With the sad news of the passing of former NFL player and broadcaster Pat Summerall, I’ll provide you with a timeline of his broadcasting career. Summerall was one of the best NFL play-by-play announcers of all time. One of the few who did both play-by-play and analysis during his career, he also branched out to call both college and pro basketball, boxing, golf and tennis.
Summerall was also a host for NFL Films along with eventual partner Tom Brookshier. Together, they called three Super Bowls (X, XII, XIV). And he was teamed with John Madden with whom he called eight Super Bowls.
He began his career with CBS back in 1962 and remained with the Tiffany Network until 1994 when the network lost the rights to the NFL to Fox. Summerall then moved to Fox where he stayed through the 2002 season. He worked the Cotton Bowl for the network from 2007 until 2010.
Summerall also filled in on ESPN’s Sunday Night Football in 2004.
Here’s the timeline.
1962 — Summerall joins CBS Sports after retiring from the NFL. He’s teamed with Chris Schenkel on New York Giants games.
1965 — Summerall is moved to DC NFL Team games with Jim Gibbons.
1967 — Calls the first half of Super Bowl I with Ray Scott, then moves to the sidelines for the second half to make way for Jack Whitaker and Frank Gifford in the booth. (UPDATE: Classic Sports TV and Media says Summerall only worked the sidelines)
1968 — Begins calling The Masters and US Open Tennis on CBS. Also CBS abandons its practice of assigning announcing teams to one team. Summerall is shifted to the network’s number one team with Ray Scott. He and Scott call Super Bowl II.
1970 — Calls Super Bowl IV with Jack Buck and Frank Gifford.
1972 — Calls Super Bowl VI with Ray Scott.
1974 — Calls his last Super Bowl (VIII) as analyst with Ray Scott. Becomes the lead play-by-play man for the first season of the NBA on CBS through the finals between Boston and Milwaukee. CBS reassigns him to play-by-play on the NFL and teams him with Tom Brookshier, his partner on the NFL Films show, “This Week in Pro Football.”
1975 — Hosts the Pan American Games in Mexico.
1976 — Calls Super Bowl X with Brookshier.
1978 — Calls Super Bowl XII in New Orleans.
1980 — Calls Super Bowl XIV, his last with Brookshier.
1981 — Splits the first 8 weeks of the season between Hank Stram and John Madden. After Week 8, CBS decides to team Summerall and Madden permanently.
1982 — Summerall calls Super Bowl XVI with Madden.
1983 — Replaces Vin Scully on the 18th hole at The Masters and teams with Ken Venturi on the PGA on CBS for the rest of his time on the network.
1984 — Summerall and Madden team for Super Bowl XVIII.
1985 — Calls the NCAA Tournament with Larry Conley.
1987 — Summerall and Madden team for their third Super Bowl (XXI).
1990 — Summerall and Madden call Super Bowl XXIV.
1992 — Summerall and Madden call Super Bowl XXVI. Is admitted to the Betty Ford Clinic for treatment of alcoholism.
1994 — Summerall and Madden call their last NFL game for CBS, the NFC Championship between San Francisco and Dallas at Texas Stadium. Summerall calls his final Masters on CBS and is replaced on the 18th hole by Jim Nantz. Summerall and Madden join Fox Sports.
1997 — Summerall and Madden call their first Big Game in five years, Super Bowl XXXI on Fox.
1999 — Summerall and Madden pair for Super Bowl XXXIII.
2002 — Summerall and Madden call Super Bowl XXXVI, their final Big Game together. Madden leaves Fox to join Al Michaels on Monday Night Football. Summerall retires, then decides to return to Fox calling primarily Dallas Cowboys calls with Brian Baldinger. After the 2002 season, Summerall leaves Fox after the network would not guarantee he could work mostly Dallas games.
2004 — Substitutes for Mike Patrick on ESPN’s Sunday Night Football and partners with Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire on preseason and early season games until Patrick returns.
2007 — Returns to Fox to call the Cotton Bowl.
2010 — Calls his last Cotton Bowl for Fox.
2011 — Makes his final appearance on Fox on the Cotton Bowl pregame show.
