John McCauley was an National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 (NHL) referee

Official (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, an official is a person who has some responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. There are two categories of officials, on-ice officials, who are the referees and linesmen that enforce the rules during game play, and off-ice officials, who have an...

 from 1970–1981. In 1979, McCauley was assaulted by a fan after a match between the NHL All-Stars and the Soviet Union and sustained a serious injury to his right eye. Although he returned to refereeing, McCauley's depth perception was never the same and he retired from refereeing two years later.

After being appointd assistant Director of Officiating in June 1981, McCauley was the Director of Officiating

Director of Officiating (NHL)

The Director of Officiating for the National Hockey League heads the league's officiating department and reports directly to Colin Campbell, the senior vice president...

 from 1986 until his death in 1989. His son Wes McCauley

Wes McCauley

Wes McCauley is a National Hockey League referee, who wears uniform number 4. He is the son of the late John McCauley, a former NHL referee.-See Also:...

is a current NHL referee. Wes refereed his first NHL match in 2003 and was promoted to full-time referee in 2005.