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Greenwich Remembers Frank Gifford, Legend and Friend

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Kathie Lee and Frank, Regis Philbin, Hoda Kotb, June 2015. Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña photo
Kathie Lee and Frank, Regis Philbin, Hoda Kotb, June 2015. Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña photo

National Football League Hall of Famer, legendary Monday Night Football broadcaster, and town resident Frank Gifford died last Sunday morning of natural causes at his home in Riverside. He was 84 years old. He would have turned 85 on Sunday, Aug. 16, a birthday he shared with his wife, talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford.

National Football League Hall of Famer, legendary Monday Night Football broadcaster, and town resident Frank Gifford died last Sunday morning of natural causes at his home in Riverside. He was 84 years old. He would have turned 85 this Sunday, Aug. 16, a birthday he shared with his wife, talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford.

Frank with Kathie Lee at a benefit for Dana’s Angels Research Trust (DART) at the Palace Theatre in 2010. (Photo by Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña)
Frank with Kathie Lee at a benefit for Dana’s Angels Research Trust (DART) at the Palace Theatre in 2010. (Photo by Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña)

As word went out of his death, condolences poured in from all quarters—sports, broadcasting, music, politics, and a wide and varied fandom. Early that evening, Kathie Lee said via Twitter, “Deeply grateful to all 4 ur outpouring of grace. We r steadfast in our faith & finding comfort in knowing where Frank is.” And his daughter Cassidy said via Instagram Monday, “Yesterday, I lost my best friend… His kindness was infectious, and his grace, beyond compare.”

Gifford had been famous for more than 60 years—as a California golden boy at USC, New York Giants superstar, an articulately laid-back sportscaster (balancing out the eccentricities of partners Howard Cosell and Don Meredith), a sports statesman, and finally, as comic grist for Kathie’s shows, Live With Regis & Kathie Lee and the Today show’s fourth hour.

But Gifford forged his legend on the football field, where he played with a rare elegance and speed. He spent his entire NFL with the New York Giants, from 1952 to 1964, and was one of few who succeeded on both offense and defense—though he much preferred the former. An untested offensive coordinator named Vince Lombardi joined the Giants in 1954 and quickly tapped Gifford’s halfback potential. “In effect, my pro career began that season,” Gifford said.

Gifford, whom sportswriter Tony Kornheiser once called “the handsomest man in the history of the world,” brought glamour to football just in time for the TV age. In 1956 he led the Giants to the NFL championship and was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player. He was named to the Pro Bowl eight times at three different positions—an unrivaled versatility.

Gifford had a key role in what is widely considered the greatest football game ever played: the 1958 championship game against the Baltimore Colts. He caught a go-ahead 15-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. In the game’s most controversial play, also in the fourth quarter, Gifford gained what all the Giants thought was a first down, but the referee spotted the ball unfavorably. That gave the Colts a chance to tie. They did, and went on to win in overtime, 23-17. The game is often said to have ushered in pro football’s era of mass popularity.

When Gifford was in his final season, Greenwich resident Steve Thurlow was a rookie running back. “We got to be pretty good buddies,” Thurlow said. “It was an unusual relationship in the sense that I was a rookie and he wasn’t only a seasoned player, but was certainly the most famous New York Giant and arguably the most famous NFL player.” Thurlow recalled how Gifford would drive him home to his midtown apartment after practices. “It was a big treat for me. But honestly, he was great to everybody.”

Frank Gifford. (Associated Press & NFL photo)
Frank Gifford. (Associated Press & NFL photo)

During his career with the Giants, Gifford rushed for 3,609 yards and 34 touchdowns. As a receiver, he made 367 catches for 5,434 yards and had 43 touchdowns. His 14 touchdown passes (on halfback option plays) are the most by a non-quarterback in NFL history. Gifford retired with no regrets. “People wonder if I don’t get lonesome for my playing days,” he once said. “The answer is no. Twelve years are enough for anybody.”

“Frank Gifford was an icon of the game, both as a Hall of Fame player for the Giants and Hall of Fame broadcaster for CBS and ABC,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Frank’s talent and charisma on the field and on the air were important elements in the growth and popularity of the modern NFL. He was a great friend to everyone in the league, a special advisor to NFL commissioners, and served NFL fans with enormous distinction for so many decades. We will always remember Frank’s contributions and miss his friendship. Our hearts go out to Kathie Lee and the entire Gifford family.”

“Not only was Frank a member of the Giants family from the time he left USC, and will be forever, but because Frank, my father (Bob) and Pete Rozelle were so close in the ‘60s, I felt like he was a member of my family,” said Steve Tisch, the New York Giants chairman. “I always loved seeing Frank on our sideline before our games. He had the handshake of a 25-year old, and he looked you right in the eye with his big blue eyes. He was such a strong person in every way. He will be missed and will always be remembered as a Giants’ Giant.”

Gifford was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

“Frank Gifford was the ultimate Giant,” said New York Giants president John Mara. “He was the face of our franchise for so many years. More importantly, he was a treasured member of our family. My father loved him like a son. For my siblings and me, Frank was like a revered older brother whom we looked up to and admired. We loved him and will miss him terribly.”

