John Madden is easily identifiable to several generations of football fans. To those who grew up watching football in the 1960s and 1970s, John Madden is best remembered as the fiery, extremely successful coach of the Oakland Raiders. To those who first began watching football in the 1980s, John Madden is the colorful commentator who can explain the most complicated football in layman's terms. To children of the 1990s, John Madden is the name behind a popular football video game. But John Madden has been more than a coach-turned-broadcaster-turned promoter; he has literally taught the game for the last thirty years.

Born on April 10, 1936, in Austin, Minnesota, Madden and his family moved to the San Francisco suburb of Daly City, California, when John was five. In high school, he excelled in baseball and football. He played the latter as a two-way tackle at California...