
How John Madden Built the EA Football Franchise Game
John Madden was born in Minnesota and was raised in California to a blue collar family. In highschool, Madden was a star athlete. He was a perennial star athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. He had a tough time choosing a sport to stick to in college. Madden was a two-sport athlete at San Mateo College. He entered college with the sole goal to play in the NFL. After transferring 3 times in a 4 year period, Madden got drafted by the Eagles as the 244 pick in the 1958 NFL draft. Madden unfortunately hurt his knee during preseason which ended his football career. Madden wouldn’t let a career ending injury define him. He took his love for football, and a degree in education to kick off his coaching career as an assistant coach at Hancock College. His notorious attention to detail started to make a name for himself in coaching. Within 7 years at Hancock, Madden was hired by Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders as a linebackers coach. Madden built an illustrious coaching resume during his time as an NFL head coach. Madden's resume highlights:
After experiencing coaching burnout, Madden retired from coaching in 1978. He accepted a NFL commentator position a year later. Madden loved commentating, and he was elite at it. But that’s not what he was known for. EA sports approached him in 1982 with an idea.EA approached John Madden in 1982 with the idea of creating a video game.
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