OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 22: Former Head Coach John Madden of the Oakland Raiders is presented with his Hall of Fame Ring during a ceremony to honor his recent induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame before the game against the Arizona Cardinals on October 22, 2006 at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
Here's a great story about the late, great John Madden, about the time he hosted a 1982 episode of Saturday Night Live and took the opportunity to play a prank on his NBC Sports boss Dick Ebersol.
Madden was just about to begin the monologue at dress rehearsal when he called out Ebersol and threatened to quit the show: "I'm going to finish this dress rehearsal and then I'm going to leave. I'm not happy with how things have been going, and I'm enough of a trooper to finish it for this audience, but then I'm outta here."
Ebersol says he nearly had a heart attack before Madden smiled and said "You know I'm a practical joker, don't you?" - and the audience "went nuts".
Madden passed away yesterday at the age of 85.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an official statement: "We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today."
John Madden Prank NBC
