 Gifford at USC,c. 1949 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Halfback Flanker Safety | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1930-08-16)August 16, 1930 Santa Monica, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 9, 2015(2015-08-09) (aged 84) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 197 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Bakersfield (Bakersfield, California) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NFL draft | 1952: 1st round, 11th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American professionalfootball player, actor, and televisionsports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as ahalfback,flanker andsafety for theNew York Giants of theNational Football League (NFL), he was a play-by-play announcer and commentator for 27 years onABC'sMonday Night Football.
Gifford won theNFL Most Valuable Player Award fromUnited Press International (UPI) in 1956, the same season his team won theNFL Championship. During his career, he participated in five league championship games and was named to eightPro Bowls. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. After retiring as a player Gifford was anEmmy Award-winning sportscaster, known for his work on ABC'sMonday Night Football,Wide World of Sports, and theOlympics. He was married to television hostKathie Lee Gifford from 1986 until his death.
Gifford was born inSanta Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae (née Hawkins) and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller.[1] He graduated from Kern County Union High School, later renamedBakersfield High School.[2]
After GIfford died, his wifeKathie Lee Gifford said her late husband grew up in a poverty-stricken home and that he and his family sometimes ate dog food. She said they lived in 29 places before Gifford attended high school, because his father could not find work during theDepression. She also said that as a young child, the family attended church every week and Gifford "asked Jesus into his heart and that remained with him for the rest of his life".[3]
Gifford was unable to gain an athletic scholarship to theUniversity of Southern California (USC) because of his lowgrade point average in high school. As a result, he played a season of football forBakersfield Junior College.[4][5] While at Bakersfield, he made the Junior College All-America team and earned the grades needed to enroll at USC.[2][6] At USC, Gifford was named anAll-American after rushing for 841 yards on 195 carries during his final season.[7] While at USC he was a member ofPhi Sigma Kappa fraternity.[8] He graduated from USC in 1952.[6]
Gifford spent his entireNational Football League (NFL) career with theNew York Giants, beginning in 1952, playing both offense and defense.[9] He made eightPro Bowl appearances and had five trips to the NFL Championship Game. Gifford's best season may have been1956, when he won the league'sMost Valuable Player Award and led the Giants to the NFL title over theChicago Bears.[10]
He lost 18 months in the prime of his career when he was tackled byPhiladelphia Eagles linebackerChuck Bednarik, in what is widely considered the hardest defensive hit, or one of the hardest, in the history of the NFL and is often referred to simply asThe Hit. During a1960 season game against theEagles, he was knocked out by Bednarik on a passing play, suffering a severeconcussion that led him to retire from football in 1961.[10] However, Gifford returned to the Giants in 1962, changing positions fromhalfback toflanker.[11]
His Pro Bowl selections came at three positions,safety, halfback, and flanker. He permanently retired following the 1964 season.[12]
During his 12 seasons with the Giants (136 regular-season games) Gifford had 3,609 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in 840 carries; he also had 367 receptions for 5,434 yards and 43 touchdowns.[10] Gifford completed 29 of the 63 passes he threw for 823 yards and 14 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. The 14 touchdowns is the most among any non-quarterback in NFL history; the 6 interceptions is tied withWalter Payton for most thrown by a non-quarterback.[13]
Gifford was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame on July 30, 1977.[12]
After his death, anautopsy on his brain revealed that he lived withchronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease closely related to repeated head trauma. As of September 18, 2015, 87 out of 91 former NFL players tested had been diagnosed with the disease.[14]
After his playing days ended, Gifford became a broadcaster forCBS, coveringfootball,golf andbasketball.[10][15] WhenMonday Night Football was launched in 1970,ABC had originally planned to have Gifford in their broadcast booth, but he still had a year remaining on his contract with CBS. Instead Gifford recommended his friendDon Meredith who was hired. The following year, Gifford replacedKeith Jackson asMonday Night Football's play-by-play announcer, and remained involved with the show for 27 of its next 28 years.[16] His low-key delivery provided a perfect counterbalance to broadcast partners Meredith andHoward Cosell.[9][10] In an era with only three televisionbroadcast networks, the series became the longest-running prime-time sports program in television history, and developed into one of television's most valuable franchises.[16][17][18]
Gifford was providing play-by-play in the waning moments of a 1980Monday Night Football game between theNew England Patriots andMiami Dolphins when he and Cosell learned ofJohn Lennon's murder. Cosell initially balked at breaking the news live on air, but Gifford convinced him, saying, "You’ve got to. If you know it, we’ve got to do it. Don’t hang on it. It’s a tragic moment, and this is going to shake up the whole world".[19] Cosell then informed the national audience of the tragedy.
