John Madden Elected to Football Hall of Fame

Madden living a dream
Ex-coach expected a call but learned of Hall of Fame selection from TV
Ira Miller, Chronicle Staff Writer

John Madden is never at a loss for words, but he was close Saturday. He stood on a podium in a hotel ballroom, arms flying, waving, gesturing, talking not in complete thoughts but in stream of consciousness.

This was the essential Madden, the Everyman to football fans, trying to keep from losing it while explaining what it meant to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 27 years after he coached his final game with the Oakland Raiders.

"I know as a coach that it's all about players," Madden said. "I firmly believe that. The game isn't about a lot of stuff on the outside. It's about players, and I had great players. ... They all made this possible. As a coach, if you ever start to think any other way than that, you're off base."

The Hall of Fame induction is scheduled for Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio. Madden said he probably would choose Raiders' owner Al Davis or Madden's son, Mike, to make his presentation introduction. When Davis was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1992, Madden made the presentation, but Davis may not be up to it physically to reciprocate.

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John Madden was a great coach and all around super person; his focus and his attention was always on his players. I hope Al Davis will be healthy enough to do the induction presentation; it would be appropriate. As a Raiders fan, this about the only good thing that happened this year.