Pat Summerall
Encyclopedia
George Allen "Pat" Summerall (born May 10, 1930) is a former American football
player and television
sportscaster
, having worked at CBS
, Fox
, and ESPN
.
Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden
on NFL
telecasts for CBS and Fox.
in Lake City, Florida
, Summerall played football
, tennis
, baseball
, and basketball
. Although basketball was his favorite sport, he was recognized as an All-State selection in basketball and football. He was inducted into the FHSAA hall of fame and was later named to the FHSAA's All-Century Team.
from 1949 to 1951 at the University of Arkansas
, where he played defensive end
, tight end
, and placekicker
positions. He graduated from UA in 1953.
, primarily as a placekicker. The Detroit Lions
drafted Summerall as a fourth-round draft choice in the 1952 NFL Draft
. Summerall played the pre-season with the Lions before breaking his arm, which ended the year for him. After that season, he was traded and went on to play for the Chicago Cardinals
from 1953
to 1957
and the New York Giants
from 1958
to 1961
, during which he was a part of The Greatest Game Ever Played
. His best professional year statistically was 1959
, when Summerall scored 90 points on 30-for-30 (100%) extra-point kicking and 20-for-29 (69%) field goal kicking.
Summerall's most memorable professional moment may well have been at the very end of the Sunday, December 14, 1958
regular season finale between his Giants and the Cleveland Browns
at Yankee Stadium. Going into the game, the Browns were in first place in the Eastern Conference, holding a one-game lead over the second-place Giants. In that era, there was no overtime during regular season games, standings ties were broken by a playoff, and there were no wild-card teams. This meant that only the Eastern Conference champion would qualify for the NFL Championship Game to be held two weeks later, and it meant that the Giants had to win just to force a tiebreaker playoff game. The Browns, on the other hand, needed only a tie to clinch the Eastern championship. As time was running out, the Giants and Browns were tied, 10-10, a situation that, as indicated, favored the Browns. The Giants got barely into Cleveland territory, and then sent out Summerall to try for a tiebreaking 49-yard field goal. To add to the drama, there were swirling winds and snow. Summerall, a straight-ahead kicker, made the field goal with just two minutes to play, keeping the Giants alive for another week (they defeated Cleveland a week later, 10-0, in the Eastern Conference tiebreaker playoff before losing the sudden-death playoff to Baltimore the week after that). Giants' offensive coach Vince Lombardi
was against sending Summerall in (Summerall had missed 31 yard attempt a few minutes earlier), and then gleefully greeted Summerall as he came off the field 'You son of a bitch, you can't kick it that far! Sports Illustrated
ran the story as one of its primary articles the next week, with a leading photograph showing the football heading between the uprights through the snow.
Summerall's last professional game was the December 31, 1961 NFL Championship Game held at Lambeau Field
in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers
defeated Summerall's Giants, 37-0, holding New York to just six first downs. Summerall was not a factor in that game.
. He started in 1962
working part-time on New York Giants' broadcasts. In 1964
, CBS hired Summerall full-time to work its NFL telecasts
, initially as a color commentator
and then (beginning midway through the 1974
season) as a play-by-play announcer. Summerall also covered other events such as ABA
basketball for the network, and through 1966 hosted a morning drive-time music/talk program for WCBS-AM radio in New York. In 1969, Summerall took part in NBC
's coverage of Super Bowl III
. He also co-hosted the syndicated NFL Films
series This Week in Pro Football in the late 1960s and early '70s.
During the 1970s, Summerall usually worked with Tom Brookshier
as his broadcasting partner for NFL (mostly NFC
) games on CBS, and the colorful Summerall-Brookshier duo worked three Super Bowls (X
, XII
, and XIV
) together. Summerall, Brookshier, NFL on CBS
producer Bob Wussler and Miami Dolphins
owner Joe Robbie
appeared as themselves during the 1977 film Black Sunday
, which was filmed on location at the Orange Bowl in Miami
during Super Bowl X
.
