About
"In the early days of 'Monday Night Football' there was no competition from cable, none from satellite. Now when you put something on the air you know you're up against a thousand other pieces of entertainment that are out there ... It's an entirely different world. But if you put something on the air today and there's an attraction, people will find it, and they still find football in astonishing numbers."
In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, Frank Gifford (1930-2015) outlines his career, beginning with his tenure as a professional football player for the New York Giants. Gifford then discusses how his football experience led to his involvement in sportscasting. He discusses juggling both careers at the same time, his eventual retirement from professional football, and the progression of his work as a sportscaster for CBS and ABC. He mentions highlights of his time in sportscasting, such as reporting for the first Super Bowl, covering the Olympics, and co-hosting the iconic ABC sports show, Monday Night Football for many years. He talks of the importance of human interest sports reporting and how it affected the popularity of Monday Night Football. Gifford describes covering Evel Knievel for Wide World of Sports and also recalls the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics. Lastly, he talks about meeting his wife Kathie Lee Gifford, and appearing on her show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. Karen Herman conducted the interview on September 18, 2006 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Frank Gifford on memorable moments while working on Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on being part of the CBS broadcast team for the first Super Bowl in 1967
Frank Gifford on how Roone Arledge changed sports broadcasting with his coverage of the Olympics
Frank Gifford on hosting The Frank Gifford Show
Frank Gifford on how he would like to be remembered
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on being drafted by the New York Giants; on working as an extra in the film industry
On another contract with the Giants; on his film acting roles; on his involvement with television and radio
Chapter 2
On his TV sports show The Frank Gifford Show; on his appearance on What's My Line?; on signing a contract with Warner Bros. and endorsements as a pro football player
On hosting a CBS sports radio show; on acting in Warner Bros. pilots; on his transition to CBS Sports; on doing local news sportscasting and hosting the early news; on hosting the NFL pre-game show
Chapter 3
On being part of the CBS broadcast team for the first Super Bowl in 1967 and broadcasting several later Super Bowls; on his transition to ABC's Monday Night Football
On how he and his co-stars prepared for a Monday Night Football broadcast; on how human interest sports-reporting affected broadcasting for the show
Chapter 4
On working in the broadcasting booth for Monday Night Football; on how the take over of ABC by Cap Cities changed the operations there; on impressions of Leonard Goldenson
On the changes made to the Monday Night Football broadcast team; on his departure from Monday Night Football; on memorable moments while working on Monday Night Football
On working on Wide World of Sports and the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics; on covering Franz Klammer's run at Innsbruck for the Olympics
On covering Evel Knievel for The Wide World of Sports
Chapter 5
On covering Evel Knievel for Wide World of Sports; on what television has done for sports; on guest hosting on Good Morning America and appearances on other shows
On advice he would give to someone starting out as a sportscaster; on reactions from fans he meets; on the biggest misconception about him; on how he would like to be remembered
Shows
ABC's Wide World of Sports
Frank Gifford on covering Evel Knievel for Wide World of Sports
Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Frank Gifford on covering Franz Klammer's run at Innsbruck for the Olympics on The Wide World of Sports
Frank Gifford on covering Evel Knievel for The Wide World of Sports
Coach
Frank Gifford on guest-starring on Coach
Good Morning America
Frank Gifford on guest-hosting on Good Morning America
Live with Regis and Kathie Lee
Frank Gifford on guest-hosting on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee
Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on his transition to broadcasting for ABC's Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on his role on Monday Night Football and his rapport with his co-stars
Frank Gifford on how human interest sports reporting affected broadcasting for Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on surprising things that happened during Monday Night Football broadcasts
Frank Gifford on working in the broadcasting booth for Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on the changes made to the Monday Night Football broadcast team; on memorable moments and his departure from the show
Olympics
Frank Gifford on how Roone Arledge changed sports broadcasting with his coverage of the Olympics
Super Bowl
Frank Gifford on being part of the CBS broadcast team for the first Super Bowl in 1967
Webster
Frank Gifford on guest-starring on Webster with Alex Karras
What's My Line?
Frank Gifford on his appearance on the TV show What's My Line?
