In late December, American football fans around the world reeled from the unexpected loss of one of the sport’s greatest influencers: John Madden. Though a relatively unknown quantity beyond the US, the NFL Hall of Famer has been a household name for decades for his legacy as a head coach and color commentator.
For the most part, football fans today would recognize John Madden’s name from the EA Sports video game franchise. The EA Sports-NFL partnership began in the late 80s and borrowed John Madden’s legacy to help promote the original releases. This continues today with the Madden NFL installations.
However, what Madden accomplished through his forty-year career in the NFL and beyond can’t be easily quantified. He didn’t just make his mark on the sport but lived through its most pivotal evolutions.
When Madden got his start on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad in 1958, the NFL hadn’t even cooked up its famous Super Bowl championship game. Throughout his career, Madden saw other changes, from the number of regular-season games to the expansion of the NFL to 32 teams to the legalization of sports betting.
While free bets from major sportsbooks and the push for a 17-week regular season have certainly delighted NFL fans around the country, Madden himself hasn’t been party to the league’s changes. Instead, he’s represented the Old Guard and toed the line for future greats like head coaches Bill Belichick and Urban Meyer.
From the Gridiron to the Staffing Roster
Though Madden is known as a well-rounded presence in the NFL, he didn’t last long as a player. In fact, he went unsigned to the Philadelphia Eagles following a stint on their practice squad in the late 50s. From there, he pursued a career in coaching.
After a short stint with Allan Hancock College, Madden transitioned to San Diego State University, where he served as the linebacker coach for one year before being called up by the Oakland Raiders. For the next decade (1969-1978), Madden would revolutionize coaching with little more than a playbook and a bullheaded attitude.
The Man Behind the Records
During his time with the Oakland Raiders, Madden never posted a losing record while also managing to steer some of the league’s grittiest players. In his first year as coach, he posted a .893 winning percentage, and though he struggled to push past the AFC Championship Game, he eventually brought home a Lombardi Trophy in 1976 with a winning record of .929% (which translates to one loss).
When he retired in 1978, he has the NFL’s best win percentage. Though he’s now in second place, his stats have held up for nearly half a century—and come from a time before big data recruiting processes and sports training technology.
Steering the Future of a Sport
As mentioned above, Madden’s name today is probably more widely associated with the EA Sports-NFL video game franchise than it is with his coaching career with the Raiders. But this isn’t out of line with Madden’s legacy—in fact, he was largely known for his broadcasting skills.
Over the course of his career, he worked for CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC as a football color commentator, which brought him a total of 16 Sports Emmy Awards. A huge reason EA Sports contracted Madden for its video game series was because of his voice. He provided in-game announcements for the NFL Madden games that helped the company rake in over $7 billion in revenue.
Madden was known for his over-the-top personality and ability to punctuate the action with certain phrases for which he became known, like ‘Bang!’ or ‘Doink!’ He also spearheaded early attempts at live-broadcasted diagrams, which let him demonstrate the plays teams were making for audiences watching at home.
He knew the sport from every angle and had an undying passion for football that translated seamlessly into his career. He also had a playfulness that endeared many to him, which included antics like providing winning teams with a roasted turkey for Thanksgiving Day games.