Millennials and Gen-Zers know John Madden as the namesake of a popular video game franchise, but what really defined him in flesh and blood was his passion for the body-smashing game of football. He reveled in it as a coach, most famously for 10 years with the wild and crazy Oakland Raiders, and as a kinetic TV broadcaster who brought viewers into the action.
Madden began his coaching career in 1960 at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria while earning a master’s degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he had played some football and baseball. Santa Barbara native Ernie Zampese, who was on the Hancock staff, recalled several years ago that Madden “was an extremely bright guy. He had that persona. He was a leader. He loved being that guy.”
When I had a conversation with Madden himself about his friendship with Zampese, a longtime NFL assistant coach, he talked at length about the Santa Maria tri-tip barbecue that both enjoyed. Besides football, food — the hearty kind, not the gourmet kind — was one of Madden’s favorite topics.