In 1981
, Summerall was teamed with former Oakland Raiders
coach John Madden
, a pairing that would last for 22 seasons on two networks and become one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history. Summerall and Madden were first teamed on a 1979
broadcast of a Minnesota Vikings
–Tampa Bay Buccaneers
game. It is often mistakenly assumed that Summerall and Madden handled the call on CBS-TV for the 1981 NFC Championship Game, when San Francisco 49ers
wide receiver Dwight Clark
made "The Catch" to lift the 49ers to a 28–27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys
and a berth in Super Bowl XVI
. Summerall instead handled the call of the game on CBS Radio
with Jack Buck
, while Vin Scully
and Hank Stram
called the game on television. Meanwhile, John Madden was off to Detroit to prepare for his Super Bowl telecast with Summerall. Hank Stram returned to his normal position as the color analyst on CBS Radio alongside Buck for the Super Bowl, while Summerall and Madden teamed for the first of eight Super Bowls together.
Summerall's stature as the premier TV voice in pro football was a result of two things: first, his ability to play the "straight man" alongside John Madden's lively, verbose persona; second, his economical delivery that magnified the drama of a moment while allowing the pictures and his baritone-like voice to tell the story. His style was closely modeled on that of his predecessor as CBS' main NFL announcer, Ray Scott
, also known for his minimalist style. One of Summerall's most memorable on-air calls was his account of Marcus Allen
's electrifying touchdown run in Super Bowl XVIII
. The transcript is surprisingly sparse: "Touchdown, 75 yards!" That the quote is memorable is testament to the weight of Summerall's voice when he was at the height of his powers as an NFL broadcaster. This was a hallmark of his broadcasting career as simple calls like "Montana......Rice.... Touchdown!" (describing a Joe Montana to Jerry Rice
touchdown pass) to describe a big play were frequently used.
Summerall also broadcast professional golf
and tennis
(including the Masters
and US Open) during his tenure at CBS, and was the play-by-play announcer for the 1974 NBA Finals
, CBS' first season broadcasting the NBA.
Summerall's last on-air assignment for CBS Sports was the 1994 Masters
.
, the Fox network
surprised NFL fans by outbidding CBS for the NFC broadcast package. One of the network's first moves was to hire Summerall and Madden as its lead announcing team. The two men thus continued their on-air partnership through the 2001 season
.
Summerall and Madden's last game together was Super Bowl XXXVI
. After that game, Summerall announced his retirement and Madden was signed by ABC
for that network's Monday Night Football
telecasts.
, working with Brian Baldinger
on regional telecasts (primarily featuring the Dallas Cowboys
, since Summerall was a Dallas
resident) before retiring again after one year.
In 2006
, he returned to the broadcast booth with Baldinger. In Week 8 (October 29) of that year, he called a game between the eventual NFC champion Chicago Bears
and the San Francisco 49ers
.
Summerall provided the play-by-play for the December 9, 2007
game between the Cincinnati Bengals
and St. Louis Rams
in Cincinnati
.
From 2007 until 2010, Summerall appeared as the play-by-play voice of the network's coverage of the Cotton Bowl Classic game between Auburn
and Nebraska
. Summerall teamed with Brian Baldinger
on the 2007-09 Cotton Bowl Classic telecasts, and worked with Daryl Johnston
on the 2010 game between Ole Miss and Oklahoma State
.
In 2011, Summerall appeared on the pre-game coverage of the Cotton Bowl.
network in 2004
, substituting for regular announcer Mike Patrick
while the latter recovered from heart surgery.
s on network television with CBS and FOX, more than any other announcer. He also contributed to 10 Super Bowl broadcasts on CBS Radio as a pregame host or analyst.
named Summerall National Sportscaster of the Year in 1977, and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1994.
Summerall was the 1994 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
, bestowed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame
"for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football".
In 1999 he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.
Since 2006 the "Pat Summerall Award" has been presented at the annual Legends for Charity Luncheon given on Super Bowl weekend at the NFL's headquarters hotel in the host city. The award is given "to a deserving recipient who through their career has demonstrated the character, integrity and leadership both on and off the job that the name Pat Summerall represents." Recipients have included James Brown (2006), Greg Gumbel
(2007), Jim Nantz
(2008), Chris Berman (2009), Cris Collinsworth
(2010), and the entire NFL on Fox
crew (2011).