On January 20, 1985, Gifford provided play-by-play for the first Super Bowl to bebroadcast on ABC,Super Bowl XIX between theSan Francisco 49ers andMiami Dolphins inStanford, California. Gifford was joined in the booth by Don Meredith andJoe Theismann.
In1986,Al Michaels took over play-by-play duties, and Gifford switched to a color commentator role.[20] However, Gifford did play-by-play for the next several years (Gifford was joined byLynn Swann andO. J. Simpson on color commentary in 1986 and byDan Dierdorf for the rest of his run onMonday Night Football) whenever Michaels was coveringpost-season baseball games for the network.[21]
Following hisaffair with airline flight attendantSuzen Johnson in 1997, Gifford was replaced in the broadcast booth byBoomer Esiason in1998.[12][18][22] That season he was reassigned to a nominal role for ABC's Monday night pregame show, but that program was cancelled after one season. Gifford was not offered a new role by the network.[23] Gifford was also host of British TV networkChannel 4's NFL coverage with British born formerNew England Patriots kickerJohn Smith in 1986, which included coverage ofSuper Bowl XXI.[24][25] Additionally, he narrated the officialSuper Bowl XLVIII highlight film forNFL Films, for which he had narrated the New York Giants' annual highlight films.
Gifford was also a reporter and commentator on other ABC sports programs, such as coverage of theOlympics (including thecontroversial men's basketball gold medal game[26] between theUnited States andSoviet Union at the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich, which Gifford called alongsideBill Russell),skiing andgolf. He announcedEvel Knievel's jumps for ABC'sWide World of Sports in the 1970s, including when Knievel failed to clear 13 buses atWembley Stadium in 1975.[27][28] Gifford also guest hostedGood Morning America on occasion, including once when he met his future wife, Kathie Lee.[29]
In 1977, Gifford won anEmmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality.[30] He was given thePete Rozelle Radio-Television Award by the Pro Football Hall of Fame In1995 for his NFL television work.[31]
Monday Night Football paid tribute to Gifford on September 14, 2015, by havingESPN announcersMike Tirico andJon Gruden wear the gold jackets that Gifford helped make famous as a broadcaster.[32]
Frank Gifford appeared as Ensign Cy Mount in the 1959World War II submarine film dramaUp Periscope, starringJames Garner,Edmond O'Brien,Andra Martin, andAlan Hale Jr.
Gifford appeared as himself as a guest star on theNBC television series,Hazel, in the episode, "Hazel and the Halfback", which originally aired December 26, 1963.[33] In the story, Gifford is interested in investing in a localbowling alley. In 1977, Gifford appeared as himself in the episode "The Shortest Yard" of theABCsitcomThe San Pedro Beach Bums. He also appeared as himself in a two-hour episode ofThe Six Million Dollar Man titled "The Bionic Boy" in the same year. In 1994, Gifford also appeared as himself in theNickelodeon kids showThe Adventures of Pete & Pete as a customer for the boy's Dad's driving range. In season one episode 4 titled "Rangeboy", Gifford and his wife, Kathie Lee, appeared in the February 28, 1995, episode of the ABC sitcomCoach, titled "The Day I Met Frank Gifford", in which a character on the show plots to meet the former football star who will attend an event to receive an award.
