Pro Football Hall of Famer, TV commentator and husband to Kathie Lee Gifford Frank Gifford has died at 84 according to a statement from NBC News and his family.
Gifford's family issued the following statement through NBC on Sunday:
"It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and friend, Frank Gifford. Frank died suddenly this beautiful Sunday morning of natural causes at his Connecticut home. We rejoice in the extraordinary life he was privileged to live, and we feel grateful and blessed to have been loved by such an amazing human being. We ask that our privacy be respected at this difficult time and we thank you for your prayers."
He was with the New York Giants 1952-60, 1962- 64, missing one year because of an injury. He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1956 and left the Giants with all-time records for touchdowns, 78, and yards gained in pass receiving. He became a part-time broadcaster for CBS in 1957, went full-time in 1965, and moved to ABC in 1971. He was on ABC's Monday Night Football and Wide World of Sports. Gifford received the Emmy Award for sports commentary in 1971 and the Christopher Award in 1974. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. The NFL Alumni group gave him its Achievement Award in 1985. Gifford served as chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New York. The society in 1984 established a $100,000 grant for research in his name. Gifford wrote four books, of which the best known are "Gifford on Courage" and "The Whole Ten Yards."
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