, Summerall was hospitalized after vomiting on a plane during a flight after a Bears
–Redskins
game, and was out for a considerable amount of time. While Verne Lundquist
replaced Summerall on games with Madden, Jack Buck
(who was at CBS
during the time as the network's lead Major League Baseball announcer) was added as a regular NFL broadcaster to fill-in.
In the spring of 2004, Summerall, a recovering alcoholic who had been sober for many years, underwent a liver
transplant
.
In 2006, Pat Summerall underwent cataract surgery, and had an intraocular lens
implanted.
In January 2008, Summerall had a hip replacement
surgery. On June 19, he was hospitalized for internal bleeding
caused by a new medicine he was taking.
sponsorship credits for CBS' Masters telecasts, and currently provides voiceovers for game coverage on NFL Network
. He has also provided game commentary for the Golden Tee Golf video game series.
For many years Summerall has been a commercial spokesperson for True Value
. Ironically, his long-time broadcast partner Madden was the spokesperson for Ace Hardware
, True Value's main competitor in the independent hardware store market. Summerall has served as the longtime radio spokesman for Dux Beds, a Swedish mattress maker, and their Duxiana stores.
Summerall was also associated with a production company in Dallas, Texas
, from about the year 1998 to 2005. It was called Pat Summerall Productions. He was featured and hosted different production shows such as, Summerall Success Stories and Champions of Industry. These qualified production segments would air on the Fox News Channel
and later, CNN Headline News
. During the mid-1990s, Summerall hosted the "Summerall-Aikman" Cowboys
report with quarterback Troy Aikman
. Currently, Summerall serves as the host of Sports Stars of Tomorrow
and Future Phenoms
, two nationally syndicated high school sports shows based out of Fort Worth, Texas
.
Summerall was name-checked on The Simpsons
in the 2007 episode "Springfield Up
", where his caricature and name appear on the cover of a book held by Homer
entitled "Smut Yuks." Summerall and then-partner Madden also appeared in (and lent their voices to) the 1999 Simpsons episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
", which premiered following the duo's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIII
on FOX.
Summerall also provided commentary, alongside Madden, on Cartoon Network
's annual Super Bowl parodies, The Big Game, from 1998 through 2001.
Summerall appeared in the music video for Forever the Sickest Kids
' 2010 single "She Likes (Bittersweet Love)".
Summerall also recently preached a sermon at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas. He also has been a featured speaker at the Men's Gridiron Conference in Tuscaloosa, AL, where he related his giving his life to Christ during his stay at the Betty Ford clinic during his recovery from alcoholism.
Summerall makes his home in Southlake, Texas, where he has lived for 14 years.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, having worked at CBS
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
, Fox
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
, and ESPN
ESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
.
Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...
on NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
telecasts for CBS and Fox.
High school
At Columbia High SchoolColumbia High School (Lake City, Florida)
Columbia High School is a four-year public high school located in Lake City, Florida. The school's mascot is the Fighting Tigers and the colors are purple and gold...
in Lake City, Florida
Lake City, Florida
Lake City is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, in the United States. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 12,614. In addition, it is the Principal City of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is composed of Columbia County, and had an...
, Summerall played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Although basketball was his favorite sport, he was recognized as an All-State selection in basketball and football. He was inducted into the FHSAA hall of fame and was later named to the FHSAA's All-Century Team.
College
Summerall played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
from 1949 to 1951 at the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
, where he played defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
, tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
, and placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
positions. He graduated from UA in 1953.
Professional
Summerall spent ten years as a professional football player in the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, primarily as a placekicker. The Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
drafted Summerall as a fourth-round draft choice in the 1952 NFL Draft
1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952. Picks made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:...
