Frank Gifford, A Football Icon Dies

August 11, 2015

Frank Gifford passed away on August 9th at the age of 84. Frank Gifford is a football legend, Hall of Famer, acclaimed broadcaster, and family man. Football fans under thirty might not remember him as a broadcaster. I never saw him play but was around to hear him deliver his astute analysis to the ground-breaking Monday Night Football broadcasts. I read about his legendary career in my football books growing up.

Gifford grew up as the son of an oil driller and traveled and moved around the country to wherever his father could find work. He was born in Southern California and returned to attend high school and junior college in Bakersfield, then onto college at USC. He became an All-American at USC and was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants as a running back.

In 1952, his first year as a Giant, he played both offense and defense. He ended his career by playing thirteen seasons with the Giants, in which eight of them he made All-Pro. He also made five trips to the NFL Championship Game and was named MVP in the 1956 season.

Gifford’s career was almost ended in 1960 when he received a massive concussion from a helmet-to-helmet collision. This injury caused him to retire in 1961. He decided to come back in 1962 but switched to flanker to avoid the head-on type collisions. He called it a career after the 1964 season.

Gifford went into broadcasting for CBS but eventually was recruited to join the staff at ABC for Monday Night Football. Gifford spent the next twenty-six years on the broadcast team for the Monday night game. Gifford also announced other sports such as Olympic basketball, skiing, and golf. He even announced jumps made by daredevil Evel Knievel. Gifford won awards for his broadcast work by both the NFL and the Emmys.

Gifford leaves behind his famous wife Kathie Lee Gifford, his son Cody and his daughter Cassidy. He also had three children with his previous wife and a total of five grandchildren.

Frank Gifford played in the National Football League when there was little pampering and fewer amenities. The padding was insufficient, the training, the travel, the salaries and were all of lesser quality. Who knows how many concussions players endured, and there certainly weren't any arthroscopic surgery techniques. I can't believe that many players back then played both sides of the ball, which tight-fisted owners probably loved. Frank Gifford probably laughed at some of the shenanigans that modern players get away with. He also made more money away from football than the thirteen seasons he played.

Salute Frank Gifford!