Many know him because he lent his name to the famous video game Madden. Others have been marked by his monster impact as an NFL game analyst on TV, but it was his career as Raiders head coach that opened the doors to the Hall of Fame for him. For all these reasons, the football world is in mourning for the legendary John Madden, who died on Tuesday.
At 85, the man whose footballing passion had been contagious since the late 1960s died unexpectedly in California.
As of this writing, the cause of death, which is survived by his wife and two sons, was not known.
In 1958, he was drafted in the 21st round by the Philadelphia Eagles. His playing career ended without playing a game in the NFL, but it was only the start of a long adventure for the Minnesota native.
“We all know him as a Raiders coach and commentator who worked for all the major networks, but first and foremost he was a dedicated husband, father and grandfather. No one loved football more than Coach.
“There will never be another John Madden and we are eternally grateful for what he has done to make the NFL what it is today,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
Prolific coach
As early as 1960, Madden started coaching at Allan Hancock College.
In 1964, he became defensive coordinator at San Diego State University. At 32, in 1969, the Oakland Raiders made him the youngest head coach in the NFL.
Under his rule, the Raiders enjoyed an extremely prolific period until his untimely retirement in 1978.
In 10 seasons at the helm, he guided his team to seven division championships, seven conference finals and a Super Bowl conquest on Jan. 9, 1977, against the Minnesota Vikings.
Madden ended his career with a sparkling record of 103 wins, 32 losses and seven draws. To this day, he is still the most successful coach in Raiders history.
At a time when NFL coaches were stoic and sullen, Madden stood out with his colorful style and closeness to his players.
A worshiped analyst
Despite his rich record as a coach, it was in his role as an analyst that Madden captivated the masses, from his shattering first steps in 1979 until his last match in February 2009.
His vigorous passion, his funny expressions and his talent for popularizing made him a mythical figure.
On the airwaves of CBS (from 1979 to 1993), Fox (from 1994 to 2001), ABC (from 2002 to 2005) and NBC (from 2006 to 2009), he won 16 Emmy awards, presented to notable personalities of American television.
He also caused a sensation by rewarding every year players in the shadows as part of his famous team. All Madden.
It was in 2006 that he was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame.
In video games
In 1988, the first version of the video game Madden NFL, to which he lent his voice and expertise in another effort to democratize sport, has come out.
The success became monster, to the point where, today, the franchise is still rolling and more than 250 million copies have been sold.
Since undergoing open heart surgery in November 2015, Madden has hardly made any public appearances.
Last week, the Fox network aired the documentary All Madden, which tells about his successful career.