John Madden

John Madden was an American football coach and sportscaster. Madden was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons (1969–1978), and helmed them to a championship victory in Super Bowl XI (1977). After retiring from coaching, he served as a color commentator for NFL telecasts until 2009.

In 2006, Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his coaching career. He is also widely known for the long-running Madden NFL video game series, which he lent his namesake to, endorsed, and fronted from 1988. Madden worked as a color analyst for all four major networks: CBS (1979–1993), Fox (1994–2001), ABC (2002–2005), and NBC (2006–2008). Madden retired from broadcasting after the 2008 NFL season. He also wrote several books and served as a commercial pitchman for various products and retailers. (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

American Football Coach/Sportscaster. John Madden began his pro football coaching career in 1967 as the Oakland Raiders' linebackers coach. After two seasons, he was elevated to head coach. At 32 years of age when he was hired, he became the youngest head coach in the American Football League. In his first year at the Raiders' helm, Madden earned American Football League Coach of the Year honors as he led the team to a 12-1-1 record and an AFL Western Division title. Madden coached the Raiders for 10 seasons, posting a regular season record of 103 wins, 32 losses and 7 ties. During that time, he guided the team to seven Western Division titles, including five in a row from 1972 to 1976. Under Madden's guidance, Oakland never experienced a losing season. Madden's Raiders made eight playoff appearances, including a 37-31 six-quarter AFC Divisional Playoff win over the Baltimore Colts in 1977. Perennial winners, the team never finished with fewer than 8 wins in the then-14 game season (8-4-2 in 1970, 1971). Six times in 10 seasons, Oakland recorded 10 or more victories. In 1976, the coach guided his team to a near-perfect 13-1 record to win the AFC Western Division. The success continued in the postseason with wins over New England in the divisional playoff game and a commanding 24-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Madden and the Raiders capped the 1976 season with a 32-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. Between the 1976 and 1977 seasons, the Raiders won 17 games in a row, one short of the then-NFL record for consecutive wins. Madden's .759 regular season winning percentage ranks as highest among coaches with 100 career victories. Only Hall of Fame coaches George Halas and Curly Lambeau had reached 100 career wins at an earlier age. Before coaching in Oakland, Madden was the defensive coordinator at San Diego State, from 1964-1966, where the Aztecs were ranked first among small colleges with a 26-4 record. From 1960-1963 he coached at Hancock Junior College in Santa Maria, California. Madden started on both offense and defense as a player for California Polytechnic College at San Luis Obispo in 1957 and 1958, and was voted to the All-Conference team. The Philadelphia Eagles selected him as a future choice in the 21st round of the 1958 NFL Draft, but a knee injury in his rookie season prematurely ended his playing career.

NFL coach and sportscaster. He won Super Bowl 11 as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, and after retiring from coaching became a well-known color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his coaching career. He is also widely known for the long-running Madden NFL video game series he has endorsed and fronted since 1988. Madden worked as a color analyst for all four major networks: CBS (1979–1993), Fox (1994–2001), ABC (2002–2005), and NBC (2006–2008). Madden retired from broadcasting after the 2008 NFL season. He also wrote several books and served as a commercial pitchman for various products and retailers.

Sources

• "John Madden." Wikipedia, revision of 28 December 2021. < link > Accessed 28 December 2021.
• Shpiegel, Ben. "John Madden, Hall of Fame Coach, Is Dead at 85." The New York Times, published 28 December 2021. < link > Accessed 28 December 2021.
• Wilcox, Gina Channell. "NFL legend: Pleasanton's John Madden dies at age 85." The Pleasanton Weekly, published 28 December 2021. < link > Accessed 28 December 2021.
• Find-A-Grave