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Frank Gifford

1930-

American football player

In the national spotlight for over half a century, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Emmy-winning broadcaster Frank Gifford enjoyed a successful transition from professional athlete to respected television journalist. His fame as an anchor of ABC's Monday Night Football from 1971 to 1998 even transcended his reputation as one of the biggest stars of the National Football League (NFL) in its early days as a nationally televised sport in the 1950s. After two failed marriages, Gifford also seemed to find personal satisfaction with his relationship with television talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford, whom he married in 1986. Yet his image as a loving husband suffered in 1997 when his extramarital affair with Suzen Johnson was exposed in the Globe, a tabloid that had paid Johnson $75,000 to document one of their trysts. The Giffords publicly proclaimed their intention to remain married, but the incident tarnished his reputation. The year after the scandal, Gifford's Monday Night Football role was reduced to delivering pre-game commentaries and in 1998 he left the show for good.

Unsettled Childhood

Frank Newton Gifford was born to Weldon Wayne and Lola Mae (Hawkins) Gifford on August 16, 1930 in Santa Monica, California. He was the younger brother of Winona and Waine Gifford. Because of the unsteady work that Weldon Gifford found as an itinerant laborer in the oil fields of the Southwest, the Giffords and their three children were constantly relocating. In his autobiography The Whole Ten Yards, Gifford recalled that his mother once counted forty-seven different places that the family had lived during her youngest son's childhood.

The uncertain nature of his father's work meant that Gifford grew up in near-poverty and the constant moves never allowed him to stay in one school for an entire year until he was in high school. Frustrated by his poor

academic performance, Gifford became a habitual truant after enrolling at Bakersfield High School in Bakersfield, California. After joining the school's football team as a quarterback, however, Gifford paid more attention to his studies, an accomplishment he credited to the guidance of his coach, Homer Beatty. After completing his secondary education in 1948, Gifford spent a year at Bakersfield Junior College to muster enough academic credits to enter the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, where he had been offered a football scholarship. Still on academic probation during his first year at USC, Gifford violated the Pacific Coast Conference rules against practicing with the team, a violation that resulted in a $2,500 fine against USC.

Outstanding Player at USC

Gifford finally joined the USC football team's roster as a legitimate player in 1949. He made a sensational debut with two interceptions in a game against the U.S. Naval Academy that year, and went on to become an accomplished player in both offensive and defensive positions. In the 1950-51 season at USC, Gifford was named to the Collier's All-American collegiate team, one of the most prestigious honors of the day. The recognition was followed by a ream of publicity that highlighted Gifford's matinee-idol looks and six-foot, one-inch, two-hundred-pound frame. Gifford later retained an acting agent and appeared in several small movie and television roles throughout the 1950s. He also appeared in numerous commercials for products ranging from Jantzen swim wear to Mennen after-shave lotion to Lucky Strike cigarettes.

Drafted by Giants

After learning that his girlfriend, Maxine Avis Ewart, had become pregnant, Gifford eloped with her to Las Vegas, Nevada on January 13, 1952. In deference to the morals of the day, the Giffords stated publicly that they had secretly married a year earlier. Gifford then signed a contract to play for the NFL's New York Giants and dropped out of college. He later completed his degree at USC in 1956 during his off-seasons from the Giants.

Although he was unhappy playing for the Giants at first, the arrival of Vince Lombardi as the team's defensive coach in 1954 transformed Gifford's NFL career. Under Lombardi's guidance, Gifford became one of the best running backs of the era. Named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1956 by United Press International, Gifford set Giants team records for average yards per carry (4.3) and total touchdowns (ninety-two) that still stood in 2002. In 1956 the Giants won the NFL Championship over the Philadelphia Eagles; it was the only championship title the team took during Gifford's football career, which lasted until 1964.

A photogenic presence on and off the field, Gifford was instrumental in popularizing football as a televised sport in the 1950s. One of the first nationally televised NFL championship games, a December 28, 1958 match between the Giants and the Baltimore Colts, came to be known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played." Gifford had fumbled twice in the early stages of the game but recovered to rush for a touchdown and bring the team close to another scoring opportunity. After a referee marked one play just short of a first down, however, the Giants were forced to punt. The Colts went on to win the game by a 23-17 margin, but many viewers were furious over the referee's call.

