The Risk
My Personal Memories of John Madden
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John Madden, who pa sed away Tuesday at the age of 85, was the only head coach of the Oakland Raiders when this reporter covered the Silver and Black for the Oakland Tribune from 1971-77, capped by Jeremy Chinn Jersey their 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. On my first day after receiving the Raiders a signment at the age of 24, the youngest NFL beat writer for a major daily newspaper at the time, I was nervous as I entered the locker room but wanted to make an immediate impre sion.So I approached the fiercest-looking Raider of the bunch, All-Pro Bob Brown, who was surprised and delighted to be asked for an interview because reporters were wary of him, and my first story was about the man known as Boomer.The next day, Madden approached me and said: Great job on the Bob Brown story. That took guts to do on your first day. Keep up the good work.That was easy to do covering those Raiders because Madden held court with sportswriters in his office after every afternoon practice, giving us plenty of material to work with. He was simply winding down from the day before dinner and evening meetings, but it was a great help for those of us covering the Raiders.In addition, Madden would get up out of A.J. Bouye Jersey his first-cla s seat on plane rides home from road games and ask reporters if they needed any more information. That was great for me because since I wrote for an afternoon newspaper, I wrote game stories on my portable typewriter during those flights home. probably was trying to relax because he famously was not comfortable in planes. That stemmed at least in part from a 1960 plane crash that killed 16 members of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team and two others, some his friends, as they returned from a game.Madden played offensive tackle at Cal Poly in 1957 and 1958 and afterward was an a sistant coach at nearby Allan Hancock College, where he landed his first head coaching position in 1962.I didnt like getting on planes before that, Madden said of the plane crash. I got claustrophobic, and it got worse over the years.After being the head coach of the Raiders for 10 seasons, Madden retired after the 1978 season because of an ulcer and what was described as occupational burnout.Madden didnt just go away, he became perhaps the best pro football analyst in the busine s while working for CBS, FOX, ABC, and NBC, all of the major networks, but that meant he had to fly to and from games more than ever before.After a game in Tampa on Thanksgiving week in 1979, Madden had a panic attack on a plane headed for San Francisco when the flight attendant closed the door.I could do one of two things, Madden said of the incident in 2000. I Marquis Haynes Jersey could make a jerk out of myself and jump up and run, because I knew they couldnt stop me. Theres no way, if I wanted to get off, in that state, that they could stop me. If I committed myself to getting off, I was going to get off.So he stayed, but when the plane made a scheduled stop in Houston, Madden got off and took the train home, never getting onto an airplane for the rest of his life.Scroll to ContinueInstead, Madden first took the train to games, and later came the Madden Cruiser, a luxury bus that Madden and his crew took around the country to games they covered. The bus was given to him by Greyhound bus lines as part of a 1987 endorsement deal that covered all expenses for the bus, including a personal driver.Madden became even more famous after his coaching career when he did daily call-in appearances for KYA, KNBR, and KSFO radio stations in San Francisco, created Madden NFL video games, selected the annual Shi Smith Jersey All-Madden team, and began appearing in many TV commercialsmost notably for Miller Lite beer.One thing was mi sing, and that was Maddens selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he certainly deserved it by reaching 100 victories faster than any head coach in NFL history, compiling a 103-32-7 record in 10 seasons plus 9-7 in the post-season, coaching in seven conference championship games and winning Super Bowl XI.There was talk about inducting Madden as an NFL contributor, but he was having none of it.Im a football coach and thats all Ive ever considered myself, Madden said defiantly. If I am fortunate enough to make the Hall of Fame, it will be as a coach.Madden was inducted into the HOF in Canton, Ohio, as a coach in 2006, and Raiders owner Al Davis said in presenting him: He loved the game. He loved his team. He loved the Raiders. He loved this league. He loved the AFL and the NFL, and especially his players.Among the players, Madden coached were a number of fellow Hall of Famers, including guard Gene Upshaw, quarterback Kenny Stabler, tackle Art Shell, cornerback Willie Brown, wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, tight end Dave Casper, linebacker Ted Hendricks, kicker-quarterback George Blanda, punter Ray Guy and tackle Bob Brown. Wide receiver Cliff Branch is expected to join that list this year. The players nickname for Madden was Pinky, because of the color his face turned whenever he yelled at officials on the field, but they never said it to his face.The Raiders had so much respect for Madden, a players coach if there ever was one.My last conversations with Madden were at Raiders games a few years ago at the Oakland Coliseum before the team moved to Las Vegas two years ago. In addition, I saw him a few times at Thanksgiving and Christmas because his son, Joe, and his family lived next door to my niece, Jenny, and her family. I would walk over there and we would talk about the good, old times.John Madden was my coach, too, the only one I had while covering the Raiders. Want to talk about this? Want to air your opinion about all things Las Vegas Raiders? Maybe you like Sam Darnold T Shirts to talk about other sports that aren't Silver and Black related? We got your back. Make sure you like our
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