. Summerall played the pre-season with the Lions before breaking his arm, which ended the year for him. After that season, he was traded and went on to play for the Chicago Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1953
1953 Chicago Cardinals season
The 1953 Chicago Cardinals season was the 34th season the team was in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 4-8, winning only one game, the final game of the season. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:...
to 1957
1957 Chicago Cardinals season
The 1957 Chicago Cardinals season was the 38th season the team was in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 7-5, winning only three games. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.-Schedule:...
and the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1958
1958 New York Giants season
The 1958 New York Giants season was the 34th season for the club in the National Football League.-Transactions:*The Giants obtained Lindon Crow and Pat Summerall from the Chicago Cardinals in exchange for Dick Nolan, Bobby Joe Conrad, and the Giants first round pick.*The Giants acquired Carl...
to 1961
1961 New York Giants season
The 1961 New York Giants season was the 37th season for the club in the National Football League. After relinquishing the NFL East title the previous season, the Giants reclaimed the title with a 10–3–1 record, only to lose to the Vince Lombardi-coached Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship...
, during which he was a part of The Greatest Game Ever Played
NFL Championship Game, 1958
The 1958 National Football League Championship Game was played on December 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first ever National Football League playoff game to go into sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17. The game has since...
. His best professional year statistically was 1959
1959 New York Giants season
The 1959 New York Giants season was the 35th season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants' defense became the second defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest rushing yards, fewest passing yards and fewest total yards. The 1959 Giants scored 284 points...
, when Summerall scored 90 points on 30-for-30 (100%) extra-point kicking and 20-for-29 (69%) field goal kicking.
Summerall's most memorable professional moment may well have been at the very end of the Sunday, December 14, 1958
1958 NFL season
The 1958 NFL season was the 39th regular season of the National Football League.The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23–17, in the first sudden-death overtime in an NFL Championship Game...
regular season finale between his Giants and the Cleveland Browns
1958 Cleveland Browns season
The 1958 Cleveland Browns season was the team's ninth season with the National Football League.-Exhibition Schedule:-Regular Season Schedule:*Tommy O’Connell was the first MVP to be cut from a team before the start of the following season.-Playoffs:...
at Yankee Stadium. Going into the game, the Browns were in first place in the Eastern Conference, holding a one-game lead over the second-place Giants. In that era, there was no overtime during regular season games, standings ties were broken by a playoff, and there were no wild-card teams. This meant that only the Eastern Conference champion would qualify for the NFL Championship Game to be held two weeks later, and it meant that the Giants had to win just to force a tiebreaker playoff game. The Browns, on the other hand, needed only a tie to clinch the Eastern championship. As time was running out, the Giants and Browns were tied, 10-10, a situation that, as indicated, favored the Browns. The Giants got barely into Cleveland territory, and then sent out Summerall to try for a tiebreaking 49-yard field goal. To add to the drama, there were swirling winds and snow. Summerall, a straight-ahead kicker, made the field goal with just two minutes to play, keeping the Giants alive for another week (they defeated Cleveland a week later, 10-0, in the Eastern Conference tiebreaker playoff before losing the sudden-death playoff to Baltimore the week after that). Giants' offensive coach Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
was against sending Summerall in (Summerall had missed 31 yard attempt a few minutes earlier), and then gleefully greeted Summerall as he came off the field 'You son of a bitch, you can't kick it that far! Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
ran the story as one of its primary articles the next week, with a leading photograph showing the football heading between the uprights through the snow.
Summerall's last professional game was the December 31, 1961 NFL Championship Game held at Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers
1961 Green Bay Packers season
-Regular season:Despite being named NFL MVP, Paul Hornung was briefly lost to the military. In response to the construction of the Berlin Wall, the United States Department of Defense activated thousands of reservists. Two dozen football players were activated, including Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler...
defeated Summerall's Giants, 37-0, holding New York to just six first downs. Summerall was not a factor in that game.
CBS Sports
After retiring from football, Summerall became a broadcaster for CBS SportsCBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
. He started in 1962
1962 NFL season
The 1962 NFL season was the 43rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, CBS signed a contract with the league to televise all regular-season games for a $4.65 million annual fee....
working part-time on New York Giants' broadcasts. In 1964
1964 NFL season
The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...
