Who Is John Madden

John Madden is a former American football player, coach, broadcaster, and video game namesake. He is most famously known for his role as an announcer and analyst on the National Football League’s “Monday Night Football”, which he co-hosted with Al Michaels for 30 seasons. He is also the namesake of the popular Madden NFL video game series.

Madden was born and raised in Austin, Minnesota and attended the University of Oregon. He was then drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958. After playing for the Eagles for one year, he was drafted into the US Army in 1959, and served for two years. While in the Army, Madden became friends with Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, and the two embarked on a career as football coaches. Madden eventually landed coaching jobs with the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers.

The twelve-year span from 1975 to 1986 is considered by many as Madden’s Golden Age. He won Super Bowl XI in 1977, which marked the beginning of Oakland Raiders’ glory years, and led the team to the playoffs eight times thereafter, with a total record of 103–32–7. Madden was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

In 1979, Madden was chosen to be the announcer and analyst on Monday Night Football, replacing Howard Cosell after Cosell resigned. With Al Michaels, Madden provided color commentary, analysis, and pre-recorded segments for the show for 30 years, although he moved away from the booth in 2002 due to his health issues.

Today, Madden is retired and lives in the same Bay Area house he bought in 1976. He is still active in the sports community, giving his insights on games and players from time to time. He is also still the namesake of the Madden NFL video game series, which first launched in 1988, and has since become one of the most popular sports video game series in the world.