50 Fun Facts About Monday Night Football

Which billionaire's network rivalled ABC for NFL Monday games?

Howard Hughes bankrolled the Hughes Sports Network. ABC, the lowest-rated of the three big networks, had been as wary of Monday football as its rivals, but signed once the league turned to Hughes.

Which team hosted and won the first MNF game, 31–21 over the Jets?

Cleveland Browns fans watched the start of a 35-year run on ABC. When the network's last Monday game came round in 2005, the Jets were on the field again and lost by the very same score, 31–21.

Which NFL commissioner pushed for a weekly prime-time game in the 1960s?

Pete Rozelle tried Friday nights first, in 1964, and was beaten back by fears that high school football crowds would suffer. He then tested Mondays with a single CBS game in 1966 and again in 1967.

Which television executive built Monday Night Football as an entertainment 'spectacle'?

Roone Arledge doubled the usual number of cameras, filled the screen with graphics and put a third voice in the booth. He had been reshaping ABC's college football coverage in the same way since 1960.

Which Chiefs quarterback beat John Elway's Broncos on MNF in 1994 with a 75-yard touchdown drive in the dying seconds?

Joe Montana, in the last season of his career, got the ball back with 89 seconds left after an Elway touchdown. He took Kansas City 75 yards to score with eight seconds to spare and win 31–28.

Who was the original MNF play-by-play announcer in 1970?

Keith Jackson lasted a single season before ABC moved him aside for its first choice. He went back to college football and spent the next three decades as the best-known voice in that sport.

Which Dodgers broadcaster did ABC try to hire for Monday Night Football in 1970, only to find him tied to his contract?

Vin Scully was ABC's second target, after Curt Gowdy of NBC proved just as hard to prise loose. He stayed with the Dodgers and was still calling their games in 2016, his 67th year in the job.

Which former Cowboys quarterback was one of the three original Monday Night Football announcers in 1970?

Don Meredith got the seat on a rival's recommendation: ABC's first choice was tied to CBS and suggested the newly retired Cowboy instead. His folksy drawl made him the perfect foil for the pompous Howard Cosell.

Which line did an MNF announcer sing once a game was decided?

"Turn out the lights, the party's over" opens a Willie Nelson song that had been only a minor country hit in 1967. Hearing it crooned on Monday nights whenever a lead looked safe made it famous.

Which quarterback threw four first-half touchdowns on MNF in December 2003, a day after his father's sudden death?

Brett Favre chose to play for Green Bay the night after his father, Irvin, died of a heart attack. He passed for 399 yards in a 41–7 win over the Oakland Raiders.

Which team trailed by 21 points with under four minutes left on MNF in 2003, then won in overtime?

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning led the drive that tied the game against Tampa Bay with 35 seconds left. In overtime the winning field goal was deflected at the line, hit the upright and still dropped through.

Frank Gifford played his whole 12-season NFL career for which team?

New York Giants fans thought his career was over in 1960, when a severe head injury led him to retire. He came back in 1962 at a new position, flanker, and became a star all over again.

Howard Cosell was born with which surname?

Cohen was his family's name when he was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The man who became the voice of New York sport was a Southerner by birth, though he grew up in Brooklyn.

What was Howard Cosell's profession before he became a full-time broadcaster?

Lawyer: he had his own practice in Manhattan when ABC radio gave him a Saturday morning show in 1953. Within three years he had given up the law to broadcast full time.

Which cartoon series supplied the animated world for an alternate telecast of a Monday night game in December 2024?

The Simpsons Funday Football used the league's player-tracking data to redraw the live game in Springfield, with the show's own voice actors. ESPN had done the same with Toy Story characters a year earlier.

Howard Cosell rose to prominence in the 1960s covering which boxer?

Muhammad Ali and Cosell rose together. Cosell was one of the first broadcasters to use the champion's new name, and he stood by him when Ali refused to be drafted during the Vietnam War.

Which sponsor's chairman asked ABC to remove Cosell from the booth in 1970?

Ford was the show's main sponsor, and its chairman, Henry Ford II, wanted Cosell taken off the air. ABC refused, and Ford changed his mind once the first ratings came in.

