Pat Summerall is Dead at 82
/The sports world lost a familiar voice Today.
Sportscasting legend Pat Summerall Died Today at the age of 82.
For many sports fans in the 1960s through the 1990s, Summerall was the voice of the NFL, starting with CBS' Sunday telecasts and later with Fox, famously paired for much of that time with John Madden.
"He was an extraordinary man and a wonderful father," Wiles told the Associated Press. "I know he will be greatly missed."
The Dallas Morning News reported Summerall died in his room at Dallas' Zale Lipshy Hospital, where he was recovering from surgery for a broken hip.
Summerall worked a record 16 Super Bowls, drawing on his football relationships made during his nine-plus years as a kicker in the NFL, primarily for the then-Chicago Cardinals and New York Giants from 1952 to 1961.
He had been ill off and on in his later years. A recovering alcoholic, Summerall had a liver transplant in 2004, needing it even after 12 years of sobriety.
His was a trusted, low-key, to the point voice, which made the contrast to the effervescent Madden -- "Boom!" -- a pairing that was informative and entertaining.
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