Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…April 10, 1936:
The birthday of John Madden, most famous for his 30 years as an NFL football TV analyst. But Madden, of course, was also a Hall of Fame NFL coach, leading the Oakland Raiders from 1969-78. Madden’s resume included seven division titles, seven appearances in the AFL/AFC Championship Game, and a ring from the Raiders’ title in Super Bowl XI. Madden never had a losing season, and he still holds the highest winning percentage among those who coached at least 100 NFL games.
Madden then started calling NFL games in 1979 and became arguably the most popular color analyst of all-time. Madden made his mark working alongside Pat Summerall on CBS and FOX from 1981-2002, then cemented his legacy working with Al Michaels on ABC Monday Night Football and NBC Sunday Night Football. Madden popularized the telestrator during telecasts with his “Booms!”, “Doinks!” and “Whaps!” to emphasize hits, sacks, drops or field goal attempts that hit the uprights.
When Madden told a story about a player or coach, he’d begin with “Here’s a guy…” When a team or player was struggling, Madden would drop in his famous “If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.” To point out the importance of paying one’s dues or overcoming adversity, he’d go with, “The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.” Madden retired from broadcasting in 2009—he passed away in 2021. John Madden would have been 90 years old today.
Also, on April 10, 1938, another analyst was born—the late Dandy Don Meredith, who became an icon of Monday Night Football in the 1970s and early 1980s and the perfect broadcast booth foil for the pompous Howard Cosell. Meredith, a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, added a humorous and folksy vibe to the booth, and when a game got out of hand, he’d break out a Willie Nelson tune, singing “Turn out the lights, the party’s over!” Don Meredith would have been 88 today.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
