Whether you enjoyed his commentary or not, his place in sports history is pretty etched in stone. Passed away today at 85.
Come to think of it, he actually won the first Super Bowl I payed attention to when his Raiders beat the Vikings. I was eight years old in 1977 when he won SB 11. Was watching Texas games before that but wasn’t really (and still am not) into the NFL. Enjoyed it though, and definitely respect and appreciate his work with Summerall.
He was the originator of the ‘left foot, right foot’ spot phrase that has been used by all the wannabes. Fun guy in the press box.
I was watching the Fox special about Madden last night, and in some of the segments with current-day Madden speaking, there seemed something a little off on his speech. It left me wondering if he had a series of mini-strokes leading up to the filming and then, unfortunately, suffered a major one just after Christmas. If he had just passed in his sleep, I suspect we would have heard that by now, especially since he was 85. I just hope it wasn't another Earl Anthony situation where alcohol or prescription drugs led to a tumble down some stairs.