John Madden

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John Earl Madden (born April 10, 1936) is an American football coach and sportscaster.

He won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, and after retiring from coaching, he became a well-known color commentator for NFL television broadcasts.

In 2006, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in honor of his coaching career.

He is also well-known for the long-running Madden NFL video game series, which he has sponsored and fronted since 1988.

Madden served as a color analyst for all four major networks: CBS (1979–1993), Fox (1994–2001), ABC (2002–2005), and NBC (2006–2008).

Madden moved away from broadcasting after the 2008 NFL season to spend more time with his family.

He has written several books and worked as a commercial pitchman for many brands and retailers.

Early life

Earl Madden was born in Austin, Minnesota, on April 10, 1936, the son of Earl Russell Madden (1905-1961) and Mary (née Flaherty) Madden (1917-2011). When John was young, his father, a car mechanic, moved the Madden family to Daly City, California, south of San Francisco. John Robinson, a Catholic parochial school, graduated in 1950 and then Jefferson High School, graduating in 1954.

Personal life

Madden and his wife, Virginia Fields, married in a Pismo Beach, California, on December 26, 1959. Joseph and Michael lived in Pleasanton, California, and they had two sons, Joseph and Michael. Joe played football at Brown University and Mike attended Harvard University, where he started as a receiver on the football team.

Madden and Virginia's 62nd wedding anniversary was celebrated just days before his death.

Madden's aversion to flying was well known, but his fear wasn't fully revealed until many years later in his adult life. In the fatal crash of October 29, 1960, California Polytechnic State University's football team plane, which killed 16 players, the team's student manager, and a football booster, he had lost people close to him. However, he didn't have his first panic attack on a flight originating in Tampa, Florida, until 1979; he never landed on a plane again. Madden, on the other hand, stated in an interview that his worries were not about turbulence, flying, or heights, but rather claustrophobia.

During his Saturday Night Live hosting appearance in the early 1980s, a short film depicting Madden's ride from New York City to host SNL by train. Madden, a regular rider on Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited in the 1980s, was a frequent customer; Amtrak allowed the famous customer to use the dining car at any time. Greyhound Lines provided Madden with a custom bus and drivers in exchange for advertising and speaking events, beginning in 1987. The Madden Cruiser was released in 1987. Motor Coach Industries made the Madden Cruiser shells. Walker Advantage Muffler and Outback Steakhouse were among the coach-bus sponsors over the years.

Madden never did commentary for the Pro Bowl, which was held in Honolulu for every year of his broadcasting career. Madden also didn't call any preseason game played outside of North America, even though his play-by-play partner was on the telecast. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Madden discovered an unexpected use for his bus in New York City, when he delivered transportation for former ice-skating champion Peggy Fleming, whose flight home to Los Gatos, California, was grounded. Despite Madden's aversion to flying, his widow Virginia took flying lessons.

Madden died of undisclosed causes at his home in Pleasanton, California, on December 28, 2021, at the age of 85. Madden's death was "innocent," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release.

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Playing career

Madden, a football star in high school, spent one season at the College of San Mateo before being awarded a football scholarship to the University of Oregon, where he spent time studying pre-law and playing football with childhood friend John Robinson. He was redshirted due to a knee injury and underwent knee surgery. He attended the College of San Mateo in 1955, then Grays Harbor College in 1956, and later Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he played both offense and defense for the Mustangs in 1957 and 1958. Madden's senior research at Cal Poly focused on the use of weights to improve strides and speed in athletic training.

In his debut season at Cal Poly, he received first-team all-conference accolades at offensive tackle, and he was a catcher for the Mustangs baseball team. Madden was chosen by United Press International for his outstanding downfield speed for a lineman during his junior season of 1957. Madden was given a pass by former Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Beathard, then-teammate and Cal Poly quarterback Bobby Beathard during the 1957 season.

Madden was drafted in the 21st round (244th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958 (months before starting his senior season at Cal Poly). Madden's senior year, which saw him regularly start on the left side of the offensive line, was cut short due to a season-ending collarbone injury suffered while making a tackle against Long Beach State in October 1958, with four games remaining on the schedule.

