Broadcast Legend Pat Summerall Passes

Legendary sports broadcaster George Allen (Pat) Summerall died Tuesday at age 82.  

Summerall played professional football with the Chicago Cardinals and New York Giants as a kicker, where he earned the nickname “Pat”, for Point After Touchdown.

 

After his playing days, Summerall turned to the broadcast booth, where he excelled.  Broadcasting for CBS, he did play-by-play for the PGA TOUR, including the Masters, the US Open tennis tournament, and the NFL.  Summerall became most known for his coverage of the NFL with partner John Madden.  Madden released a statement Tuesday which said, “Pat Summerall is the voice of football and always will be.”

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell echoed those sentiments, “Pat Summerall was one of the best friends and greatest contributors that the NFL has known. He spent 50 years as part of our league, first as a player on the legendary New York Giants teams of the late ’50s and early ’60s and then as a Hall of Fame broadcaster for CBS and FOX. His majestic voice was treasured by millions of NFL fans for more than four decades. Pat always represented the essence of class and friendship. It is a sad day in the NFL. Our hearts go out to Pat’s wife Cheri and the entire Summerall family. Pat will always be an important part of NFL history.”