3 former NFL Equipment Managers selected to receive 'Awards of Excellence'

Honorees will be recognized June 25-26 in Canton; one other group remains to name recipients in 2025 class

The fourth of five groups that selects honorees as part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s annual Awards of Excellence program, the Equipment Managers, has made its choices for its Class of 2025. 

Former NFL equipment managers Tom Gray, Dennis Ryan and George Luongo will be honored in the Awards of Excellence’s fourth class. Their selection brings to 14 the number recognized in this category.

A cocktail dinner and awards luncheon to celebrate the careers of Gray, Ryan and Luongo will take place in Canton on June 25-26.

From the Cincinnati Bengals’ inception in the AFL in 1968 through their 1999 season, only one member of the organization — Gray — attended every preseason, regular season and postseason game, 644 in all according to team records. He was instrumental in the Bengals’ initial purchase of equipment and operation of the club’s equipment room at Wilmington College and Spinney Field, the team practice facility in Cincinnati. Gray joined PAUL BROWN in Cincinnati after the Hall of Fame coach founded the team. A native of Northeast Ohio, Gray had volunteered with Brown and the Cleveland Browns over 14 seasons in the 1950s and 1960, moving equipment and handling other duties, even compiling some game statistics. 

Ryan, then a teenager, began his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 1976 as a part-time employee, loading gear headed for the team’s training camp site in Mankato, Minn. In 1981, he became the NFL’s youngest equipment manager at 21 years old. He stayed with the organization across 47 seasons, accumulating a streak of 705 consecutive games worked until COVID protocols kept him off the sidelines. He served under nine of the 10 head coaches in Vikings history, only missing the tenure of NORM VAN BROCKLIN. He twice received the Whitey Zimmerman Award, which honors the NFL’s Equipment Manager of the Year (1996 and 2017). In 2023, the Vikings named their equipment room in his honor. 

Luongo worked as an equipment manager from the Patriots’ origin in the American Football League as the Boston Patriots (part time from 1960-65) through the organization’s transition to the New England Patriots until retiring after the 1993 season and never missed a game day. He worked in five different home stadiums for three owners and 12 head coaches, helping to outfit more than 1,500 players. Highlights of his career include the Patriots’ first Super Bowl season in 1985 and receiving the 2019 Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Man of the Year Award. An Army veteran and a pipefitter before becoming the Patriots’ full-time equipment manager, Luongo passed away at age 102 in 2019.

About the Awards of Excellence

The Pro Football Hall of Fame established the Awards of Excellence in 2022 to recognize significant contributors to the game in “behind-the-scenes” roles. The program honors career Assistant Coaches, Athletic Trainers, Equipment Managers, Film/Video Directors and Public Relations Directors. The five groups presenting the Awards of Excellence created their own selection committees and set their own criteria for choosing new members. The Hall of Fame does not participate in any nominating or voting.

Also at the awards luncheon, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will honor the winner of its annual photo contest. Photographs taken during the 2024 National Football League season in the “Action” and “Feature” categories and entered in the contest are eligible for awards. A panel of professional photographers will judge the entries and pick first-, second- and third-place finishers in each category. 

The Photograph of the Year — chosen from the first-place winners in the Action and Feature categories — will be deemed winner of the 57th annual Dave Boss Award of Excellence. That photographer will be invited to Canton for the June 25-26 program, and his/her image will be placed on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Previously announced Awards of Excellence honorees in the Class of 2025 and their primary NFL team(s) are:

• Assistant Coaches – Dick Hoak (Steelers), Elijah Pitts (Rams and Bills) and Jim McNally (Bengals).
• Athletic Trainers – Ed Block (Colts), Pepper Burruss (Jets and Packers) and John Norwig (Steelers).
• Public Relations Directors – Pete Abitante (NFL Office), Jason Jenkins (Dolphins) and Bill Keenist (Lions).

Individuals in the Film/Video Directors category will be announced March 18.