Gold Whistle Award from the National Association of Sports Officials.

Along with Franke and McNally, the class of 2022 will include: David Akers, Keith Allen, Reds Bagnell, Ed Bolden, Adele Boyd, Charles Cooper, Howard Eskin, Susan Francia, Fredia Gibbs, Bernard Hopkins, Ray Kelly, Phil Martelli, Rollie Massimino, Jimmy Rollins as well as the 1983 NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers.