Talking Sports: Gifford will be missed by many

I was sorry to hear about the death of Frank Gifford earlier this week. He was the last surviving member of the greatest sports broadcast booth there ever was.

Gifford's playing days with the New York football Giants was before my time. I remember him as a broadcaster for ABC Sports. He covered the Olympic Games, basketball, golf and even a number of offbeat "sports" for ABC's Wide World of Sports. As a matter of fact, Gifford was there to describe the action when motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel had his horrific crash attempting to clear 13 busses at London's Wembley Stadium.

Gifford also called the infamous – at least in the eyes of American sports fans – gold medal basketball game at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. Playing for the Soviet Union, Alexander Belov scored the winning basket against the United States as time expired. Though time had expired after two previous failed attempts, when Belov finally made good, the game was over. To this day, the American players have not claimed their silver medals.

Outside his football career, Gifford will most be remembered for being a play-by-play announcer and color commentator on Monday Night Football. He held down that post for nearly three decades. The best of those years, at least for me, is when he was part of what was probably the most iconic broadcasting booth in sports television history.

Gifford was the straight man amidst a trio of powerful personalities that included the legendary Howard Cosell and either Alex Karras or "Dandy" Don Meredith. When I was growing up, and even into early adulthood, MNF was must-see TV. Even if the game wasn't particularly interesting, the three-man show provided enough entertainment that even non-football fans tuned in.

Cosell was a pompous, know-it-all New York lawyer who believed he was the smartest man in the room. Sometimes he was. Sometimes he was full of hot air. He used to say, "Tell it like it is." And he did – at least as he saw it. And always it was done with that unique style of his that will never be forgotten. Cosell's vocal cadence is probably among the most parodied of all time.

He had the type of personality that people loved or hated – but the masses tuned in each week no matter what they thought. Cosell first found his way into the American consciousness because of his link with heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. The two of them were complete opposites except that they were both brilliant self promotors. They each recognized in the other what the other could do for their favorite cause – themselves.

At different times, Meredith and Karras were the clowns in the booth. Like Gifford, they were ex-jocks who turned to acting and broadcasting when their football career's were over. They were part of what Cosell later termed the "Jococracy" of American sports broadcasting.

Unlike Gifford, Meredith and Karras had larger-than-life personalities. They injected humor into the booth on a regular basis. Who can forget Meredith serenading viewers whenever a game suddenly got out of hand, "Turn out the lights, the party's over ... "

All the while it was Gifford, the least conspicuous of the group, who kept the train on the track. He was the sane one as three wildly different personalities vied for the attention of the American people like so many toddlers tugging at their mother's skirt. Gifford had a memorable voice and a professional demeanor. Whenever Frank Gifford took to the microphone for ABC, I always had the feeling that something important was about to happen.

Gifford's place in the MNF group reminds me of the cartoon drawn by The Who bassist John Entwistle on the cover of "The Who By Numbers" album. Entwistle drew himself as the calm, sane personality in the middle of a group of lunatics. Though as calm as Entwistle and Gifford seemed on the outside, we all know they both had some pretty wild times. But it's the entertainment value I remember the most.

Great stuff Frank. Rest in peace and thanks for the memories.