broadcast booth. hi, i m john madden. pat summerall and i have been with both the teams all week. reporter: teaming up with the unselfish pat summerall to call games on cbs, and then to fox and nbc sports for 30 years, earning 16 emmys along the way. we call it just b.g.d. just big guy defense. that s all. reporter: john madden never stopped coaching football. for millions of americans, he took a complicated game, made it fun and easier to understand. they bring from the outside and, boom, two up the middle. reporter: he became a national pitch man, endorsing several products. boom! tough acting tinactin. reporter: and later a video hall of famer. are you kidding me? reporter: he kicked off a revolution in the industry, krcreating a game with ea sport, the groundbreaking football franchise, madden nfl. his voice, his smile, were infectious and his fear of flying were legendary. when john madden pulled up into
reporter: tonight, the world of sports honoring the life of a giant among them. john madden. epitomizing coaching greatness. reporter: from the super bowl john madden s grin is from ear to ear. reporter: to the broadcasting booth. never at a loss for words. we want to throw those short little things where he can come back, set up, boom. right there, boom. you go left, left, left, boom, you get him. reporter: using that telestrator to draw viewers in, even when it didn t have anything to do with the game. if this guy here is pointing to this and if he takes this and dumps it on that, he ll be the player of the game. reporter: our michael strahan tweeting, when you played and jaund madden was on the call, it was time to shine. troy aikman calling him a treasure and incredible friend. on thanksgiving, he was ans institution. you cut it, likes right down here. reporter: and he was just as good as a pitch man, from beer could i go for a nice cold beet. to foo
boom, tough acting tinactin. reporter: he transcended generations, with the help of his iconic madden nfl video game series. hello and welcome to madden nfl 09. richard sherman tweeting, it was one of my greatest honors to grace the cover of your video game. thank you for the years of joy and motivation! i never worked a day in my life. i went from player to coach to broadcaster. and i am the luckiest guy in the world. this has been the sweetest ride of them all. thank you. our thanks to kaylee hartung for that report. have a great night. building a better bay area,