Alex Christ
10/8/15
History of Sports
The Story of Frank Gifford Good evening and welcome to Monday Night Football! Tonight, we will look back and highlight the career of Hall of Famer Frank Gifford! You are in for a real treat tonight! It all started in Bakersfield, California, where the young Gifford showed off his versatile skills to get him into the University of Southern California. From there, he emerged into one of the legendary figures in the NFL as a player for the New York Giants and broadcasting on ABC’s Monday Night Football. But, all of this would have never happened if he had listened to his father at a young age.
Early Life Struggles and Triumphs On August 16th, 1930, Frank Newton Gifford was born into the family of Weldon …show more content…
But before the Draft, Gifford’s personal life began to change. He married his college girlfriend, Maxine Ewart, in January of 1952 and five months later, his wife gave birth to their first child, Jeff. The same month, the New York Giants selected Gifford in the first round with the 11th pick. During his early years as a Giant, Gifford struggled with injuries and was used as a platoon player that made him very upset. But, after naming head coach Jim Lee Howell and signing a new offensive coach named Vince Lombardi, everything changed for Gifford and the Giants. Two years later, the Giants received their first and only championship win in 1956 with Frank Gifford at the helm. Gifford had his finest year as a Giant with 1,400+ all-purpose yards, scoring nine touchdowns, and received over 100 yards in the championship game against Chicago to earn his only NFL MVP Award. But, Gifford had his share of memorable moments that changed the game of football. In the first nationally televised NFL championship game against the Giants and Colts in 1958, Gifford carried the Giants on his back for most of the 4th quarter after catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Charlie Conerly to give his team a 17-14 lead at the start of the quarter. Late in the quarter, with the Giants trying to run out the clock, Gifford was given the ball on a 3rd and 4, but according to the officials, missed the first …show more content…
After broadcasting at local TV stations in New York and in his hometown of Bakersfield, CA, he was offered a job by “CBS to cover pro football, college basketball, and golf” the year after his retirement from the NFL. One of his finest moments was when CBS covered Super Bowl I in January of 1967; Gifford got the chance to interview his longtime offensive coach for the Giants Vince Lombardi who was now the coach of the Green Bay Packers before the game. The year before he was hired by ABC to cover Monday Night Football, “Roone Arledge wanted to hire Gifford in MNF’s inaugural season in 1970, but Gifford was still under contract by CBS”. Once he was hired by ABC in 1971, Gifford would cover 27 seasons of Monday Night Football and would be partnered with former NFL players as well as Howard Cosell along with Al Michaels. While he was an announcer for ABC, he got the opportunity to work in a few Olympics and he “hosted ABC’s Wide World of Sports” as well. He announced his retirement in announcing in 1998 after some problems in his personal life as Boomer Esiason took over the
10/8/15
History of Sports
The Story of Frank Gifford Good evening and welcome to Monday Night Football! Tonight, we will look back and highlight the career of Hall of Famer Frank Gifford! You are in for a real treat tonight! It all started in Bakersfield, California, where the young Gifford showed off his versatile skills to get him into the University of Southern California. From there, he emerged into one of the legendary figures in the NFL as a player for the New York Giants and broadcasting on ABC’s Monday Night Football. But, all of this would have never happened if he had listened to his father at a young age.
Early Life Struggles and Triumphs On August 16th, 1930, Frank Newton Gifford was born into the family of Weldon …show more content…
But before the Draft, Gifford’s personal life began to change. He married his college girlfriend, Maxine Ewart, in January of 1952 and five months later, his wife gave birth to their first child, Jeff. The same month, the New York Giants selected Gifford in the first round with the 11th pick. During his early years as a Giant, Gifford struggled with injuries and was used as a platoon player that made him very upset. But, after naming head coach Jim Lee Howell and signing a new offensive coach named Vince Lombardi, everything changed for Gifford and the Giants. Two years later, the Giants received their first and only championship win in 1956 with Frank Gifford at the helm. Gifford had his finest year as a Giant with 1,400+ all-purpose yards, scoring nine touchdowns, and received over 100 yards in the championship game against Chicago to earn his only NFL MVP Award. But, Gifford had his share of memorable moments that changed the game of football. In the first nationally televised NFL championship game against the Giants and Colts in 1958, Gifford carried the Giants on his back for most of the 4th quarter after catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Charlie Conerly to give his team a 17-14 lead at the start of the quarter. Late in the quarter, with the Giants trying to run out the clock, Gifford was given the ball on a 3rd and 4, but according to the officials, missed the first …show more content…
After broadcasting at local TV stations in New York and in his hometown of Bakersfield, CA, he was offered a job by “CBS to cover pro football, college basketball, and golf” the year after his retirement from the NFL. One of his finest moments was when CBS covered Super Bowl I in January of 1967; Gifford got the chance to interview his longtime offensive coach for the Giants Vince Lombardi who was now the coach of the Green Bay Packers before the game. The year before he was hired by ABC to cover Monday Night Football, “Roone Arledge wanted to hire Gifford in MNF’s inaugural season in 1970, but Gifford was still under contract by CBS”. Once he was hired by ABC in 1971, Gifford would cover 27 seasons of Monday Night Football and would be partnered with former NFL players as well as Howard Cosell along with Al Michaels. While he was an announcer for ABC, he got the opportunity to work in a few Olympics and he “hosted ABC’s Wide World of Sports” as well. He announced his retirement in announcing in 1998 after some problems in his personal life as Boomer Esiason took over the