At 85, legendary broadcaster and Hall Of Famer John Madden has died
The NFL announced that Hall of Famer John Madden has died Tuesday morning. The beloved legendary pro football broadcaster and the Hall of Fame coach for the Oakland Raiders was 85 years old. The league stated that John Madden passed away unexpectedly in the morning.
John Madden coached the AFL’s Oakland Raiders for 10 seasons from 1969–1978 and never had a losing record. Leading the team to the playoffs eight different seasons, Madden guided the Raiders to Super Bowl XI against the Minnesota Vikings and won 32-14. Hired by Al Davis in 1967 to be the linebackers coach for the Raiders, Madden, 32, was promoted to head coach in just two years, becoming the youngest head coach in the NFL at the time.
After retirement, Hall of Famer John Madden provided commentary for NFL games for 30 seasons and worked for a number of primetime television stations as a broadcaster. ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, you name it. With an energetic style, Madden was known for his emphasized verbal sound effects such as “Boom!” and “Wham!”. Madden won 16 Emmy awards as Outstanding Sports Personality/Sport Event Analyst, and was the name behind the popular Madden NFL video game series.
“On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement after the news broke that John Madden has died. “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.”
John Madden was born in Austin, Minnesota on April 10, 1936. After being drafted to the NFL in 1958 to the Philadelphia Eagles, he had an unfortunate knee injury that set him back and excluded the chance to ever play football in the NFL. He soon found a love for coaching and got his first opportunity in 1960 as an assistant coach at Allan Hancock College. Madden swiftly rose to prominence in the world of football as he took over as head coach in 1962.
We’re going to miss John Madden so much. His voice has been synonymous with football for so many generations, even after his retirement in 2009. We will never forget our past time with Hall of Famer John Madden. Madden is remembered through his wife Virginia and his two sons Joseph and Michael. Two days before his death, John and Virginia Madden celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary.