Farewell John Madden

Photo from Wikipedia 

NFL legend John Madden died earlier today at the age of 85.  He coached in the National Football League for ten years and then spent another 30 plus years in the broadcast booth.

I was fortunate to see Madden coach the Oakland Raiders against their arch rivals the Kansas City Chiefs in the mid 70's.  The battles between Madden and the Chiefs late head coach Hank Stram at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium were always fun to watch and emotions would usually boil over amongst the players in the games.

After the 1978 season Madden retired from coaching with one Super Bowl victory under his belt.  In January 1977 the Raiders, under coach Madden's direction, beat the tar out of the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI.  The outcome was never in doubt after the second quarter.

After coaching Mr. Madden went on to broadcast for another 30 years before retiring from that job after the 2009 Super Bowl.  He had the rare distinction of working on all four television networks; ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC where he ended his TV career.  My memories of his broadcast style were his humor and excitement in watching the games.  I remember his catchphrase as "Hey...Wait a minute!"

My prayers and thoughts go out to his wife Virginia and his family.  Rest in Peace Mr. Madden.