Hank Stram

Biography

Hank Stram spent two decades as one of the most beloved voices in football broadcasting, teaming with Jack Buck on CBS Radio to call Monday Night Football and 17 Super Bowls. Long before he sat behind a microphone, though, Stram made his name as a head coach, leading the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs through the 1960s and into a Super Bowl IV win, then closing out his coaching career with the New Orleans Saints. It was that same Super Bowl IV that set up his second act: wired for sound as the first coach ever mic'd up during the game, Stram's excitable sideline chatter, including his now-legendary line about wanting to "matriculate the ball down the field," turned him into an unlikely broadcast star. He carried that same charisma into the booth, where his sharp, play-predicting commentary made him a fan favorite, so much so that plenty of viewers would mute the TV just to listen to him and Buck on the radio instead. Stram was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003, capping a career that bridged the sidelines and the broadcast booth like few others in NFL history.