Success as Broadcaster

Knocked unconscious by Chuck Bednarik in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 20, 1960, Gifford spent ten days in the hospital and announced his retirement. After making a surprising recovery, he returned to the Giants' lineup as a flanker. He played for three more seasons and retired as a professional athlete a second time in 1964. By that date Gifford had worked for several years as a broadcast journalist, a role he took on full-time with CBS in 1965. In 1971 he joined the team of Howard Cosell and Don Meredith on ABC's Monday Night Football, a position he retained through 1998. Inducted in to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977, Gifford nonetheless became better known to a younger generation for his work on Monday Night Football and other sports programs, including several Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In 1977 Gifford received an Emmy Award as Outstanding Sports Personality from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Checkered Personal Life

Gifford had three children—Jeff, Victoria, and Kyle—with Maxine Ewart Gifford before the couple divorced. In 1978 Gifford married a second time, to Astrid Narss; that marriage ended in divorce in 1986. On October 18, 1986, Gifford married for a third time, to outspoken talk show host Kathie Lee Epstein Johnson. Despite the twenty-three-year age difference between them, the couple had two children—a son, Cody, and a daughter, Cassidy. Kathie Lee Gifford often discussed her marriage in glowing terms on television and in print, a habit that kept the couple in the media spotlight. As she wrote in her 1992 memoir, I Can't Believe I Said That!, "Frank is my husband, my confidant, lover, therapist, parenting partner, and best friend. We depend on each other for security, for emotional, sexual, and spiritual fulfillment, and for companionship…. Cheating is out of the question. Sure, Frank sees sexy flight attendants and businesswomen when he flies around the country. But the only come-on line he gets anymore is 'C'mon, Frank, show me a picture of Cody.'" The picture of domestic happiness was shattered in 1997, however, when the Globe published photos and a transcript of a tryst between Gifford and his lover, Suzen Johnson, who claimed to have been seeing him for four years. Kathie Lee Gifford went on a media offensive and declared that their marriage would endure. Seeking a lower profile, Gifford reduced his role on Monday Night Football and retired from network broadcasting in 1998.

Despite the personal scandals, Gifford was remembered by one generation as a college and professional football standout and by later generations as the familiar face of Monday Night Football. Helping to popularize football as a national pasttime during its introduction as a televised, mass-spectator sport, Gifford's contribution to football indeed was crucial in fostering its popularity throughout North America in the 1950s. In subsequent decades his work as a broadcast journalist helped the sport's fan base to grow. For these achievements, Gifford remains one of the most important figures in the NFL's modern era.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY GIFFORD:

(With Harry Waters) The Whole Ten Yards, Random House, 1993.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Gifford, Frank, and Harry Waters. The Whole Ten Yards. New York: Random House, 1993.

Gifford, Kathie Lee, with Jim Jerome. I Can't Believe I Said That! New York: Pocket Books, 1992.

Periodicals

Fineman, Dana. "She Weathered the Storm of Her Husband's Betrayal with a Steely Resolve." People (December 29, 1997-Jauary 5, 1998).

Greenhouse, Steven. "A Crusader Makes Celebrities Tremble." New York Times (June 18, 1996).

Hanover, Donna. "Something Deep Inside Me Died." Good Housekeeping (August 1997).

Jones, Stacy. "Rival Tabloids Trade Barbs." Editor and Publisher (June 21, 1997).

Other

"Frank Gifford." Football Database Web site. http://www.bballsports.com (December 5, 2002).

"Frank Gifford." Pro Football Hall of Fame Web site. http://www.profootballhof.com/players/enshrinees/fgifford.cfm (December 3, 2002).

"Frank Gifford: Pro Football Hall of Famer." Sports Stars USA Web site. http://www.sportsstarsusa.com/football/gifford_frank.html (December 3, 2002).

"Frank N. Gifford." Hickok Sports Web site. http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/giffordfrank.shtml (December 3, 2002).

"Gifford Was Star in Backfield, Booth." ESPN Web site. http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/gifford_frank.html (December 3, 2002).

Sketch by Timothy Borden