Frank Gifford

Sportcaster • Football Player • Actor • Sports Commentator

Birth Date: August 16, 1930

Death Date: August 9, 2015

Birth Place: Santa Monica, California

Frank Gifford was a star professional football player with the NFL, an Emmy-award winning sportscaster, and famously the husband of daytime television host Kathie Lee Gifford. Due to a low grade point average in high school, Gifford was ineligible for an academic scholarship to USC, so he enrolled in a junior college in order to get the grades necessary to transfer. After graduation, Gifford joined the New York Giants, the team with which he would spend the entirety of his professional football career. During his tenure with the Giants, Gifford went to the Pro Bowl 8 times and went to the NFL Championship Game 5 times. In 1956 Gifford won the MVP award, and led the Giants to victory in the Championship, beating the Chicago Bears. After 12 seasons with the NY Giants, Gifford became a broadcaster for CBS. In 1971 Gifford became the play-by-play host for "Monday Night Football" (ABC/ESPN 1970- ), a show he remained part of for 28 years. The series became enduringly popular, and was one of the longest-running sports programs in television history. In 1997 Gifford faced scandal when his affair with flight attendant Suzen Johnson was made public. As a result, he was replaced by Boomer Esiason on "Monday Night Football." Gifford also made television appearances throughout his career, such as in a 1963 episode of "Hazel" (NBC/CBS 1961-66), and a 1995 episode of the Craig T. Nelson sitcom "Coach" (ABC 1989-1997). Gifford died in Greenwich, CT on August 9, 2015.