Hall of Fame coach John Madden remembered his quarterback Ken Stabler today as one of the finest football players he ever encountered.
Stabler, who died on Wednesday at the age of 69, won Super Bowl XI with Madden as his coach. Madden told reporters today that he has fond memories of their times together.
“You think of the good times, the memories, all the games, all the practices, all the meetings, and no matter what you threw in front of him he enjoyed,” Madden said. “He always had a twinkle in his eye and a smile. He was one of the greatest competitors ever. When you think of the Raiders, you think of the Raiders of the ‘70s, Ken Stabler has to be right on top. Of all the people I coached, and I coached a lot of great ones, a lot of Hall of Famers, he’s one of the guys who’s really at the top of the class.”
Stabler’s Hall of Fame candidacy is getting a lot of attention in the wake of his death, and Madden said he feels strongly that Stabler belongs in Canton.
“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. I think what happens is we get so caught up today in statistics and then comparing statistics, and you can’t do that with different eras,” Madden said.
For Madden, losing Stabler was like losing a family member.
“Yesterday was a very sad day,” Madden said. “It was a shock to all of us. You just think that Kenny’s one of those guys that whatever you throw in front of him is not going to get him down. When you hear ‘Kenny Stabler died’ it’s like a kick in the gut.”