John Earl Madden, excellently known as John Madden was an American football coach and sportscaster. He was best known for appearing on Monday Night Football. He was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders when they won the Super Bowl, and after resigning from coaching, he became a well-known color commentator for NFL broadcasts. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 for his coaching achievements. He also played college football at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. His well-known personality led to a series of EA Sports video games being named after him. He worked as a color analyst for all four major networks: CBS (1979-1993), Fox (1994-2001), ABC (2002-2005), and NBC (2006-2008). Madden won 16 Emmy Awards and covered 11 Super Bowls from 1979 to 2009. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. As well, he wrote several books and served as a commercial pitchman for various products and retailers. Moreover, the Fox network presented “All-Madden” on 25th December 2021 which was a documentary highlighting Madden’s rise to stardom as an NFL coach and broadcaster. Unhappily, we lost John on 28th December 2021.
John Madden Death Cause
John Madden, who was the legendary American Football coach and commentator has died at the age of 85, the National Football League (NFL) has announced. The league said he died unexpectedly and did not give a cause. He passed away at his home in Pleasanton on 28th December 2021. In a press release announcing his death, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that Madden “was football”, adding, “there will never be another John, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today.”
Famous For
- Being an American football coach and sportscaster.
- For appearing on Monday Night Football.
Source: @ew.com
Where was John Madden from?
John Madden was born on 10th April 1936 with the real name of John Earl Madden in Austin, Minnesota, the U.S. He was of American nationality and he came from American-white ethnic background. Similarly, his religion was Christian and his race was white. John lastly celebrated his 85th birthday in the April of 2021 and as per his birthdate, his zodiac sign was Aries. He was the son of Earl Madden (father) and Mary Madden (mother). His father, an auto mechanic, moved the Madden family to Daly City, California, a city immediately south of San Francisco, when John was young.
Regarding John’s education, he attended Catholic parochial school with John Robinson at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, graduating in 1950, and then Jefferson High School, graduating in 1954.
John Madden Career Timeline
Playing career
- John Madden kicked off his career playing football in one season at the College of San Mateo, in 1954 after which he attended the College of San Mateo in 1955, then Grays Harbor College playing in the fall of 1956, before transferring to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he played both offense and defense for the Mustangs in 1957 and 1958.
- He was drafted in the 21st round (244th overall) by the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles in 1958 however in his first training camp suffered an injury on his other knee, ending his playing career before he ever got a chance to play professionally.
Coaching career
- John Madden became an assistant coach at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria in 1960 and was promoted to head coach in 1962 as well as he was hired as a defensive assistant coach at San Diego State, where he served through 1966.
- Then he was hired by Al Davis as linebackers coach for the AFL’s Oakland Raiders in 1967, putting him in the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He helped the team reach Super Bowl II that season.
- On 4th February 1969, he was named the Raiders’ head coach becoming, at the age of 32, professional football’s youngest head coach to that time whereas his Raiders reached and lost five AFC Championship games in seven years, which left the Raiders with the same image that the Dallas Cowboys had previously had as a team unable to “win the big one.”
- Madden’s Raiders finally captured their first Super Bowl with a 32–14 win over the Minnesota Vikings on 9th January 1977 but the Raiders lost the AFC Championship Game in 1977 20-17 to the Denver Broncos.
- Later John announced his retirement on 4th January 1979, due to an increasingly deteriorating ulcer condition and occupational burnout.
Sportscasting career
- John joined CBS as a color commentator in 1979 and was elevated to the network’s top football broadcasting duo with Pat Summerall in 1981.
- Prior to teaming with Summerall on CBS, he was paired with a variety of announcers, such as Dick Stockton, Frank Glieber, and Gary Bender.
- On their final CBS telecast together (the NFC Championship Game on 23rd January 1994), he told Summerall that while CBS may no longer have the NFL for the time being–although CBS would eventually regain NFL rights in 1998 by outbidding NBC for the rights to AFC telecasts, at least they have the memories.
- He used a similar choice of words in an ABC’s final “Monday Night Football” telecast in 2005.
- Later he was the biggest star in football broadcasting, and Fox, ABC, and NBC made offers higher than the $2 million a year maximum for sportscaster salaries.
- After John almost joined ABC, he and Summerall joined Fox’s NFL coverage as his s contract paid him more annually than any NFL player.
- His Fox contract would have been worth $8 million for 2003. His last job at Fox was for Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002.
- As well, John became a commentator on ABC’s Monday Night Football in 2002 where he reportedly made $5 million per year.
- Dick Ebersol, president of NBC Sports, announced in 2005 that Madden would provide color commentary for NBC’s Sunday night NFL games.
- On 1st February 2009, he called his final game for Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- He later announced his official retirement from the broadcasting booth on 16th April 2009. He was succeeded by Collinsworth.
- Also, John got his start in broadcasting calling into longtime San Francisco radio personality “The Emperor” Gene Nelson’s show on station KYA in the 1970s while coaching the Raiders. He began making appearances on KNBR.
- He also aired sports commentaries in syndication on the Westwood One radio network in the United States.
Source: @usatoday
Other media
- John was featured in the movie “Little Giants” as well as he played himself as the broadcaster of the fictional games in the film “The Replacements”.
- The Fox network presented “All-Madden” on 25th December 2021 which was a documentary highlighting Madden’s rise to stardom as an NFL coach and broadcaster.
- Besides, from 1988 on he lent his voice, personality, and name to the “Madden NFL” series of football video games, published by EA Sports/Electronic Arts.
Awards and Achievements
NFL
- Super Bowl XI winner (as head coach of the Oakland Raiders)
Broadcasting
- 16-time Emmy Award winner
- 1984 NSMA National Sportscaster of the Year
- Yahoo! Sports Top 50 All-Time Network Television Sports Announcers (#2).
- 2002 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award winner
Halls of Fame
- Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 1991).
- Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
- California Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)
- 2010 NSMA Hall of Fame inductee
John Madden Wife: Who was he married to?
John Madden was a married man. He tied a knot with his wife, Virginia Fields on 26th December 1959. The pair met in a bar in Pismo Beach, California. They lived in Pleasanton, California, and had two sons, Joseph and Michael. Joe was a member of the Brown University football team, while Mike was a member of the Harvard football team as a wide receiver. Later John got separated from his wife Fields in 2021. Then, he was married to Virginia Madden. Reflecting on his sexual orientation, he was straight.
Source: @mixedarticle
What was the Net Worth of John Madden?
John Madden had a net worth of $220 million at the time of his death (2021) whereas he also earned a handsome amount of salary which was also around $10 million per year. He appeared in a variety of radio and television commercials including Ace Hardware, Outback Steakhouse, Verizon Wireless, Rent-A-Center, Miller Lite, Toyota, Sirius Satellite Radio, and “Tough Actin” Tinactin from where he gained a considerable amount of money. In addition, his major source of income was his football coach and sportscaster career.
How tall was John Madden?
John Madden had a tall height of 6 feet and 4 inches and his body weighed around 95 kg. He had brown hair and blue eyes color. John kept his body maintained at that age too which was so awesome. Additionally, John’s body build type was average.
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