Gifford also had acting roles in television commercials.[34]
Gifford married his college sweetheart, USC's homecoming queen Maxine Avis Ewart, on January 13, 1952, after she became pregnant while they were students at USC.[2] They had three children, Jeff (b. 1952), Kyle, and Victoria; and five grandchildren.[35] Victoria Gifford marriedMichael LeMoyne Kennedy, son ofRobert F. Kennedy. Frank Gifford was next married to fitness trainer Astrid Lindley from 1978 to 1986. His first two marriages ended in divorce.[10] Gifford marriedtelevision presenter and singerKathie Lee Johnson, who was 23 years his junior, on October 18, 1986. The couple settled inGreenwich, Connecticut, with their son, Cody Newton Gifford and daughter,Cassidy Erin Gifford.[36] Gifford and his third wife, Kathie Lee, shared the same birthday, August 16. The couple co-hosted ABC's coverage of the1988 Winter Olympics inCalgary.[37]
In 1997, the tabloid magazineGlobe paid a woman namedSuzen Johnson to meet, befriend, and lure Gifford into a New York City hotel room secretly equipped withvideotape systems enabling the Globe to take and obtain photos of Gifford being seduced.[38] They published photos and stories.ESPN reported that the tabloid paid Johnson $75,000 to lure Gifford to the room[2] whileThe Atlantic said it was $125,000.[39]National Enquirer editor Steve Coz observed, "There's a difference between reporting the news and creating the news ... [w]ithoutThe Globe, there would be no story here. I'm in thetabloid industry, and this is way over the top. It's downright cruel."[40]
Henry Bushkin,Johnny Carson's former lawyer, claimed that Gifford had an affair with Carson's second wife, Joanne, in 1970.[10]
On August 9, 2015, a week before his 85th birthday, Gifford died from natural causes at hisGreenwich, Connecticut, home.[41][42]
In November 2015, Gifford's family revealed that he hadchronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The family said, "After losing our beloved husband and father, Frank Gifford, we as a family made the difficult decision to have his brain studied in hopes of contributing to the advancement of medical research concerning the link between football andtraumatic brain injury... We decided to disclose our loved one's condition to honor Frank's legacy of promoting player safety dating back to his involvement in the formation of theNFL Players Association in the 1950s."[43] He was one of at least 345NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[44][45]
College
NFL
Television
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| APNFL MVP | |
| WonNFL championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | FR | ||
| 1952 | NYG | 10 | 10 | 38 | 116 | 3.1 | 11.6 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1953 | NYG | 12 | 9 | 50 | 157 | 3.1 | 13.1 | 15 | 2 | 18 | 292 | 16.2 | 49 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 1954 | NYG | 9 | 9 | 66 | 368 | 5.6 | 40.9 | 30 | 2 | 14 | 154 | 11.0 | 35 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 1955 | NYG | 11 | 11 | 86 | 351 | 4.1 | 31.9 | 49 | 3 | 33 | 437 | 13.2 | 54 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 1956 | NYG | 12 | 12 | 159 | 819 | 5.2 | 68.3 | 69 | 5 | 51 | 603 | 11.8 | 48 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1957 | NYG | 12 | 12 | 136 | 528 | 3.9 | 44.0 | 41 | 5 | 41 | 588 | 14.3 | 63 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 1958 | NYG | 10 | 10 | 115 | 468 | 4.1 | 46.8 | 33 | 8 | 29 | 330 | 11.4 | 41 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 1959 | NYG | 11 | 11 | 106 | 540 | 5.1 | 49.1 | 79 | 3 | 42 | 768 | 18.3 | 77 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 1960 | NYG | 8 | 8 | 77 | 232 | 3.0 | 29.0 | 15 | 4 | 24 | 344 | 14.3 | 44 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| 1962 | NYG | 14 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 1.3 | 12 | 1 | 39 | 796 | 20.4 | 63 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963 | NYG | 14 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 12 | 0 | 42 | 657 | 15.6 | 64 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 1964 | NYG | 13 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 429 | 14.8 | 40 | 3 | – | – |
| Career | 136 | 129 | 840 | 3,609 | 4.3 | 26.5 | 79 | 34 | 367 | 5,434 | 14.8 | 77 | 43 | 48 | 17 | |
| Year | Team | Passing | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rtg | ||
| 1952 | NYG | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 18 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 120.8 |
| 1953 | NYG | 3 | 6 | 50.0 | 47 | 7.8 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 116.0 |
| 1954 | NYG | 4 | 8 | 50.0 | 155 | 19.4 | 3 | 1 | 83 | 95.8 |
| 1955 | NYG | 2 | 6 | 33.3 | 96 | 16.0 | 2 | 0 | 71 | 121.5 |
| 1956 | NYG | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 35 | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 64.6 |
