Dodgers: Vin Scully Shares Kind Words for Friend John Madden
Today is the first NFL Sunday since football legend John Madden passed away. The former player, Hall of Fame coach, and long-time broadcaster passed away at the age of 85 last Tuesday. It was then that another Hall of Famer, former Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully shared some thoughts on his friend and peer.
I was saddened to hear about the passing of John Madden, at age 85. One the all-time greats, he showed me the ropes during our brief football partnership. He was always kind and delightful. He can now join his former partner, Pat Summerall, in calling Super Bowls in heaven.
— Vin Scully (@TheVinScully) December 29, 2021
I was saddened to hear about the passing of John Madden, at age 85. One the all-time greats, he showed me the ropes during our brief football partnership. He was always kind and delightful. He can now join his former partner, Pat Summerall, in calling Super Bowls in heaven.
Over his illustrious career, Scully also called football games alongside Madden. Vin added more to his thoughts on Madden on NFL Network this week.
“There was no sense in my mind that I was competing with John,” the 94-year-old said of his time in the booth with Madden. “You could say I was just holding on for dear life and loving every minute.”
Madden won 112 games (regular season and playoffs) as the head coach of the Raiders from 1969-1978. Oakland finished in first place in 7 of his 10 seasons there, winning Super Bowl XI in 1976.
Vinny will ALWAYS be the epitome of class, intelligence and sympathy. Leave it to Vinny to express heartfelt sentiments so eloquently. I continue to feel blessed being able to lean on his words, thoughts in times like these. Loss of this type is hard to accept, Vinny makes it much easier to keep moving forward.
We all felt the same hammer blow to the stomach in 2021 with the terrible loss of Tommy. As a Raider fan also, this was the exact equivalent. John Madden was just as large a personality as Tommy, also just as influential and successful.
Both were championship-level leaders and both will be tremendously missed forever.
RIP coach.
Leave it to Vinny to show the utmost class, while speaking of the life of another legend! I met Vin Scully, while sitting in the sports bar Brooklyn, in 1994, soon after moving from California to Colorado! He treated me and my friends with the absolute kindness, you hear and feel while listening to him on the radio!