FAYETTEVILLE — Pat Summerall, the former University of Arkansas place kicker who became one of the signature voices of the National Football League, died Tuesday in Dallas. He was 82.
Summerall, a Lake City, Fla. native, played for the Razorbacks from 1949-51, earning all-American honors as a senior kicker, though he also played defensive end and tight end. He played 10 seasons in the NFL, including a four-year stint with the New York Giants in which he played in "The Greatest Game Ever Played," a loss to the Baltimore Colts in the 1958 NFL Championship Game.
He began his NFL broadcasting career in 1962, one year after he retired as a player. He broadcasted NFL games for the next 40 years on CBS and FOX. In 1981 he partnered with John Madden to create TV's most famous broadcasting team, working with the former Raiders coach for the final 21 years of his full-time career.
Summerall worked 16 Super Bowls as a play-by-play broadcaster on CBS and FOX - the most of any announcer - and worked an additional 10 Super Bowls on radio. He also aided in CBS coverage of The Masters and U.S. Open for tennis.
He retired from broadcasting full-time in 2002, but still worked on occasion for FOX. He served as the broadcaster for the Cotton Bowl Classic from 2007-10, calling Arkansas' game against Missouri in the classic on Jan. 1, 2008.
In 2008, Summerall loaned his vocals for the voiceover of the football team's intro video at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. In 2009, he did the voiceover for the university's 30-second TV commercial.
Last December, Summerall was selected as Arkansas' recipient of the 2012 SEC Legends Award and recognized at the SEC Football Championship Game in Atlanta.
"I am so honored to represent the University of Arkansas as a recipient of the SEC Legend Award," Summerall said at the time.
Summerall was named to the Razorbacks' all-Century Team in 1994. In 1951, he kicked a game-winning field goal in Arkansas' win over No. 4 Texas - the program's first win over the rival Longhorns in Fayetteville.
He was named National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Assocation in 1977 and inducted into the organization's hall of fame in 1994. He was also inducted into the American Sportscasters Association's hall of fame in 1999.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage.