John Madden is one of the most memorable figures in the history of NFL football.
As head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders, Madden compiled a mind-boggling record of 103-32-7 during his 10-year stint as head coach, giving him the second-best winning percentage in NFL history among coaches with 50 or more games coached. Madden led the Raiders to a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
Madden retired from coaching shortly after and embarked on an equally successful career in broadcasting. The Pro Football Hall of Famer’s voice became synonymous with high-stakes football games. He quickly became beloved for his boisterous exclamations, off-the-wall phrases, and revolutionary use of the telestrator to break down plays.
Unfortunately, Madden passed away on Dec. 28, 2021, at the age of 85, but he is survived by his wife Virginia, their two kids, and five grandchildren.
Who Is Virginia Madden?
John’s marriage to Virginia predated even his coaching career. The couple tied the knot in December 1959, the day after Christmas, according to The U.S. Sun. Shortly thereafter, John became an assistant coach at little-known Allan Hancock College in California.
This decades-old Sports Illustrated article divulges that Virginia met her husband at a bar when the two were students at California Polytechnic State University back in the 1950s. But she says they just as easily could’ve missed one another.
“He always says that [we met at school as undergrads],” Virginia said. “The fact is, we met in a bar in Pismo Beach. But it wasn’t as if we hung out in bars. If we hadn’t both been there on that one day, we’d probably never have met.”
The article notes that Virginia has palpable energy and a great sense of humor, so it’s easy to see why the couple was drawn to one another. It also mentions her proclivity towards antiques — the more ornate, the better.
To that end, the article notes that when one first enters the then-Madden household, they are greeted by an “ornate, glass-fronted Victorian cabinet, which is filled top to bottom with footballs, game balls, every one.”
The article goes on to mention the pair’s uncanny chemistry, developing an ability to communicate wordlessly over their decades together. John passed just two days after the pair’s 62nd anniversary.
“I know he’s up there, and I know he’s smiling down on all his players … and all you people, the fans, that supported him for so many years,” Virginia said during a memorial in February of 2022, per ABC 7 News. “John believes in the town of Oakland, he believed in the [Oakland] Coliseum, and most of all, he believed in the Raiders.”
NFL Honors John Madden Every Thanksgiving
In 2022, the NFL announced that the league would honor Madden every Thanksgiving with the “John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration.”
“There’s no place that I would rather be today on Thanksgiving than right here, right now, at a football game,” Madden once said, prompting this honor.
The John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration is an event meant to celebrate his legacy and bring together all the things that were important to him: family, football, food, tradition, and fun.
In 2024, FOX, CBS, and NBC will have Madden tributes interspersed throughout each Thanksgiving game. The following video will kick off each broadcast, conveying what Thanksgiving meant to Madden in his own words.
Thursday marks the 3rd annual John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration across the @NFL!
CBS, FOX & NBC will air the following to kick off each of their game broadcasts on Thanksgiving Day pic.twitter.com/VgusieKy6n
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) November 25, 2024
Each network will select a Madden Thanksgiving MVP who will receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to be given to a high school or youth football program in their name, as the topic of youth football was important to Madden.
This year for the first time, each Madden Thanksgiving MVP will be awarded with the Madden Thanksgiving MVP trophy, created to honor Madden and celebrate everything the game of football means to the Thanksgiving holiday. The trophy is in the form of a pylon and includes various “Maddenisms” sprinkled throughout, along with visual cues to speak to the holiday theme.
The NFL will benefit the newly-created John Madden Foundation by auctioning off game-used items from the three Thanksgiving Day games via NFL Auction, with proceeds supporting the new foundation.
Also, a coin featuring a silhouette of Coach Madden on one side (heads) and a six-legged turducken on the reverse side (tails) will be used for the coin toss, and a patch featuring a silhouette of Coach Madden will be on the jersey of each player at all three games. Each field will feature special John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration stencils as well.
The celebration also extends to the airwaves, with Westwood One and SiriusXM NFL Radio airing Madden- and Thanksgiving-themed programming throughout the week.