Professional football lost one of their greatest characters, coaches, and broadcasters this morning when NFL Hall of Famer John Madden passed away unexpectedly. He was 85 years old.
As an avid football fan for over 30 years, he was a constant voice in the booth alongside Pat Summerall and later Al Michaels on Sunday Night Football before he retired in 2008.
His broadcasting career covered 30 years (1979-2008) and he brought a new, energetic style that drew us into each play.
Whether he conveyed himself through “Boom!” or another vocal sound effect to go with his screen diagrams, he often gave us an insight into something benign that would end up being crucial later in the game.
A statement on the great John Madden from @nflcommish. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/HwUm8eT8rr
— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2021
NFL Commission Roger Goodell offered his condolences via :
Madden, 85, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday morning, according to the league.
“On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families. We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
“Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today.”
Hall of Fame coach
Though he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 21th round (244th overall) in 1958, he injured his knee in his first training camp, ending his career before he got to play professionally.
He transitioned into coaching and eventually became the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for ten seasons from 1969 to 1978, amassing a record of 103-32-7 with no losing seasons and never finished lower than second in their division.
He won Super Bowl XI when the Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.
Pop culture icon
By the time he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, John had become larger than life as he won 16 Emmys as Outstanding Sports Personality/Sport Even Analyst during his 20 years in broadcasting.
During this time, he gave his name to the Madden NFL video game series that started as John Madden Football in 1988.
A cool fact is that he refused to let his name be used unless the games had an 11-on-11 action that no games had at the time.
Through it all, he remained humble and was a joy to listen to whenever he was interviewed or spoke at an event.
He was one of the best and will be missed. Thank you for everything you did for the NFL and fans, John.
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