*Undated
Super Bowl-winning Hall of Fame coach and beloved former broadcaster John Madden - who went on to connect to a younger generation with his popular video game - has died at the age of 85.
National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed Madden's passing on Tuesday December 28th but did not provide any specific cause of death.
Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady also paid tribute, saying: "He was always so good to me. RIP to a legend of our game."
Even NBA great LeBron James chimed in: "Rest in Paradise To the goat John Madden!!!! Your legacy will continue to live on!!!!!"
Madden gained fame in a decade-long stint as the coach of the renegade Oakland Raiders, making it to seven AFC title games and winning the Super Bowl following the 1976 season. He compiled a 103-32-7 regular-season record, and his .759 winning percentage is the best among NFL coaches with more than 100 games.
But it was his work after prematurely retiring as coach at age 42 that made Madden truly a household name. Madden worked as a colour analyst for all four major networks: CBS (1979–1993), Fox (1994–2001), ABC (2002–2005), and NBC (2006–2008). He retired from broadcasting after the 2008 NFL season.
He educated a football nation with his use of the telestrator on broadcasts; entertained millions with his interjections of 'Boom!' and 'Doink!' throughout games; was an omnipresent pitchman selling restaurants, hardware stores and beer; became the face of 'Madden NFL Football,' one of the most successful sports video games of all-time; and was a best-selling author.
Most of all, he was the preeminent television sports analyst for most of his three decades, winning an unprecedented 16 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports analyst/personality, and covering 11 Super Bowls for four networks from 1979-2009. Madden then helped give Fox's credibility as a major network when he moved there in 1994, and went on to call prime-time games at ABC and NBC before retiring following Pittsburgh's thrilling 27-23 win over Arizona in the 2009 Super Bowl.
One of Madden's most successful sporting partnerships was with Pat Summerall, a former NFL player who from 1952-62 played with the Arkansas Razorbacks, Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
Summerall then went into commentating, and in 1981 he was teamed with Madden. The two hit it off, forming a pairing that would last for 22 seasons on two networks and became one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history. Summerall died in 2013, aged 82.
When he finally retired from the broadcast booth, leaving NBC's 'Sunday Night Football,' colleagues universally praised Madden's passion for the sport, his preparation, and his ability to explain an often-complicated game in down-to-earth terms.