“He was the face of our franchise for so many years”, John Mara said in a statement today. “We loved him and will miss tim terribly”.
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Although his football career was impressive, Gifford’s work off the field was just as notable. My father loved him like a son.
“Not my greatest game”, he told the Associated Press in 2008. I’ll forever remember Frank as a man that no matter what was going on around him, he was always the coolest guy in the room. “They somehow or other kept this family together”. Gifford would have been 85 next week, the same birthday as his wife.
It came to be known as “the greatest game ever played” and sports historians say its dramatic finish and national TV coverage set football on a path to become the most popular sport in the United States and a multibillion-dollar industry. Growing up in Depression-era California, Gifford estimated he moved 47 times before entering high school, occasionally sleeping in parks or the family vehicle and eating dog food. In 1956 he led his team to a championship.
A brutal hit from the late Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik in a 1960 game knocked Gifford out of football for 18 months.
“In the 1950s, a decade before the origin of the Boston Patriots, New England football fans predominantly rooted for the New York Giants“. He spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the New York Giants, playing both offense and defense. Following retirement, began a long career in sports television, first with CBS and then with ABC.
After retiring as a player, Gifford remained in the spotlight and continued to advance the NFL’s popularity as a member of the Monday Night Football booth for more than a quarter-century.
In a Twitter post, she said: “Deeply grateful to all 4 ur outpouring of grace”.
He was previously married to Maxine Ewart, with whom he has children Jeffrey, Kyle and Victoria. It was his second marriage. He was filling in for David Hartman on “Good Morning America” when the two crossed paths around 5:30 in the morning while he was getting ready. “I’m in awe of her even today”.
It’s not clear when Kathie Lee will return to her on-air duties. “I’m in tears”, she tweeted minutes after it aired. “But that’s her”.
“Frank is my husband, my confidant, lover, therapist, parenting partner and best friend”.
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But before that, Gifford belonged to New York and to the Giants in a way that mattered viscerally. Gifford was the husband of “Today” anchor Kathie Lee Gifford.