, CBS hired Summerall full-time to work its NFL telecasts
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
, initially as a color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
and then (beginning midway through the 1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
season) as a play-by-play announcer. Summerall also covered other events such as ABA
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...
basketball for the network, and through 1966 hosted a morning drive-time music/talk program for WCBS-AM radio in New York. In 1969, Summerall took part in NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
's coverage of Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
. He also co-hosted the syndicated NFL Films
NFL Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
series This Week in Pro Football in the late 1960s and early '70s.
During the 1970s, Summerall usually worked with Tom Brookshier
Tom Brookshier
Thomas Jefferson "Tom" Brookshier was an American professional football player, coach and sportscaster. He was a starting defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons from 1953 to 1961...
as his broadcasting partner for NFL (mostly NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
) games on CBS, and the colorful Summerall-Brookshier duo worked three Super Bowls (X
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
, XII
Super Bowl XII
Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1977 regular season...
, and XIV
Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...
) together. Summerall, Brookshier, NFL on CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
producer Bob Wussler and Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
owner Joe Robbie
Joseph Robbie
Joseph "Joe" Robbie was an American lawyer and entrepreneur of Lebanese descent.Robbie was the original owner of the NFL football team, the Miami Dolphins . Coached by Don Shula, Robbie's Dolphins achieved a perfect season in 1972 and two consecutive Super Bowl wins...
appeared as themselves during the 1977 film Black Sunday
Black Sunday (1977 film)
Black Sunday is a 1977 American thriller film directed by John Frankenheimer and based on the novel by Thomas Harris. The film starred Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, and Marthe Keller and was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture in 1978...
, which was filmed on location at the Orange Bowl in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
during Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
.
In 1981
1981 NFL season
The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
, Summerall was teamed with former Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
coach John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...
, a pairing that would last for 22 seasons on two networks and become one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history. Summerall and Madden were first teamed on a 1979
1979 NFL season
The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams...
broadcast of a Minnesota Vikings
1979 Minnesota Vikings season
1979 was the 19th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of seven wins and nine losses.-Schedule:-Standings:-Roster:-References:...
–Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season saw the team make a dramatic leap from being a winless expansion franchise, perceived as mistake-prone and ridiculed by the rest of the league, to becoming a serious contender for the National Football League championship...
game. It is often mistakenly assumed that Summerall and Madden handled the call on CBS-TV for the 1981 NFC Championship Game, when San Francisco 49ers
1981 San Francisco 49ers season
The San Francisco 49ers 1981 season was their 32nd season in the National Football League. The season was highlighted by their first Super Bowl victory. A big turning point for the franchise was the drafting of Ronnie Lott from the University of Southern California. Quarterback Joe Montana began...
wide receiver Dwight Clark
Dwight Clark
Dwight Edward Clark is a former American Pro Bowl wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 to 1987...
made "The Catch" to lift the 49ers to a 28–27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys
1981 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1981 Dallas Cowboys season was their 22nd in the league. The team matched their previous output of 12–4. They lost the Conference Championship game for the second straight season....
and a berth in Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI
Super Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...
. Summerall instead handled the call of the game on CBS Radio
NFL on Westwood One
The NFL on Westwood One is the brand name given to weekly National Football League games carried on the radio over the Dial Global Radio Network...
with Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
, while Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
and Hank Stram
Hank Stram
Henry Louis "Hank" Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League's Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs of the NFL. Stram won three AFL Championships and Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs...
called the game on television. Meanwhile, John Madden was off to Detroit to prepare for his Super Bowl telecast with Summerall. Hank Stram returned to his normal position as the color analyst on CBS Radio alongside Buck for the Super Bowl, while Summerall and Madden teamed for the first of eight Super Bowls together.
Summerall's stature as the premier TV voice in pro football was a result of two things: first, his ability to play the "straight man" alongside John Madden's lively, verbose persona; second, his economical delivery that magnified the drama of a moment while allowing the pictures and his baritone-like voice to tell the story. His style was closely modeled on that of his predecessor as CBS' main NFL announcer, Ray Scott
Ray Scott (sportscaster)
Ray Scott , was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcasts for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. His brother Hal Scott was also a sportscaster.-Early life and career:Scott began his broadcasting career on local radio in the late 1930s...
