Legendary Football Broadcaster/Player Pat Summerall Dies

By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 16, 2013 10:00PM

Pat Summerall (left) with John Madden broadcasting Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. It would be Summerall's last broadcast with Madden. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

Pat Summerall and John Madden provided the voices for a generation of football fans’ memories with their work on CBS and, later, Fox Sports. The Dallas Morning News reports Summerall died today at the age of 82. According to a family friend, Summerall was recovering from hip surgery at a Dallas hospital.

A Florida native, Summerall played college football at the University of Arkansas and spent 10 years in the NFL as a placekicker with the Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and New York Giants. After retiring in 1961 he joined CBS Sports as a color analyst for NFL games in 1962, paired with Chris Schenkel on Giants games. He would be added to the network’s main broadcast team along with Jack Buck and Ray Scott before CBS shifted him to play-by-play and paired him with Tom Brookshier in 1974. But it was Mr. Summerall’s pairing with Madden, the former Oakland Raiders coach, for which he’ll be most fondly remembered. Summerall’s announcing style was folksy and laconic, a stark contrast to the animated style of Madden’s color commentary. They would eventually work together for 21 years before Summerall retired in 2002. He was coaxed out of retirement later before retiring from NFL play-by-play in 2007. (He would call the Cotton Bowl until 2010.)

Summerall called more Super Bowls than any other broadcaster in history.

Here's Mr. Summerall's opening of the 1992 NFC Championship between Dallas and San Francisco.