Pat summerall and John Madden

Pat summerall and John Madden

According to John Madden: Pat Summerall is ‘the voice of football”.

Pat Summerall  passed away at the age of 82.  On that day it's only natural people want to hear from the man with whom Summerall always will be most associated.

"Pat was my broadcasting partner for a long time, but more than that, he was my friend for all of these years," Madden said in a statement. "We never had one argument, and that was because of Pat. He was a great broadcaster and a great man.

"He always had a joke. Pat never complained, and we never had an unhappy moment. He was something very special. Pat Summerall is the voice of football and always will be."

Pat Summerall was “one of the card-carrying good guys,” and his death is “a damn shock,” said John Madden, his longtime partner in the broadcast booth.

Summerall died in his room at Dallas' Zale Lipshy Hospital, where he was recovering from surgery for a broken hip.

“He was so solid and a good friend and a real pro,” Madden told The Times in a telephone interview. “He was always up, always had a joke. Was low-maintenance for everyone.”

"Pat was my broadcasting partner for a long time, but more than that he was my friend for all of these years," Madden said in a statement. "We never had one argument, and that was because of Pat. He was a great broadcaster and a great man.

"He always had a joke. Pat never complained and we never had an unhappy moment. He was something very special. Pat Summerall is the voice of football and always will be."

Madden said Summerall had an uncanny ability to work a game as either a play-by-play man or analyst without the use of notes. Summerall worked a record 16 Super Bowls in a broadcast career that stretched from 1962 to 2002.

“You know in TV some of these guys have all the numbers and stats and notes?” Madden said. “Pat would come to a broadcast with nothing. It was all in his head. He didn’t have anything. Could you see another play-by-play guy today doing that?

“He had that thing of, in one sentence he could say what would take others two or three paragraphs to say. He’d hit it right on the head. That was why he was so great to work with.”

Madden said that when he and Summerall were working together, they would typically spend three to four days together on the road, and they always got along.

“In all the time I worked with him, we never had one argument,” he said. “That was because of him. I’m not the easiest person to get along with, but he was.”

"Everywhere we went, it was riding with loyalty," Baldinger told Andrew Siciliano on NFL Network. "You'd be down in the booth, you'd be down on the field, and somebody from the upper echelons of pro football or media, some other iconic player, would come over and say hello to Pat and pass the wishes on to him and just say how happy they were that he was back, that he hadn't stopped."

In more than one of his best-selling books, Madden credited Summerall as the man who helped him develop as a football analyst. Madden was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach and announcer in the 2006 class.

“In all the time I worked with him, we never had one argument,” Madden told Farmer of Summerall. “That was because of him. I’m not the easiest person to get along with, but he was.”

My Opinion

RIP Pat Summerall, he is one of the best. Pat summerall and John Madden was amazing duo. Back in the early 90's NFC on CBS was at its best with both Summerall & Madden.

For me, Pat  Summerall was really the voice of football. He was incredible together with his partner.

Pat summerall and John Madden is a good friend and best buddy. It is sad that they are now parted ways in good terms.

I remember I always listen to Summerall at the US Open. If you want to start learning football Pat summerall and John Madden is perfect. But Pat is out of this world, Madden is the only person left. There’s nobody like Summerall.

Grew up watching with them is the best feeling. Pat has the unique voice. The greatest game was the one that got the Giants into the final. A heart stopping
eleventh hour win courtesy of Pat Summerall's 51 yard kick in a snowstorm that defeated
the Cleveland Browns.

Pat summerall and John Madden is a great sports personality and an all around great guy. They have great skilled on the fields.

Madden and Summerall were brilliant together. Seriously, they made football seem more important than it really is.

To me Pat summerall and John Madden is a legend in football, nothing beats them. I know Pat Summerall is the best partner John Madden have.