It’s been 20 years since he was last in the broadcast booth and John Madden is no longer with us. His death last year sparked an outpouring of statements about his impact on sports. The legendary Madden-Pat Summerall team was a huge part of the NFL experience for fans from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. A section of the current Heritage Auctions catalog will bring back some some of those memories–and they come from an impeccable source.
Michael Frank spent many years directing live and taped sporting events for both CBS and Fox. Some of the items he saved date from his time working with Madden and Summerall, including their final broadcast at Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. He’s consigned several items that make up nine lots in the auction, all connected to either John Madden and the All-Madden team or historic moments.
They range from the fairly traditional to the memorable, but unusual.
There’s an autographed “All-Time Super Bowl All-Madden Team” football signed by about 30 players including Joe Namath, Walter Payton and Roger Staubach.
A large piece of thin cardboard upon which Madden sketched the names of candidates for his 1987 All-Madden team.
The broadcasters’ flip card (lineups and rosters) from that last Super Bowl game, which happens to be Tom Brady’s first title are here, too, and there’s another flip card from 2002 from the game in which Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton’s career rushing record, signed and personalized to Frank by Smith.
Maybe the most unusual piece is one that’ll stir up long buried memories from 1994. To play off the Olympic games in Norway, CBS made a video in which more than a dozen sports and entertainment personalities did a “All-Madden Torch Run” across the country. Appearances were made by Wayne Gretzky, Barry Sanders, Meat Loaf, Leslie Nielsen and a host of NFL players, who were pictured running with the handmade torch that had been lit by Al Davis.
The torch and two arrows shot by Payton as part of the production, is among the items up for auction.
All-Madden Team awards presented to Frank, two All-Madden jackets and a ball signed by former Green Bay Packers are also part of the Platinum Night Auction, which continues through August 28.
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