Frank Gifford

[MarbleEye]

No mention on this board or on Football Obituaries of the Sunday death of Frank Gifford ? ? ? I am surprised to say the least, figured there would be discussion and a re-hash of his career on and off the field.

EDIT RE: Mr Crippen's post immediately following this OP. I must have missed it, but still... Frank Gifford was a large figure when he played and was maybe even bigger during his long and successful media career. Probably the most successful ex-player of all time as regards a media career. (Or Pat Summerall perhaps?). I only found out about his death today so perhaps I am no one to talk, but I did expect to find a lot of discussion here. Just was surprised was all, not trying to call anyone out on it.

[Ken Crippen]

It is mentioned in the Obituaries thread. Not much discussion, but it is there.

[Bryan]

I loved the Frank Gifford segment in the NFL Films Fabulous Fifties. Its interesting that he ended up playing 3 more seasons after getting hit by Bednarik. You think it would have been easy for him to choose to retire. I wonder if Gifford was the last player to make the pro bowl on both offense and defense, and/or if he was the last player to make the pro bowl at three different positions (DB, HB, WR). His passing statistics are remarkable, in both efficiency and number of attempts.

[BD Sullivan]

Speaking of discussion on the obit board, is there a way to just have a dedicated thread to COMMENTS about an obit, so that they don't interfere with the thread for OBITS?

[Reaser]

or if he was the last player to make the pro bowl at three different positions (DB, HB, WR).

Rod Woodson.

[Rupert Patrick]

I for one don't like the obituaries being moved into it's own area, I liked it better when it was in the main forum here.

As for Gifford, he still continued to do the narration for the Giants NFL season videos up until the end. I know he did it for the 2014 season, but I didn't see the 2015 Giants video but it wouldn't surprise me to see he narrated them again. He was the first NFL player to embrace advertising, and started preparing for a career in television from the time he started in the NFL. He was a man who truly had it all.

I have a link here to a tribute to Frank from radio host Glenn Beck, who was a friend of the family. While he is not a football fan by any means, Glenn spoke at length on his radio show Monday about visiting the Gifford's home a couple years ago and talking about Monday Night Football with Frank Gifford.

http://www.glennbeck.com/2015/08/10/gle ... k-gifford/

[rhickok1109]

A great player, but a terrible announcer.

Typical Gifford. "First down and 10 on the 22. Taylor carries up to the 26, that's a 3-yard gain, bringing up second down and 5."

Yes, a slight exaggeration, but only slight.

[Rupert Patrick]

A great player, but a terrible announcer.

Typical Gifford. "First down and 10 on the 22. Taylor carries up to the 26, that's a 3-yard gain, bringing up second down and 5."

Yes, a slight exaggeration, but only slight.

For a football guy, Gifford did pretty good calling Franz Klammer's gold medal downhill ski run (still the best piece of downhill skiing I have ever seen) in the 1976 Winter Olympics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVMJKIx34SE

I remember watching it live as a kid and it still gives me goosebumps.

[John Grasso]

Piece of trivia on Gifford:

According to Frank Gifford's 1993 autobiography The Whole Ten Yards by the time he entered high school he had lived in 47 different towns. He was raised during the Depression and his father worked as a "roughneck" in the oil fields. Whenever a new field was opened the family (Frank, his parents and his two siblings) would move to the new location that provided an opportunity for work.
Fortunately by the time he entered high school the family's situation was more stable and Frank was able to complete four years at Bakersfield High School in Bakersfield, California.

[oldecapecod11]

by John Grasso » Wed Aug 12, 2015 8:20 pm
"Piece of trivia on Gifford:.."

Great, John!
A true measure of the man...

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by MarbleEye » Wed Aug 12, 2015 2:57 pm
"No mention on this board or on Football Obituaries of the Sunday death of Frank Gifford ? ? ? I am surprised to say the least, figured there would be discussion and a re-hash of his career on and off the field."


If you drop the death of Frank Gifford into your browser, you will come up with six, or seven, or eight pages of links to articles, biographies,
and films of the great Frank Gifford.

So much has been said by so many that perhaps people are at a loss for words.
Those who throw stones at the legend are like a eunuch at an orgy. They have nothing else to do.

John Mara referred to Frank Gifford as the "face of the franchise" and he was far beyond that. He was one of the faces on the two-headed coin
that was New York. The other face was Mickey Mantle. Never before did a city have two such dominant players for well over a decade.
Sure, Boston had Ted and Bill, and later Yaz and Orr but basketball and hockey just don't measure up to football.
Gifford combed his hair with Vitalis and told you it was better than that "greasy kid stuff." Two million kids switched to Vitalis overnight.
He told you that "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco" and that had greater impact than when Lucky went Green.

Frank Gifford was on the losing side of the game that put professional football on the map. No other game has ever impacted any sport
like the Colts and the Giants did for football. No other game ever will. There are no more mountains like that to climb.

Later, Frank Gifford shared the spotlight with others that brought football into whole new world - at night - weekly.
Monday Night Football delivered the game to a brand new audience - the women of America.

The dishes were done. The ironing was put away. The kiddos were ready for bed.
Ms. and Mrs. America sat down at 9:00 PM (EST) to see what this was all about.

They went gaga over Frank and Dandy Don and suddenly the advertisers turned to panty hose and Bisquick.
The entire ABC team deserves a spot in Canton for that and Frank Gifford was an integral part of it.

So, instead of reading the flatulent comments of naysayers, here's a couple of links that might give you an idea of what the real world
thought and thinks of Frank Gifford.

R.I.P.
-16-

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The New York Times
Frank Gifford, a gleaming hero of sports and television in an era when such things were possible, who moved seamlessly from stardom in the Giants’ offense to celebrity in the broadcast booth of “Monday Night Football,” died on Sunday at his home in Greenwich, Conn. He was 84.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/10/sport ... c=rss&_r=0

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Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- From the football field to the broadcast booth, Frank Gifford was a star. And a winner.
An NFL championship in 1956 with the New York Giants. An Emmy award in 1976-77 as television's "outstanding sports personality." Induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in '77

http://www.timesunion.com/entertainment ... 434079.php

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/fra ... ue#image=1