Rest in Peace, John Madden

 

John Madden (right) with his longtime play-by-play man, Pat Summerall.

Legendary NFL coaching and broadcaster John Madden unexpectedly died Tuesday morning. He was 85 years old.

Madden was a wildly successful head coach of the Oakland Raiders, garnering a 103-32-7 record and besting the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. He then stepped off the field and into the broadcasting booth to become football’s most beloved color commentator.

In a statement released Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, “Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others.”

“I am not aware of anyone who has made a more meaningful impact on the National Football League than John Madden,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “And I know of no one who loved the game more.”

Madden also served as the face for the wildly popular “Madden” video games and was featured in many, many TV commercials.

He is survived by his wife Virginia, and two sons, Joseph and Michael.

Rest in peace, Coach.

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  1. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    There are some videos in my Member Feed post.  https://ricochet.com/1111990/john-madden-has-died-rip/

    • #1
  2. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    I have a cd converted from a vcr tape of Thanksgiving 1986. During the entire event You can hear Madden and Summerall call the Cowboy game while the cameraman (Uncle Jerry) records all the goings on throughout Grandma Mary’s house.

    Also, Madden was doing His usual play breakdown with His screen pen, drawing where the WR is headed, circling the defensive player covering, drawing the blitz, circling the RB and where He was headed, circling the QB  and where He should be…. this went on for a few minutes. When He was done Madden looked at the screen with all His writing on it and said, ” Hell, even I can’t read that.”

    • #2
  3. Jon Gabriel, Ed. Contributor
    Jon Gabriel, Ed.
    @jon

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    There are some videos in my Member Feed post. https://ricochet.com/1111990/john-madden-has-died-rip/

    Ugh, I checked for a member post before I began writing and it wasn’t up yet. Thanks for the link!

    • #3
  4. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Jon Gabriel, Ed. (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    There are some videos in my Member Feed post. https://ricochet.com/1111990/john-madden-has-died-rip/

    Ugh, I checked for a member post before I began writing and it wasn’t up yet. Thanks for the link!

    Feel free to cut and paste from it.  I would love for that stuff to be in the Main Feed.

    • #4
  5. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Sorry to see this.

    You know, the real secret to living is not to die. 

    Madden fans will get that.

    • #5
  6. GlennAmurgis Coolidge
    GlennAmurgis
    @GlennAmurgis

    I will always remember him with those Steeler/Raiders rivalry during the 70s and his years as part of the broadcast duo of Summerall and Madden.

    He  also introduced America to the “Turducken” as an option for Thanksgiving.

    • #6
  7. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Now here’s someone whose passing I can truly mourn.  One of the things I liked best about Madden the Announcer was he pointed out a lot of details in plays most other announcers missed (or now try to emulate).  He would often describe how the blocking scheme contributed to the success of a play almost as much as (if not more than) the skill of the ball handlers.

    Sorely missed . . .

    • #7
  8. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    Fox ran a big tribute to Madden on Christmas Day. A great coach whose teams were filled with characters who that probably were not easy to coach. As an announcer he was like no other. From drawing on the screen to cooking up six legged turkeys (so he could give away more drumsticks), he made even the boring games fun.

    • #8
  9. Vince Guerra Inactive
    Vince Guerra
    @VinceGuerra

    First there was Electronic Football, then there was Tecmo Bowl, and finally, there was Madden.

    For those who don’t know, the video game Madden came out in 1988 and is updated with a new version every year due to roster changes, improved graphics, and NFL rule changes. With each new game a new player is selected for the cover, usually the most impactful player from the season prior. For many years this was known as the Madden Curse as players who were on the cover often enough had terrible seasons or injuries the following year (see Garrison Hearst).

    But one of the best things about playing the older Madden games are his play commentary within the game. It’s often deadpan funny and brutal. We have two seasons of Madden on our hopelessly outdated old Gamecube (Madden ’03, and Madden ’05) because I’m not dishing out $500 for a new game system, so maybe someone with more recent versions can comment on what it’s like now.

    I hope for Madden 2022 they go old-school and put him on the cover again, maybe with a simple, classy, black and silver design. It would be a much better tribute than merely tossing on Justin Herbert or Joe Burrow next year.

    • #9
  10. Roberto, [This space available for advertising] Inactive
    Roberto, [This space available for advertising]
    @Roberto

     

     

    • #10
  11. Roberto, [This space available for advertising] Inactive
    Roberto, [This space available for advertising]
    @Roberto

    One more reason why he was the greatest.

     

    • #11
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