Topics
Bloopers
Frank Gifford on bloopers from the broadcast booth
Coverage
Frank Gifford on his transition to CBS Sports and working on CBS Radio
Frank Gifford on being part of the CBS broadcast team for the first Super Bowl in 1967
Frank Gifford on how Roone Arledge changed sports broadcasting with his coverage of the Olympics
Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Emmy Awards
Frank Gifford on the Emmy-winning telecast covering Franz Klammer's run at Innsbruck for the Olympics
Memorable Moments on Television
Frank Gifford on securing an exclusive pre-game interview for CBS with Vince Lombardi before the first Super Bowl in 1967
Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Olympic Games
Frank Gifford on how Roone Arledge changed sports broadcasting with his coverage of the Olympics
Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Sports
Frank Gifford on first meeting Howard Cosell
Frank Gifford on his transition to CBS Sports and working on CBS Radio
Frank Gifford on hosting the NFL Pre-game show in 1963, that became a network show
Frank Gifford on being part of the CBS broadcast team for the first Super Bowl in 1967
Frank Gifford on how Roone Arledge changed sports broadcasting with his coverage of the Olympics
Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Super Bowl
Frank Gifford on being part of the CBS broadcast team for the first Super Bowl in 1967
We Cried
Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Professions
Sportscaster
Frank Gifford on how he would like to be remembered
Frank Gifford on advice he would give to someone starting out as a sportscaster
Frank Gifford on reactions from fans he meets
Genres
Sports
Frank Gifford on his role on Monday Night Football and his rapport with his co-stars
Frank Gifford on securing an exclusive pre-game interview for CBS with Vince Lombardi before the first Super Bowl in 1967
Frank Gifford on being part of the CBS broadcast team for the first Super Bowl in 1967
Frank Gifford on how human interest sports reporting affected broadcasting for Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on the changes made to the Monday Night Football broadcast team; on memorable moments and his departure from the show
Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Talk Shows
Frank Gifford on meeting his wife Kathie Lee Gifford on Good Morning America
People
Roone Arledge
Frank Gifford on discussions he had with Roone Arledge about Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on Roone Arledge's departure from Monday Night Football
Frank Gifford on memories of Roone Arledge, Jim McKay and Peter Jennings covering the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
James T. Aubrey
Frank Gifford on impressions of Bill MacPhail and James T. Aubrey at CBS
Howard Cosell
Frank Gifford on first meeting Howard Cosell
Frank Gifford on Howard Cosell's involvement with Monday Night Football
Dan Dierdorf
Frank Gifford on working with Dan Dierdorf on Monday Night Football and the impact of Monday Night football on society
Kathie Lee Gifford
Frank Gifford on meeting his wife Kathie Lee Gifford on Good Morning America
Leonard H. Goldenson
Frank Gifford on impressions of Leonard Goldenson and his working relationship with Roone Arledge
Peter Jennings
Frank Gifford on memories of Roone Arledge, Jim McKay and Peter Jennings covering the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Alex Karras
Frank Gifford on guest starring on Webster with Alex Karras
Vince Lombardi
Frank Gifford on how things improved for the New York Giants when Vince Lombardi took over
Frank Gifford on securing an exclusive pre-game interview for CBS with Vince Lombardi before the first Super Bowl in 1967
Bill MacPhail
Frank Gifford on impressions of Bill MacPhail and James T. Aubrey at CBS
Frank Gifford on working with boss, Bill MacPhail, broadcasting the first Super Bowl in 1967 with Ray Scott, Jack Whitaker and the broadcasting team for CBS
Jim McKay
Frank Gifford on Jim McKay's human interest approach to sports-reporting
Frank Gifford on memories of Roone Arledge, Jim McKay and Peter Jennings covering the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics
Don Meredith
Frank Gifford on how Don Meredith became involved in Monday Night Football
Al Michaels
Frank Gifford on working with Al Michaels on Monday Night Football and the impact of Monday Night Football on society
Ronald Reagan
Frank Gifford on Presidents such as Ronald Regan and other note worthy guests that had cameos on Monday Night Football
Chris Schenkel
Frank Gifford on hosting The Frank Gifford Show with Chris Schenkel
Dennis Swanson
Frank Gifford on Dennis Swanson's involvement with Monday Night Football
Jack Whitaker
Frank Gifford on working with boss, Bill McPhail, broadcasting the first Super Bowl in 1967 with Ray Scott, Jack Whitaker and the broadcasting team for CBS