Frank Gifford: Football voice of a generation, and more (Video)

By Michael Collins | Aug 9, 2015

Pro and College Football Hall of Famer and former broadcaster Frank Gifford has passed away, leaving behind a generation of football fans who were weaned on the unmistakable sound of his voice in the booth.

RELATED: Hall of Famer Frank Gifford Passes Away at 84

There may be a segment or generation of the American public who only knows Frank Gifford as Kathy Lee’s seldom-seen husband. But for many of us, Gifford was the man behind the voice that helped us fall in love with the game of football and had a seminal influence on many who wanted to break into sports broadcasting or journalism.

More from College Football News

Gifford, who played his college ball and was an All-American at USC, found most of his fame playing in and broadcasting NFL games, but even college football fans found something to love in the unabashed way Gifford would call a game. Doing play-by-play was far from just describing the action on the field when Gifford was at the microphone. He was an artist who painted pictures with words and inflections that made a game come to life…

Even when there was little life to be had in the game being shown.

When you begin in a career that involves sports journalism or broadcasting, you have influences, both good and bad. For me, Frank Gifford was one of the few whose words could translate onto paper and still seem as evocative and elegant as when they were first spoken.

The trio of Gifford, Don Meredith and the incomparable Howard Cosell as the broadcasting team for ABC’s Monday Night Football found three prolific wordsmiths with three distinctly different styles and personalities melding together like the metals that make a fine sword, cutting through the airwaves with razor precision – and the stately Frank Gifford gripping above the pommel to hold everything together.

Even during his debut on MNF in 1971, it was clear that the network had something special.

“I hate to use the words ‘American institution,’ but there’s no other way to put it, really,” Gifford said of his broadcast partners to The Associated Press in 1993. “There’s nothing else like it.”

Gifford was so adept at his craft and had such a recognizable jib and voice, that he was able to portray himself in some of Hollywood’s biggest hits, including Paper Lion (1968), Two-Minute Warning (1976), Viva Knievel (1977) and Jerry Maguire (1996).

His screen celebrity wasn’t limited to the box office, as he also appeared on the small screen in several shows including Hazel, Captain Kangaroo, The Six Million Dollar Man, Coach, Webster and Spin City.

Oct 20, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view of ESPN Monday Night Football production trucks before the NFL game between the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not often that the passing of a “celebrity” (which Gifford hated the term, as he was way too laid back and cool for that moniker) brings a wave of emotion over me, as these are people I’m generally detached from and have no reason to show anything more than a human bare minimum of sympathy for those who we do not know.

But thinking that Gifford is gone is different. We haven’t heard him on the microphone, scintillating us with his ability to find just the right words, since 1998 when he was working part time as a sideline reporter. Unlike many broadcasters of the modern age, Gifford really didn’t have that “signature call”…that string of words for which he’ll always be remembered.

For me, it’s just the words, all the words, and the way Gifford used them to enhance the game and not to put himself in front of it. It was never about Gifford and what he said, it was about the game and how he made it more fun.

His voice hasn’t been a part of watching the game of football for many years, but for an entire generation, he’ll be the yardstick of comparison for many years to come.

Next: 10 Best College QBs Who Were NFL Busts

More from Saturday Blitz

Home/College Football News