John Madden will be honored one last time at the Oakland Coliseum on Valentine's Day.
The iconic former Oakland Raiders coach, Pro Football Hall of Famer and longtime KCBS Radio contributor's family will hold a public memorial in celebration of his life on Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m., a day after the NFL season ends in Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.
"To just tie it right behind the Super Bowl is probably the way Dad would want it," Mike Madden said of his father during an interview with KCBS Radio's Kris Ankarlo on Monday. "He wouldn't want it before the Super Bowl. He sure as heck wouldn't want to detract from the Super Bowl. He wouldn't want to have anyone in the football world, or anyone in the football broadcasting world, have to deal with something on his behalf while they're all working."
In a press release announcing the event, the NFL said the memorial was moved from Feb. 15 to the day before so the Coliseum could be "secured for one more Monday Night Football event" following the Raiders' departure to Las Vegas in 2020. During his 30-year broadcasting career, Madden worked on "Monday Night Football" for four seasons.
Sandy Montag, Madden's longtime agent, told KCBS Radio's Kris Ankarlo in an interview on Monday afternoon that all proceeds from the memorial will benefit the Oakland Unified School District.
"It's one more night in Oakland," Montag said. "John had a 13-1 record on 'Monday Night Football,' so we thought it would be fitting to bring football back to Oakland for one more night."
Madden, 85, died on Dec. 28 in his Pleasanton home. A Daly City native, Madden called the Bay Area home well after his decade spent roaming the Raiders' sideline at the Coliseum. He lived in Pleasanton until his passing, hosting an annual barbecue with KCBS Radio and a yearly bocce ball tournament with former San Francisco 49ers coach Steve Mariucci. Madden also appeared on KCBS Radio every weekday morning from 1997-2015 and then two mornings a week from 2017-2018.
Beloved in the Bay Area, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2006. His 103-32-7 record remains the best in Raiders history, and Madden still has the highest winning percentage (.759) of any coach in NFL history to coach at least 100 games. He became a national icon in his post-coaching career as a pitchman, pioneering color commentator and, later, the namesake for EA Sports' Madden NFL video game series.
Madden was survived by his wife, Virginia, as well as his sons Joe, Mike and five grandchildren.
Ticketmaster will sell tickets to Madden's memorial later this week, which Mike Madden said will cost $32.14 to commemorate the score of the John Madden-coached Raiders' victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
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