Which Cowboys running back set an NFL record that can only be tied with a 99-yard touchdown run on a Monday night?

Tony Dorsett broke loose against Minnesota in the last regular-season game of 1982. His record stood alone for 36 years, until Derrick Henry ran 99 yards for Tennessee in 2018.

Which former Beatle was interviewed by Cosell in the booth in December 1974?

John Lennon chatted with Cosell at half-time. Six years later, almost to the day, it was Cosell who interrupted another Monday night game to tell the country that Lennon had been shot dead in New York.

Which governor was interviewed on MNF in December 1974 on the same night as a former Beatle?

Ronald Reagan was in his last weeks as Governor of California. Off camera, as the game went on, he sat with the visiting Beatle and talked him through the rules of American football.

Fred Williamson, dropped by MNF before the 1974 season began, was known by which nickname?

The Hammer got the name for the brutal hits he handed out as a defensive back in the 1960s. He joked that ABC had hired him to "bring some color to the booth", then lost the job after a few pre-season games.

Which analyst joined the booth in 1974 and joked that a bald Raider had attended 'the University of Mars'?

Alex Karras was reacting to a sideline shot of lineman Otis Sistrunk's shaved head. Sistrunk had in fact played no college football at all, going straight from high school into the Marines.

Which newly retired quarterback began working games with Cosell and Gifford in 1979?

Fran Tarkenton was hired to plug a gap in a contract. The NFL season had grown to 16 games, but the booth's regular analyst was signed for only 14, so someone had to cover the rest.

Which Hall of Fame quarterback was hired as an MNF analyst for the 1985 season?

Joe Namath made his debut at the Hall of Fame Game, on the very weekend he was inducted there himself. One season later ABC let him go.

Which Giants linebacker's tackle ended Joe Theismann's career on MNF in 1985?

Lawrence Taylor knew at once how bad it was. He jumped up and waved frantically to the sideline for medical help, while viewers were shown the broken leg again in slow motion.

Which team handed the 1985 Chicago Bears their only defeat, on a Monday night in December?

Miami Dolphins pride was at stake: the club's 1972 team had gone a whole season unbeaten, and Chicago arrived at 12–0. Miami won 38–24 in front of the biggest audience the show had ever drawn.

Which announcer took over Monday Night Football play-by-play in 1986 and stayed for the rest of its ABC run?

Al Michaels was already famous for "Do you believe in miracles?", his call of the 1980 Olympic ice hockey upset. When ABC gave up Monday nights after 2005, he moved to NBC's new Sunday night games.

Which former Cardinals lineman joined the booth in 1987 to restore the three-man format?

Dan Dierdorf was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996, while he was still in the booth. He left after the 1998 season for CBS, the network where his television career had begun.

Which British library instrumental was first heard on Monday Night Football in 1975?

Heavy Action was written by the British bandleader Johnny Pearson as a stock library track. It was already the theme of a BBC sports show, Superstars, when ABC picked it up, and its opening fanfare came to mean football.

Which Hank Williams Jr. hit became MNF's opening song?

All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight was a 1984 hit that he rewrote with the shout "Are you ready for some football?". It opened the show from 1989 until ESPN dropped it in 2011, and came back in 2017.

ESPN dropped Hank Williams Jr.'s MNF opening in 2011 after remarks he made on which program?

Fox & Friends had him on as a guest, and he likened a golf game between President Obama and a Republican leader to Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. ESPN pulled his opening that night and cut ties within days.

Who became the first woman on the Monday Night Football announcing team, in 1998?

Lesley Visser worked the sideline for two seasons. In 2000 ABC dropped her in favour of a younger reporter, a decision she called staggering, and she went back to CBS.

Which comedian unexpectedly joined the MNF booth in 2000?

Dennis Miller had never worked in sports broadcasting. His references were so obscure that ABC's own website ran a column explaining them, and the experiment was dropped after two seasons.

Which Jets quarterback led the 2000 'Monday Night Miracle' comeback from 30–7 down?

Vinny Testaverde's Jets scored 30 points in the fourth quarter and won 40–37 in overtime. Arnold Schwarzenegger, visiting the booth to plug a film, had gone on air and predicted the comeback.