Madden, 1959, played in the All-American Bowl in Tucson, Arizona, and was lauded by Lou Pavlovich of The Sporting News for his participation in the showcase. However, then sustained an injury in his first training camp during an Eagles scrimmage in August 1959, effectively ending his playing career without having had the opportunity to play in a regulation game properly.

Coaching career

Madden related how he became involved in teaching: he recalled how he became involved:

He became an assistant coach at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California, in 1960. In 1962, he was promoted to head coach. Madden's two seasons were 12-6, with an 8-1 record in 1963, during which his Bulldogs were ranked No. 301. Among city colleges, 9 out of 10 are nationally ranked. He was recruited as a defensive assistant coach at San Diego State University, where he served from 1966 to 1966. The 1966 Aztecs were ranked among the nation's top small colleges during their final campaign. Madden worked under Don Coryell, whom Madden praised as having a nexus in his coaching while San Diego State.

Madden was hired by Al Davis as the Oakland Raiders' linebackers coach in 1967, putting him in the Sid Gillman coaching tree, building on that success. He was assisting the team in winning Super Bowl II this season. Madden was named the Raiders' head coach on February 4, 1969, making him the youngest head coach to play college at the age of 32.

In 1969, Madden's first Raiders squad went 12-1-1, but lost 17–7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the last-ever American Football League Championship Game. Madden's coaching career would make this an enthralling trend. Oakland won seven AFC West division championships and set a winning streak in his ten seasons as head coach, but the team also lost in seven AFL/AFC Championship Games. When Pittsburgh's "Immaculate Reception" gave Pittsburgh a 13–7 victory, it became one of football lore. The Oaklands lost in 1974 to the Steelers after knocking the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins out of the playoffs in a dramatic fashion. In the 1975 AFC Championship game, the Steelers would bring the Raiders' season one game less than the Super Bowl.

In 1976, the Raiders went 13-1 in the regular season and then advanced to the first round of the playoffs after a dramatic and controversial 24-21 victory over the New England Patriots. Madden's Raiders finally defeated the Steelers in their third straight match in the AFC Championship game, defeating them 24-7 to advance to Super Bowl XI. Madden defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32–14 on January 9, 1977, his first and only NFL title.

In 1977, the Browns won the AFC West, but they have since lost the AFC Championship Game, this time to the Denver Broncos. The Raiders enjoyed their tenth straight victory campaign under Madden in 1978, but the Raiders failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time in his tenure. Madden announced his resignation on January 4, 1979, after his season ended, citing that he was permanently ending his teaching career.

Among Madden's achievements as a head coach were winning a Super Bowl and becoming the youngest coach to win 100 regular-season victories, a record he established in only ten full seasons of teaching at the age of 42. Madden is still the Raiders' greatest coach.

Madden never had a losing season as a head coach. His overall winning percentage, which includes playoff games, ranks second in league history behind Guy Chamberlin and is the highest among those who coached 100 games. Madden's career came during a period in which head coaches Tom Landry, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, and Bud Grant, who are generally regarded as the best coaches of the era.

Sportscasting career

In 1979, Madden began as a color commentator for CBS. With Pat Summerall in 1981, he rose to the network's top football broadcasting pair after serving in lower-profile competitions during his first years, replacing Tom Brookshier. Madden was paired with a variety of announcers, including Vin Scully, Dick Stockton, Frank Glieber, and Gary Bender, before deciding on Summerall on CBS. Madden and Summerall's team will combine to call eight Super Bowls together. Madden would work with Vin Scully and then Verne Lundquist on days in which Summerall was absent (during the CBS years, he'd been expected to commentate on the US Open tennis tournament during the early weeks of the NFL season). Madden told Summerall that although CBS no longer has the NFL, at least they have the memories from their last CBS telecast together (the 1993 NFC Championship Game on January 23, 1994). Madden used a similar theme of words on ABC's final Monday Night Football telecast in 2005.

