The legendary American sports coach and sports commentator John Madden has died at 85 according to the National Football League (NFL) has announced.
The league stated that he died suddenly and did not provide any reason for his death.
Madden helped lead the Oakland Raiders into their debut Super Bowl victory in 1977 and was a massively famous television host after his retirement from coaching.
He was later his avatar for Madden NFL Football, one of the most popular sporting video games of all time.
“Nobody was more passionate about football than the coach,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated in an official statement.
“There is no more John Madden. We are forever grateful to him for everything that he accomplished to make sport and NFL the way it is now.”
Madden was the coach of Madden’s Raiders from 1969 until 1978. He was awarded Super Bowl XI when they finished the regular season, which was a 13-1 win.
He has the highest percentage of wins among NFL coach who’ve managed hundreds of games.
He may, however, be remembered most for his commentary career after he quit coaching at the age of just 42.
A popular figure for his simple manner of dressing, Madden travelled to games in his own vehicle because his fear of claustrophobia was a problem. Madden also had fears of flying.
Madden won sixteen Emmy Awards and covered 11 Super Bowls from 1979-2009. Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
“People always question, “Are you a coach or broadcaster or video game player?” he stated when he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I’m an instructor always been a coach.”
