John Madden biography

Synopsis

John Madden was born April 10, 1936 in Austin, Minnesota. First joining Oakland in 1967, he was promoted to head coach in 1969 at age 33, the youngest head coach in the American Football League. Before retiring in 1979, he had lead the team to seven AFC Western Division titles and a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. In 1980, he started his broadcasting career.

Profile

Football coach, analyst, broadcaster. John Madden was born April 10, 1936 in Austin, Minnesota. Raised in Daly City, California, this former NFL Raiders coach and Fox broadcaster began his career in football as a player for California Polytechnic College at San Luis Obispo in 1957. The Philadelphia Eagles selected him in the 1958 NFL draft, but when a knee injury in his rookie season ended his career, he stayed at Cal Poly to earn both a bachelor's in 1959 and a master's in 1961.

Upon graduation, Madden coached at Hancock Junior College in Santa Maria, California, for four years. In 1964, he became defensive coordinator at San Diego State, which eventually lead to his memorable career with the Oakland Raiders. First joining Oakland in 1967 as a linebacker coach, he was promoted to head coach in 1969 at age 33, the youngest head coach in the American Football League. Before retiring in 1979, Madden had lead the team to seven AFC Western Division titles and a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.

In 1980, Madden started his broadcasting career at CBS. His ability to explain football's finer points combined with an affable sense of humor eventually made him a legend in the field, particularly for his work on broadcasts of National Football League games. He has won 13 Emmy awards for outstanding sports personality/analyst and the American Sportscasters Association named him Sports Personality of the Year in 1985 and 1992. In 1994, he signed a four-year, $32 million deal with Fox (a richer contract than any NFL player at the time) and in 2002 joined Al Michaels for ABC's Monday Night Football.

Madden is the author of several best-selling books, including Hey Wait a Minute, I Wrote a Book, All Madden and the cookbook John Madden's Ultimate Tailgating. He lives in Pleasanton, California, with his wife, Virginia, and their two sons.