Paul Stewart: Frank Udvari: One of the All-Time Greats

The over-officiating seemed to be in check for awhile but it made a comeback this year.

Very sorry to learn of Frank Udvari's passing. I got to know Frank quite well in the 1970s when he served as a Supervisor and had many conversations with him about the fine points of interpretation of NHL rules. He was an invaluable resource to me in understanding both the "letter" and "spirit" of rules and how they were applied.

Frank also had the distinction of being one of only four honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame to have appeared on the ice in an NHL game after his election to the Hall. (Gordie Howe, Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux were the other three.) After his distinguished fifteen year career as a referee, Frank retired in 1966 to become a Supervisor of Officials and was elected to the HHOF as an official in 1973. On December 30, 1978, he was supervising a game at the Nassau Coliseum between the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames when referee Dave Newell was injured early in the contest and was unable to continue. Frank did not hesitate to slip on Newell's striped sweater, borrowed a pair of skates from Islander's star Bryan Trottier, and stepped on the ice for the first time in a dozen years to call the rest of the game. Though he called only two minor penalties, ironically Udvari's most important call of the night came when he disallowed an Islanders' goal -- scored by Bryan Trottier!

RIP Frank.