(RNN) – Pat Summerall, the sports broadcaster with a distinct voice and distinct style who for years had a famous on-air pairing with John Madden, has died, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Summerall, who lived in Texas, was 82 years old.
Summerall retired from sports broadcasting in 2002, also the year he worked the last of 16 Super Bowls.
He was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1999.
Prior to his broadcasting career, Summerall played 10 years in the NFL as a placekicker for the Lions, Cardinals and Giants. He was a 1953 graduate of the University of Arkansas, where he also played defensive end and tight end.
He began working with CBS as a color analyst for football games in 1962, as most former players do. However, he shifted to a play-by-play role in 1974 and teamed with Tom Brookshier to form a popular duo that also provided the voices for three Super Bowls.
But it was with Madden that Summerall really struck a chord with audiences, providing one of the most entertaining and balanced duos in sports broadcasting history.
Summerall’s mellow voice and steady demeanor well complemented Madden’s enthusiastic and off-beat description of the action on the field.
The two broadcast a game together for CBS for the first time in 1979 and became permanent partners two years later. They remained together after moving to FOX in 1994, and their partnership lasted through the 2001 season.
Together, Madden and Summerall called eight Super Bowls. They are regarded among the best, if not the best, broadcast duos in sports history.
George Allen Summerall was born May 10, 1930 in Lake City, FL. He was a multi-sport standout and later became a member of the state athletic association’s hall of fame.
Summerall leaves behind his wife, Cheri. He also had three children – Susan, Jay and Kyle – with his first wife, Kathy, who died of cancer in 2005. The couple divorced 10 years earlier.
SOURCE: 19ActionNews.com
Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News
Picture Courtesy of Riley’s Autographs/Wikimedia and WOIO 19 Action News
