Sad it is though, when reality intrudes, like again this past weekend when at the very time the pro football world was celebrating the beginning of the season and honoring its heroes, one of the game’s icons came to the end of his journey in life.
Advertisement
When they Wednesday in 1986, it became Kathie Lee’s second and Frank’s third marriage, and they seemed to be unaware of the 23-year age difference.
While giving more details of Frank Gifford will RadarOnline report says, “While Kathie Lee is going to get the most from Frank’s will, which is roughly half of his fortune, the remaining money is going to be split equally between his children…Frank made sure to also include his grandchildren in the will because he wanted his entire family to be cared for after he is gone”. You were an unparalleled Giant in all sense of the word, Dad.
Gifford was one of the first American sports stars to shift into television sportscasting. Gifford was a Depression-era child although he has said he didn’t realize it at the time. Even after he’s died. I suppose it’s enough to know that Gifford had a long period of time erased from his memory thanks to what was apparently the father of all clotheslines.
Remember now, as if a reminder is needed, that Cosell, who worked alongside Gifford in the MNF booth until 1983, was bombastic and blunt on his best days, and belittling and belligerent for too many days in between. Thankfully, he wasn’t done yet. In 1977, he was inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame.
Gifford was face of the New York Giants franchise during its glory years of the 1950s and 1960s, bringing the team to five Eastern Conference titles and one NFL championship. He had his own radio show, which was unheard of at the time for an active player, and he developed a very photogenic “buttoned-down man about town” sort of image.
When the program returned from commercial, the camera settled on Smith warming up and then trotting onto the field to attempt his kick. Gifford reduced his role on “Monday Night Football” and retired from network broadcasting in 1998.
Again: smart, prepared and controlled.
“My dad tried to get me to quit playing football in high school”. But it’s not fair to compare him to a unique talent like Pat Summerall, his former teammate, or to smooth and polished communicators like Jack Buck and Vin Scully.
ABC executives learned of Lennon’s death during a “Monday Night Football” game between the Patriots and Dolphins. “My dad was out of work more than he was in work”, Gifford told CNN’s Larry King in 1993.
Advertisement
Years later, Gifford acknowledged he wondered in the moment whether announcing the news was the right thing to do.
