Sports broadcaster Pat Summerall has died at the age of 82.
According to an Associated Press report, Summerall died at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center on Tuesday following a heart attack.
Summerall played in the NFL from 1952 until 1961. After retiring from his playing career, Summerall joined CBS sports as a commentator. He began as a color commentator for NFL games, though he would later cover other sports, such as NBA basketball, US Open tennis, and PGA Tour golf.
In 1981 Summerall was paired with John Madden to provide NFL commentary. The pair would go on to become the most well-known broadcasting team in NFL history. Their collaboration lasted for 22 seasons, including five Super Bowl games.
“Pat was my broadcasting partner for a long time, but more than that he was my friend for all of these years,” said Madden in a statement. “We never had one argument, and that was because of Pat. He was a great broadcaster and a great man. He always had a joke. Pat never complained and we never had an unhappy moment. He was something very special. Pat Summerall is the voice of football and always will be.”
(Image courtesy Riley’s Autographs/Wikimedia Commons)