NAL Mourns the Loss of Former Commissioner John Gregory
December 13, 2022 - National Arena League (NAL) News Release
ATLANTA, GA - The National Arena League is sad to announce the passing last week of former commissioner John Gregory. He was 84. Gregory served as the National Arena League's first commissioner where he oversaw the league's inception and inaugural season in 2017. Gregory's leadership was instrumental in the league's early success, his knowledge of the sport and perspective was fundamental to the growth of the NAL.
"During my time coaching arena football, I had the opportunity to get to get to know Coach Gregory through our battles against each other" stated Commissioner Siegfried. "We became friends back then, and that friendship was one of the things that attracted me to the National Arena League. Coach Gregory will be missed not only by me, but by everyone who had the honor of knowing him."
Prior to his position with the National Arena League, John Gregory had a 43-year coaching career between College, Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and the Champions Indoor Football League (CIF) ; he also served in administrative roles between college, AFL and NAL. During his impressive career he was a two-time Grey Cup Champion head coach in the CFL (1984, 1989), a CFL head coach of the year (1989), he was also two-time AFL Head Coach of the Year (1994, 1995). Coach John Gregory was also the head coach of the 1995-1996 Iowa Barnstormers, quarterbacked by a young Kurt Warner who became a superbowl champion and hall of fame quarterback with the St. Louis Rams. His life story was recently captured by Lions Gate's feature film "American Underdog."
Through his decades of hardwork and commitment Commissioner John Gregory's influence impacted players, coaches, and entire leagues.
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