Frank Gifford (Associated Press photo)
Frank Gifford (Associated Press photo)

With his playing days behind him, Gifford eased naturally into broadcasting. As a co-host of Monday Night Football from 1971 to 1985, he was known for his precise calls and sound judgment. It was Gifford who urged Howard Cosell, on Dec. 8, 1980, to break the news of John Lennon’s murder. First he convinced a dubious Cosell off-camera, then he told millions of viewers, “I don’t care what’s on the line [in the game], Howard, you have to say what we both know in the booth.” Cosell’s announcement, full of sorrow and gravity, is considered one of his finest moments.

Steve Young, the Greenwich-raised Hall of Fame quarterback, told the Sentinel, “Frank inspired generations of great athletes and, even after his very successful professional career ended, he demonstrated that, as a former top athlete, one could embark on multiple, successful careers. He was a true renaissance man.”

Gifford met Kathie Lee Johnson in 1983—“the tight-end of my dreams,” she called him—when they were both guest-hosting Good Morning America, and they married on the beach in Bridgehampton in 1986. It was his third marriage and her second. The couple lived for several years in a renovated farmhouse on Taconic Road. Their son, Cody, was born in 1990, and Cassidy followed in 1993. Later, the Giffords moved to a Spanish Revival on the Riverside waterfront.

In Greenwich, Gifford gave generously of his time. “Both Frank and Kathie Lee have been an incredible duo for decades now on the community service front,” said state Sen. L. Scott Frantz. “They have hosted and MC’d more charitable events than I can count, benefiting everything from schools to churches to teen centers and causes concerning rare diseases. Simply put, Frank, along with Kathie Lee, was the consummate family man with a keen sense of community service. He was just the kind of person one would want living in their town.”

Greenwichites were well acquainted with Gifford’s football legend status, but they also recall how easy it was to strike up a lively conversation or even a full-fledged friendship with him.

“I had the incredible privilege of getting to know Frank Gifford extremely well, as he was the parent of two of my favorite students, Cody and Cassidy Gifford,” Shaun Kelly, a history teacher at Greenwich Country Day, said via Facebook. “A remarkable father to his two youngest children, Frank would invariably wait in line each afternoon to pick them up just as I was taking my extended walk after classes. By the second or third year, he began to open the passenger side of his car—and we’d talk. While we chatted a lot about football (yes, we had back-and-forths about his Giants and my Patriots), it went well beyond that to politics, family, children, and life in general.’

Frank with Jackson and Lukens Boolbol at a benefit for Dana’s Angels Research Trust (DART) in 2009. (Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña photo)
Frank with Jackson and Lukens Boolbol at a benefit for Dana’s Angels Research Trust (DART) in 2009. (Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña photo)

“A couple of times, Frank and I ran into each other at our favorite deli, Rinaldi’s, and ended up eating our wedges together at the picnic bench adjacent to the deli,” Kelly continued. “I had to pick it up the last time as a payoff for the Pats losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl. In every way, Frank was a gentleman and a wonderfully supportive father.”

Frank and Kathie Lee worshipped at Trinity Church in Greenwich. Almost as soon as Drew Williams, the senior pastor, arrived from England in 2009, the Giffords invited him and his wife over to lunch.

“I recall I was just a little nervous to meet an American legend, having so recently landed in the U.S.,” Williams said. “We encountered a warm, generous, gracious man who welcomed us like we were family. Every conversation I ever had with Frank was distinguished by his deep gratitude for God’s goodness and blessing in his life and a profound love and admiration for Kathie and the children. Frank also had a rare gift of encouragement—he had a way of making us all walk a little taller.”

Gifford’s appeal extended well outside of football partly because his own interests did. Back in 1956—at the height of his football stardom—Gay Talese wrote, “Frank Gifford is a New York Giants’ halfback who reads poetry, visits art shows, writes a sport column, builds apartment houses, and has even played in Hollywood movies—mostly ‘bad guy’ roles, which, he says, come easy.”

Nobody believes that last part. In 1968, onetime Greenwich resident Frederick Exley published the cult classic “A Fan’s Notes,” an autobiographical novel in which Gifford is at first the object of the author’s scorn. Fellow students at USC, the author portrays Gifford as the Big Man on Campus, and Exley portrays himself as a loser-ish nonentity. One day, as Exley quietly seethes over Gifford’s all-American flawlessness, Gifford “smiled a most ingratiating smile, gave me a most amiable hello, and walked out the door…” all it took for Exley to become a fan for life.

Exley captures something essential about the way so many felt about Gifford. “I cheered for him with such inordinate enthusiasm…,” he wrote, “Each time I heard the roar of the crowd, it roared in my ears as much for me as for him.”

In addition to Kathie Lee, Cody and Cassidy, Frank Gifford leaves three children from his first marriage, Jeffrey, Kyle and Victoria, and several grandchildren.

Kathie Lee & Frank Gifford at Avon Theatre, Jun 9, 2009 (photo by Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña)
Kathie Lee & Frank Gifford at Avon Theatre, Jun 9, 2009 (photo by Elaine and ChiChi Ubiña)

 

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