, also known for his minimalist style. One of Summerall's most memorable on-air calls was his account of Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen
Marcus LeMarr Allen is a former American football player and, until recently, was affiliated with CBS as a game analyst. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,412 yards during his career for both the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1982 to 1997...
's electrifying touchdown run in Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, deciding the National Football League champion following the 1983 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Los Angeles Raiders defeated the National Football Conference...
. The transcript is surprisingly sparse: "Touchdown, 75 yards!" That the quote is memorable is testament to the weight of Summerall's voice when he was at the height of his powers as an NFL broadcaster. This was a hallmark of his broadcasting career as simple calls like "Montana......Rice.... Touchdown!" (describing a Joe Montana to Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
touchdown pass) to describe a big play were frequently used.
Summerall also broadcast professional golf
PGA Tour on CBS
PGA Tour on CBS is a television program produced by CBS Sports that broadcasts the main professional golf tours in the United States.-Coverage overview:In January 2006, the PGA Tour announced a new set of television deals covering 2007 to 2012...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
(including the Masters
The Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters , is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year...
and US Open) during his tenure at CBS, and was the play-by-play announcer for the 1974 NBA Finals
1974 NBA Finals
-Series Summary:Celtics win series 4-3-Game 1:Before the series started, Bucks point guard Lucius Allen would be lost for the series with a knee injury. In Game 1, the Celtics took advantage, harassing a 35-year old Oscar Robertson and Allen's replacement, Ron Williams, into frequent turnovers...
, CBS' first season broadcasting the NBA.
Summerall's last on-air assignment for CBS Sports was the 1994 Masters
1994 Masters Tournament
The 1994 Masters Tournament was the 58th Masters Tournament held from April 7-10 at Augusta National Golf Club. José María Olazábal won his first major championship by two strokes over Tom Lehman.-Final leaderboard:-External links:*...
.
The NFL on Fox
In 19941994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
, the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
surprised NFL fans by outbidding CBS for the NFC broadcast package. One of the network's first moves was to hire Summerall and Madden as its lead announcing team. The two men thus continued their on-air partnership through the 2001 season
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
.
Summerall and Madden's last game together was Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
. After that game, Summerall announced his retirement and Madden was signed by ABC
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
for that network's Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
telecasts.
Fox Sports
Summerall was lured out of retirement and re-signed with Fox for the 2002 season2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
, working with Brian Baldinger
Brian Baldinger
Brian David "The Facemask Fingerer" Baldinger is a former professional American football player and former color commentator for National Football League telecasts on the Fox network. He also covers Atlanta Falcons preseason games as an analyst on WXIA-TV with Randy Waters...
on regional telecasts (primarily featuring the Dallas Cowboys
2002 Dallas Cowboys season
-Offseason:Despite an off-season filled with promise, the season would again prove to be a disaster. Former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator and head coach Bruce Coslet was brought in to run the offense for Dallas. Even though he was dismissed by Cincinnati, his history of high-powered...
, since Summerall was a Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
resident) before retiring again after one year.
In 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
, he returned to the broadcast booth with Baldinger. In Week 8 (October 29) of that year, he called a game between the eventual NFC champion Chicago Bears
2006 Chicago Bears season
The 2006 Chicago Bears season was their 87th regular season and 25th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 13-3 regular season record, the best in the NFC, improving on their previous year’s record of 11-5...
and the San Francisco 49ers
2006 San Francisco 49ers season
The 2006 San Francisco 49ers season began with the team trying to improve on their 4-12 record in 2005. Despite having improved from their previous two disastrous seasons and were in the top 10 best offense in the league in 2006 ,they missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year, continuing...
.
Summerall provided the play-by-play for the December 9, 2007
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
game between the Cincinnati Bengals
2007 Cincinnati Bengals season
The 2007 Cincinnati Bengals season was the 38th season for the team in the National Football League and their 40th overall season. The team attempted to improve upon their 8–8 record in 2006 and were looking to return to the playoffs after narrowly missing them...
and St. Louis Rams
2007 St. Louis Rams season
The 2007 St. Louis Rams season was the 70th season for the team in the National Football League and their 13th in St. Louis, Missouri. This was the worst season for the Rams during their time in St. Louis up to this year, and their worst overall since 1991, when the Rams were in Los Angeles,...
in Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
.