| 1957 | NYG | 4 | 6 | 66.7 | 143 | 23.8 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 149.3 |
| 1958 | NYG | 3 | 10 | 30.0 | 109 | 10.0 | 1 | 1 | 63 | 66.2 |
| 1959 | NYG | 5 | 11 | 45.5 | 151 | 13.7 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 92.0 |
| 1960 | NYG | 3 | 6 | 50.0 | 24 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 20.8 |
| 1962 | NYG | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 68.7 |
| 1963 | NYG | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 33 | 33.0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 118.7 |
| Career | 29 | 63 | 46.0 | 823 | 13.1 | 14 | 6 | 83 | 92.5 | |
Gifford is a character inFrederick Exley's novelA Fan's Notes. In the novel, Gifford becomes the narrator's hero while both are at USC. Subsequently, the narrator continues to be an intense fan of Gifford and his team, the New York Giants, during his NFL career.[10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | All American | Stan Pomeroy | ||
| 1959 | Up Periscope | Ensign Cy Mount | ||
| 1973 | The World's Greatest Athlete | Himself | ||
| 1977 | Viva Knievel! | Himself | ||
| 1996 | Jerry Maguire | Himself | ||
| 2002 | Three Days of Rain | Extra | ||
| 2011 | Beatles Stories | Guest |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | What's My Line? | Himself | ||
| 1962 | Captain Kangaroo | Himself | Episode: "October 6, 1962" (S 8:Ep 30) | |
| 1963 | Our Man Higgins | Guest | Episode: "Delinquent for a Day" (S 1:Ep 30) | |
| Hazel | Himself | Episode: "Hazel and the Halfback" (S 3:Ep 15) | ||
| 1964 | What's My Line? | Guest | Episode: "EPISODE #732" (S 16:Ep 4) | |
| The Reporter | Himself | Episode: "How Much For A Prince" (S 1:Ep 3) | ||
| 1964 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Lauren Bacall & Frank Gifford" (S 3:Ep 136) | |
| 1965 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Jane Wyatt & Frank Gifford" (S 4: Ep 151) | |
| 1965 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Betty White & Frank Gifford" (S 5: Ep 36) | |
| 1966 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Betty White & Frank Gifford" (S 5: Ep 86) | |
| 1966 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Betty White & Frank Gifford" (S 5: Ep 141) | |
| 1966 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Florence Henderson & Frank Gifford" (S 5: Ep 256) | |
| 1966 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Florence Henderson & Frank Gifford" (S 6: Ep 71) | |
| 1967 | Password | Himself | Episode: "Betty White & Frank Gifford" (S 6: Ep 196) | |
| 1971–97 | Monday Night Football | Play by Play Announcer | Main | |
| 1975 | The Way It Was | Panelist | Episode: "1958 NFL Championship" (S 1:Ep 1) | |
| $10,000 Pyramid | Himself | Episode: "Kate Jackson & Frank Gifford" (S 3: Ep 36–40) | ||
| Episode: "Sandy Duncan & Frank Gifford" (S 4:Ep 12–16) | ||||
| 1976 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Himself | Episode: "The Bionic Boy, part 1" (S 4:Ep 8) | |
| 1977 | The San Pedro Beach Bums | Himself | Episode: "The Shortest Yard" (S 1:Ep 2) | |
| 1981 | The Primetime Emmy Awards | Himself | Episode: "The 33rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" (S 33:Ep 1) | |
| 1984 | Webster | Himself | Episode: "You Can't Go Home Again" (S 2:Ep 7) | |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Pete & Pete | Himself | Episode: "Range Boy" (S 1:Ep 4) | |
| 1995 | Coach | Himself | Episode: "The Day I Met Frank Gifford" (S 7:Ep 20) | |
| 1996 | Coach | Himself | Episode: "You Win Some, You Lose Some" (S 9:Ep 8) | |
| 1997 | Spin City | Himself | Episode: "An Affair to Remember" (S 1:Ep 17) | |
| 1999 | Biography | Himself | Episode: "Kathie Lee Gifford: Having it All" (S 2:Ep 33) | |
| 2000–05 | SportsCentury | ABC Sports Reporter | Recurring | |
| 2004 | ESPN25: Who's#1? | Interviewee | Episode: "Most Outrageous Characters" (S 1:Ep 5) | |
| 2007 | Intimate Portrait | Guest | ||
| 2008 | Celebrity Family Feud | Himself | Episode: "Episode 106" (S 1:Ep 2) | |
| TMZ on TV | Himself | Episode: "Episode #2.029" (S 2:Ep 29) | ||
| Center Stage | Guest | Episode: "Frank Gifford" (S 4:Ep 6) | ||
| 2009 | Psych | Play-by-Play voice |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | The NFL Today host 1965–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer 1971–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Monday Night Football color commentator 1986 (sole commentator),1987–1997 (withDan Dierdorf) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by First | Super Bowl television play-by-play announcer (non-cable prime-time package carrier) 1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | ABC's Wide World of Sports host (withBecky Dixon from1987–1988) 1987–1993 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
