RIP Pat Summerall

I'm a huge Jack Buck fan, but his last two years on the radio were pretty brutal. There's no way KMOX every would have replaced him, though. Fans, and maybe the Cardinals themselves, would have pitched a fit.

 

RIP.

Summerall and Al Michaels were similar is that they both knew when to step back and let Madden do his stuff. Recall, too, that Madden was also paired with Vin Scully for a while.

 

Wrong "Whizzer."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilford_%22Whizzer%22_White

 

There's so much history with Pat Summerall. This 2006 interview with him on his book is a great overview of his life:

http://www.cyinterview.com/2013/04/cyinterview-mourns-the-loss-of-sports-legend-pat-summerall-read-and-listen-to-his-2006-conversation-with-us-learn-about-his-life-on-the-nfl-gridiron-and-in-the-sports-broadcasting-booth/

His book is a must real for any true sports historian.

 

Nice guy in person as well....back in the day when I was in the biz. He had just been let go by Fox the previous year. He was alone, watching the game from the press portion of the box as a special guest, just down from me. It was about 1 1/2 hours before kickoff. Not a whole lot of attention was given him. I told him games on Sunday hadn't been the same since he left. He thanked me and said "I wish Sundays were a little different too, and I'm not sure I like the way they are heading now."

 

It hasn't really been mentioned here yet, but he also played for the Cardinals and Giants, and made one of the biggest kicks in NFL history against the Browns in '58. Without that kick (which was supposedly 49 yards, but the yardmarkers weren't very clear because of snow and mud) , there wouldn't have been a Greatest Game Ever Played. Or if it was, it would have been Browns/Colts.

 

I don't watch much golf. Sue me.

 

What always impessed me about Summerall was his lack of visible on-air ego. He was always willing to stay quiet and let Madden do his thing. Not many announcers have the ability to subliminate themselves.

 

I knew he was in poor health. Still, a sad day for broadcasting.

CBS/Augusta actually used his voiced intro a year or two ago for their open.

The stories I heard about him and Brookshier during the Sun Bowls they did together......all the times they would cross the border to Juarez.....get shit-hammered drunk then back to El Paso the morning of the game......legendary.

RIP Sir.

 

For the entire '77 Sun Bowl when Stanford beat LSU, Burt Freaking Reynolds joined Brookshier and Summerall in the booth. Wish I was old enough to have have seen it live. I wonder if he joined them in Juarez??

I remember the summer of '04, Summerall briefly came out of retirement to call preseason NFL games for ESPN. This was during the depths of ESPN's existence under Mark Shapiro, the genius who brought you Brian Dennehy as Bob Knight and Access Hollywood-esque shows hosted by Mario Lopez. They did however manage a cool promotion - "SportsCenter Old School" -- where Gail Gardner, Greg Gumbel and a few other old friends came back and co-hosted the show. Summerall, obviously slipping a bit but still carrying the load while Theismann and Maguire filled the airwaves with hot air, plugged the upcoming promotion.

"Stay tuned for SportsCenter Old SCHOOL," he said, emphasizing the SCHOOL. Priceless.

 

I like how he let moments speak for themselves. I remember his final Super Bowl, Pats-Rams, and his simple call at the end, without raising his voice: "And it's right down the pipes," as the ball left Vinatieri's foot.