From 2007 until 2010, Summerall appeared as the play-by-play voice of the network's coverage of the Cotton Bowl Classic game between Auburn
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
and Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers football
The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...
. Summerall teamed with Brian Baldinger
Brian Baldinger
Brian David "The Facemask Fingerer" Baldinger is a former professional American football player and former color commentator for National Football League telecasts on the Fox network. He also covers Atlanta Falcons preseason games as an analyst on WXIA-TV with Randy Waters...
on the 2007-09 Cotton Bowl Classic telecasts, and worked with Daryl Johnston
Daryl Johnston
Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston is a former National Football League fullback who played his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 to 1999.-High school career:...
on the 2010 game between Ole Miss and Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Cowboys football
The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and completes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are led by Mike Gundy, who is in his seventh year as...
.
In 2011, Summerall appeared on the pre-game coverage of the Cotton Bowl.
NFL on ESPN
Summerall called several preseason and early regular-season NFL games for the ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
network in 2004
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
, substituting for regular announcer Mike Patrick
Mike Patrick
Mike Patrick is an American sportscaster.-Career:Patrick began his broadcasting career in the fall of 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pa. In 1970, he was named Sports Director at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Fla., where he provided play-by-play for Jacksonville Sharks' World Football League telecasts...
while the latter recovered from heart surgery.
Super Bowl legacy
Summerall has broadcast 16 Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s on network television with CBS and FOX, more than any other announcer. He also contributed to 10 Super Bowl broadcasts on CBS Radio as a pregame host or analyst.
Awards and honors
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters AssociationNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, or NSSA, is an organization of sports media members in the United States. It constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Press Association ....
named Summerall National Sportscaster of the Year in 1977, and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1994.
Summerall was the 1994 recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football". Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame's comparable...
, bestowed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
"for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football".
In 1999 he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.
Since 2006 the "Pat Summerall Award" has been presented at the annual Legends for Charity Luncheon given on Super Bowl weekend at the NFL's headquarters hotel in the host city. The award is given "to a deserving recipient who through their career has demonstrated the character, integrity and leadership both on and off the job that the name Pat Summerall represents." Recipients have included James Brown (2006), Greg Gumbel
Greg Gumbel
Greg Gumbel is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments on the CBS network...
(2007), Jim Nantz
Jim Nantz
James William Nantz, III is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his work with CBS Sports television.-Early life:...
(2008), Chris Berman (2009), Cris Collinsworth
Cris Collinsworth
Anthony Cris Collinsworth is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League for eight seasons in the 1980s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played his entire professional career for...
(2010), and the entire NFL on Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
crew (2011).
Health issues
During the 1990 season1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
, Summerall was hospitalized after vomiting on a plane during a flight after a Bears
1990 Chicago Bears season
The 1990 Chicago Bears season was their 71st regular season and 20th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 11–5 record, and lost in the NFC Divisional playoffs to the New York Giants.-NFL Draft:-Roster:-Schedule:...
–Redskins
1990 Washington Redskins season
The 1990 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 10-6 record from 1989.-Schedule:-Playoffs:-References:...
game, and was out for a considerable amount of time. While Verne Lundquist
Verne Lundquist
Merton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
replaced Summerall on games with Madden, Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
(who was at CBS
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
during the time as the network's lead Major League Baseball announcer) was added as a regular NFL broadcaster to fill-in.
In the spring of 2004, Summerall, a recovering alcoholic who had been sober for many years, underwent a liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
transplant
Organ transplant
Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...
.
In 2006, Pat Summerall underwent cataract surgery, and had an intraocular lens
Intraocular lens
An intraocular lens is an implanted lens in the eye, usually replacing the existing crystalline lens because it has been clouded over by a cataract, or as a form of refractive surgery to change the eye's optical power. It usually consists of a small plastic lens with plastic side struts, called...
implanted.
