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Published by Diversion Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
How John Madden—never the winningest coach, the most polished broadcaster, or the loudest executive in the room—became the NFL’s most influential figure, fueling the league’s rise from the broadcast booth to Madison Avenue to video games, while quietly grappling with football’s human cost, a reckoning born the day opposing player Darryl Stingley was paralyzed on his watch
John Madden retired abruptly from coaching in 1979, at forty-two years old—five months after receiver Darryl Stingley’s paralyzing injury against his Raiders. That moment would never leave him. And he had no intention of entering broadcasting. Yet within a decade, he would become the most recognizable voice in football and the catalyst behind the NFL’s explosion into America’s most powerful sports league.
In BAM!, veteran sports journalist Scott Howard-Cooper reveals how Madden arrived at exactly the right moment. Television reshaped sports, cable networks emerged, and the NFL needed a translator to turn complex strategy into entertainment. Madden didn’t just analyze football; he reinvented how it was explained, watched, and loved. From innovations like the telestrator and pre-game film study to making Thanksgiving football a ritual, Madden changed sports television forever.
But BAM! goes beyond the booth, tracing Madden’s influence through advertising, network wars, labor crises, concussion debates, and the birth of the Madden NFL video-game franchise—which reshaped gaming and brought football to new generations. Even as he built the game into a cultural juggernaut, Madden wrestled with its human cost. Along the way, he emerges as brilliant, instinctive, anxious, conflicted, and profoundly devoted to the game.
BAM! is the story of how one rumpled, affable man became the connective tissue between football’s rise and its reckoning—between spectacle and player safety, promotion and responsibility—and why the NFL cannot stop invoking his name.
John Madden retired abruptly from coaching in 1979, at forty-two years old—five months after receiver Darryl Stingley’s paralyzing injury against his Raiders. That moment would never leave him. And he had no intention of entering broadcasting. Yet within a decade, he would become the most recognizable voice in football and the catalyst behind the NFL’s explosion into America’s most powerful sports league.
In BAM!, veteran sports journalist Scott Howard-Cooper reveals how Madden arrived at exactly the right moment. Television reshaped sports, cable networks emerged, and the NFL needed a translator to turn complex strategy into entertainment. Madden didn’t just analyze football; he reinvented how it was explained, watched, and loved. From innovations like the telestrator and pre-game film study to making Thanksgiving football a ritual, Madden changed sports television forever.
But BAM! goes beyond the booth, tracing Madden’s influence through advertising, network wars, labor crises, concussion debates, and the birth of the Madden NFL video-game franchise—which reshaped gaming and brought football to new generations. Even as he built the game into a cultural juggernaut, Madden wrestled with its human cost. Along the way, he emerges as brilliant, instinctive, anxious, conflicted, and profoundly devoted to the game.
BAM! is the story of how one rumpled, affable man became the connective tissue between football’s rise and its reckoning—between spectacle and player safety, promotion and responsibility—and why the NFL cannot stop invoking his name.
Product Details
- Publisher: Diversion Books (October 13, 2026)
- Length: 304 pages
- ISBN13: 9798895152041
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Raves and Reviews
Praise for Scott Howard-Cooper’s previous books
Kingdom on Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton, and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty
“Recaptures the complexities of John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty . . . [placing] readers back in more interesting times, before the stories they tell were sanded down or inflated or forgotten.”
—Washington Post
“Portraits of [Wooden, Kareem, and Walton] are developed with nuance and sensitivity.”
—Wall Street Journal
“Elegantly weaves together sports, political, and cultural history, presenting a trenchant portrait of college basketball’s most successful dynasty against the backdrop of a country wracked by political upheaval. . . . A slam dunk for college hoops fans.”
—Publishers Weekly
Steve Kerr: A Life—The Definitive Biography of an Improbable Champion Who Overcame Tragedy to Build NBA Dynasties
“The Kerr story is an amazing one, and Scott Howard-Cooper has given us a fascinating look at a fascinating life.”
—Roland Lazenby, author of Michael Jordan: The Life
“Steve Kerr has lived an amazing life, with moments of great elation and immense pain. Scott Howard-Cooper has put together an important, well-researched book that reflects all the ups and downs of Kerr’s journey through basketball and beyond, with keen insights as to what makes him a successful coach and a deeply admirable human being.”
—Seth Davis, basketball reporter and author, CBS Sports and The Athletic
“Thrilling. . . . Casual fans and hoops nuts alike will love this illuminating work.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Riveting. . . . Deftly recounted. . . . Kerr’s time with the Bulls comes alive in the author’s telling. . . . This engaging biography is a must-read for basketball fans.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
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