Madden & Summerall: How They Revolutionized NFL Broadcasting (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781493091980)

Madden & Summerall tells the inside story of how two unlikely partners became the greatest broadcast duo in NFL history.

This is the story of how John Madden and Pat Summerall got to CBS and, although very different, how they became the greatest broadcast team of all time. It is told by Rich Podolsky, who worked alongside them both at CBS.

Separately, they were great. Together, they were the greatest ever. Madden & Summerall is about two stalwarts of the game, but their story is not without controversy. Summerall was a five-sport star who became a broadcaster by accident. Uncharacteristically, he was a morning drive-time radio host before he found his path on TV. Madden was a bigger-than-life Super Bowl-winning coach, and he easily could have been a stand-up comedian.

We all remember the great story-telling John Madden, who won sixteen Emmy Awards, but we don't remember how much he struggled his first two years on the air to find his way. In fact, he was almost fired after his first season. It wasn't until he was paired with Summerall that it all clicked. They were so different, yet so perfect together--like peanut butter meeting jelly for the first time.

The book follows the intimate stories of their lives from childhood to death: before and during their great twenty-one-year partnership. Never-before-told insider stories (some fun, some scathing) from friends, family members, and dozens of ex-colleagues pepper these chapters.

Summerall was the Voice of Autumn, the Voice of the NFL. Madden was America's nutty football professor--both goofy and brilliant. Together they were loved by millions, for twenty-one beautiful years. Of Madden and Summerall Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Michaels has written: "Pat and John provided the soundtrack on so many of the most memorable games of the 80's and 90's. Rich Podolsky takes us on a terrific trip down memory lane that brings to life what so many of us remember so vividly in our mind's eyes and ears."

Author: Rich Podolsky
ISBN-10: 1493091980
ISBN-13: 9781493091980
Publisher: Lyons Press
Language: English
Published: 09/16/2025
Pages: 248
Format: Hardcover

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 07/01/2025 pg. 60