In January 2008, Summerall had a hip replacement
Hip replacement
Hip replacement is a surgical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a prosthetic implant. Hip replacement surgery can be performed as a total replacement or a hemi replacement. Such joint replacement orthopaedic surgery generally is conducted to relieve arthritis pain or fix severe...
surgery. On June 19, he was hospitalized for internal bleeding
Internal bleeding
Internal bleeding is bleeding occurring inside the body. It can be a serious medical emergency depending on where it occurs , and can potentially cause death and cardiac arrest if proper medical treatment is not received quickly....
caused by a new medicine he was taking.
Outside of sports broadcasting
Summerall provided voiceoverVoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
sponsorship credits for CBS' Masters telecasts, and currently provides voiceovers for game coverage on NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
. He has also provided game commentary for the Golden Tee Golf video game series.
For many years Summerall has been a commercial spokesperson for True Value
True Value
True Value Company is a retailer-owned hardware cooperative with over 5,000 independent retail locations worldwide. Members of the True Value cooperative own their individual stores and operate independently of True Value Company....
. Ironically, his long-time broadcast partner Madden was the spokesperson for Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware Corporation is a hardware cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. ACE Hardware Corporation, with 4,444 stores, does over $3 billion in retail hardware sales annually down from its peak of $12.5 billion in 2007.-History:...
, True Value's main competitor in the independent hardware store market. Summerall has served as the longtime radio spokesman for Dux Beds, a Swedish mattress maker, and their Duxiana stores.
Summerall was also associated with a production company in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, from about the year 1998 to 2005. It was called Pat Summerall Productions. He was featured and hosted different production shows such as, Summerall Success Stories and Champions of Industry. These qualified production segments would air on the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
and later, CNN Headline News
CNN Headline News
HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
. During the mid-1990s, Summerall hosted the "Summerall-Aikman" Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
report with quarterback Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...
. Currently, Summerall serves as the host of Sports Stars of Tomorrow
Sports Stars of Tomorrow
Sports Stars of Tomorrow is a United States nationally-syndicated sports television show about high school and college athletics. The show, which is hosted by legendary broadcaster Pat Summerall, takes its viewers across the country in search of the brightest young stars in sports...
and Future Phenoms
Future Phenoms
Future Phenoms is a nationally-syndicated sports television show about high school athletics. The show, which is hosted by legendary broadcaster Pat Summerall, takes its viewers across the country in search of the brightest young stars in sports...
, two nationally syndicated high school sports shows based out of Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.
Summerall was name-checked on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
in the 2007 episode "Springfield Up
Springfield Up
"Springfield Up" is the thirteenth episode of the eighteenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired in the United States on February 18, 2007. In the episode, filmmaker Declan Desmond returns to Springfield to film the continuation of his documentary series Growing Up Springfield, which...
", where his caricature and name appear on the cover of a book held by Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
entitled "Smut Yuks." Summerall and then-partner Madden also appeared in (and lent their voices to) the 1999 Simpsons episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, while buying new tires for his car, Homer meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen...
", which premiered following the duo's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played on January 31, 1999, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion, following the 1998 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football...
on FOX.
Summerall also provided commentary, alongside Madden, on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's annual Super Bowl parodies, The Big Game, from 1998 through 2001.
Summerall appeared in the music video for Forever the Sickest Kids
Forever the Sickest Kids
Forever the Sickest Kids is an American pop punk band from Dallas, Texas, who have yet to be signed to a new label after the closure of Universal Motown Records. In issue 228 of Alternative Press, the group was named the number one underground band in the "22 Best Underground Bands". Their first...
' 2010 single "She Likes (Bittersweet Love)".
Summerall also recently preached a sermon at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas. He also has been a featured speaker at the Men's Gridiron Conference in Tuscaloosa, AL, where he related his giving his life to Christ during his stay at the Betty Ford clinic during his recovery from alcoholism.
Summerall makes his home in Southlake, Texas, where he has lived for 14 years.
See also
- History of the New York Giants (1925–1978)History of the New York Giants (1925–1978)The history of the New York Giants from 1925 to 1978 covers the American football franchise from the team's inception until the conclusion of their tumultuous 1978 season. Currently members of the NFL's National Football Conference, the Giants were founded in 1925 by original owner Tim Mara in the...
- List of NFL on CBS commentator pairings