Which Jets lineman caught the game-tying touchdown pass in the 'Monday Night Miracle' of 2000?

Jumbo Elliott, a tackle lined up as an eligible receiver, made the only catch of his long career. It tied the score at 37 with 42 seconds left, and the Jets went on to win in overtime.

Which Super Bowl-winning coach joined the Monday Night Football booth in 2002 after 21 years at CBS and Fox?

John Madden came free when Pat Summerall, his broadcast partner at both networks, retired. After ABC gave up Monday nights he moved on once more, to NBC's Sunday night games.

Which Eagles star appeared in the 2004 MNF opening skit in which actress Nicollette Sheridan dropped her towel?

Terrell Owens played along in the locker-room scene, then caught three touchdown passes in the game. Complaints poured in to the FCC, whose chairman declared himself outraged.

ABC ended its MNF run in 2005 partly to protect which Sunday-night series?

Desperate Housewives was ABC's top-rated show, at nine on Sunday nights, the very slot the NFL now wanted for its showcase game. ABC was also reported to be losing about $150 million a year on Monday football.

Who were the visitors for the final ABC MNF telecast on December 26, 2005?

New England Patriots backup Doug Flutie, a veteran in his forties, took the last snap of ABC's 36 years of Monday nights: a kneel-down to run out the clock on a 31–21 win over the Jets.

ESPN 'traded' its play-by-play man to NBC in 2006 for which cartoon character's rights?

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was created by Walt Disney in 1927. He lost the rights to Universal a year later and invented Mickey Mouse as a replacement, and it took this swap, 78 years on, to bring Oswald home.

Who was ESPN's first MNF play-by-play announcer when the show moved in 2006?

Mike Tirico got the job in a late switch: ESPN had first said that ABC's long-time voice would carry on, then released him to NBC. Ten years later Tirico made the same move to NBC himself.

Which former Eagles quarterback replaced Joe Theismann in the MNF booth in 2007?

Ron Jaworski had already called the late game of ESPN's very first Monday night doubleheader in 2006. He stayed in the main booth for five seasons, until ESPN cut it back to two voices in 2012.

Which former head coach replaced Tony Kornheiser in the booth in 2009?

Jon Gruden had been fired by Tampa Bay months earlier, six years after coaching the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win over his old team, the Raiders. In 2018 he left the booth to coach the Raiders again.

Which former Cowboys tight end joined the MNF booth in 2018?

Jason Witten had retired as a player to take the job. After a single season he gave up the microphone, came out of retirement and went back to playing tight end for Dallas.

Who became the first woman to call a nationally televised NFL game, on MNF in 2017?

Beth Mowins called the late game of ESPN's opening-night doubleheader, Chargers at Broncos. Only one woman had called a regular-season NFL game before her: Gayle Sierens, in a single game for NBC thirty years earlier.

Which two teams combined for 105 points in a 54–51 Monday night game in 2018?

Rams and Chiefs were supposed to meet in Mexico City. The pitch at Estadio Azteca was in such poor condition that the game was switched to the Rams' home in Los Angeles, where they won 54–51.

Which Fox duo did ESPN hire in 2022 to call Monday Night Football?

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman had spent 20 seasons together at Fox and called six Super Bowls there. Their exit left Fox to find a new lead team in a season when it was showing the Super Bowl itself.

Which company, co-founded by Peyton Manning, has made the Manningcast alternate telecast since 2021?

Omaha Productions takes its name from "Omaha!", the call Manning barked at the line of scrimmage for most of his career. On the Manningcast he and his brother Eli talk through the game remotely with celebrity guests.

Which team reopened its hurricane-damaged home stadium on MNF in September 2006, after U2 and Green Day played before kick-off?

New Orleans Saints special-teamer Steve Gleason blocked a punt for a touchdown early in the first game at the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina. A statue of the block now stands outside the stadium.

ESPN's 2023 opening song, with Chris Stapleton and Snoop Dogg, covered which artist's 1981 hit?

Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" is best known for its thunderous drum entrance. In ESPN's version that part went to the drummer Cindy Blackman Santana, playing alongside Stapleton and Snoop Dogg.