CBS employees became free agents when the Fox Network granted the right to NFC games in 1994. Madden was the biggest celebrity in football broadcasting, and Fox, ABC, and NBC all made bids for Madden's "global spokesman," and GE Rail will build for him a luxurious train. Madden and Summerall joined Fox's NFL coverage, giving the network credibility to air what Rupert Murdoch dubbed "the crown jewel of all sports programming in the world." Madden's deal earned him more often than any NFL player. However, Fox was also losing $4.4 billion on its NFL contract for the eight-year deal it signed in 1998, and it had been trying to minimize programming overheads as a result. Madden's Fox contract would have earned $8 million for 2003.

Madden appeared on ABC's Monday Night Football in 2002, as a longtime play-by-play announcer Al Michaels. According to reports, Madden earned $5 million a year.

Madden will be the first sportscaster to have worked for all of the "Big Four" U.S. television networks in 2005, according to Dick Ebersol, president of NBC Sports. Madden will not be able to attend the Sunday Night Football Seattle Seahawks-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game in Tampa, Florida, on October 13, 2008, marking the end of Madden's 476-weekend streak of consecutive broadcast appearances. Madden, a coach who rode by bus, decided against spending the week off because he had traveled from Jacksonville to San Diego, and would have to go back to Florida before returning to his Northern California home. Madden was consulted by Football Night in America studio analyst Cris Collinsworth for the game and returned to the narrator in Indianapolis on November 2, 2008, so as not to coincide with the World Series which takes place roughly the same time). Madden played his last game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on February 1, 2009. Madden announced his formal retirement from the broadcasting booth on April 16, 2009. Collinsworth succeeded him.

Madden got his start in radio by assisting longtime San Francisco radio personality "The Emperor" Gene Nelson's show on station KYA in the 1970s when he was the Raiders' coach. He followed Nelson when he retired to station KSFO, and the call-ins continued even after Madden's teaching retirement. Madden made television appearances on KNBR later this year. He first called in to radio station KCBS five days a week at 8:15 a.m. Pacific Time in 1997. This continued into Thanksgiving 2015, when he ceased calling after heart surgery and other health issues. In 2017, he began appearing on KCBS radio twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays at 9:15 a.m., on Mondays and Fridays. In August 2018, he stopped making regular radio calls, citing the desire to free up any commitments from his schedule. "Senior Investigative At-Large Correspondent" was named by KCBS, meaning he may call in again. On the Westwood One radio network in the United States, Madden broadcast sports commentaries in syndication.

Madden's vivacious and flamboyant presentation received him the coveted Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Event Analyst. His announcing style was punctuated by words like "Boom!"

", "Whap!

", "Bang!

", and "Doink!"'

With his use of the telegraph, he was able to superimpose his light-penned football diagrams of football plays over a video clip. Madden's use of the telescope helped popularize the technology, which has become a staple of television coverage of all sports.

Madden was also known for serving the annual Thanksgiving Day games for CBS and then Fox. The winning team will be awarded a turkey or turducken. Following the Thanksgiving Day game, he would also give players of the winning team a turkey drumstick, often with eight drumsticks on it for the occasion. The drumsticks were a strange twist on the "player of the game" award. Madden hasn't announced the Thanksgiving Day games since being a student at ABC in 2002, but the tradition has continued. The Galloping Gobbler is the game's "Most Valuable" player, according to Fox, CBS, and the NFL Network.

Madden took the advice of NFL coach John Robinson, a Madden friend, and formed the "All-Madden" team, a group of players who Madden thought represented football and played the game the way he felt it should be played in 1984. Madden continued to pick the All-Madden squad during the 2001 season before he departed to ABC and Monday Night Football. Madden created a special 10th Anniversary All-Madden squad in 1994, an All-Madden Super Bowl Team in 1997, and an All-Madden team in 2000. All Madden was also the title of Madden's third best-selling book (after Hey, Wait A Minute? ) I wrote a book and One Knee Equals Two Feet (Six Feet).

In All Madden, Madden explained:

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