By John Turney
John Madden began his famous All-Madden teams in 1984 and the format was CBS-TV and later ABC's Monday Night Football rather than a paper or magazine like others who picked their own teams did.
However, his first foray into an "All" team was in 1981 when he picked a more traditional All-Pro team for Pro! Magazine. The only Maddenesque thing he did was move guard Randy Cross to center from his guard position. But Madden did pick from all the teams making it a "normal" All-Star team.
The All-Madden team was not that, but an esoteric team that was "Madden-type" players, guys he liked who were the kind of players he'd want to coach. Additionally, they only came from the pool of players he covered in a given season, so some players were simply not eligible.
Nonetheless, it is still worth a mention since we've covered All-Joe and Allmost Pro Teams in recent days.
We're going to crib from Wikipedia on this post since we wrote the All-Madden section of the page anyway—many years ago.
Madden took the advice of NFL coach John Robinson—a friend of Madden since elementary school—and created the "All-Madden" team, a group of players who Madden thought represented football and played the game the way he thought it should be played.
Madden continued to pick the All-Madden team through the 2001 season when he left to move to ABC and Monday Night Football. Madden added his "Haul of Fame" for his favorite players, he created a special 10th Anniversary All-Madden team in 1994, an All-Madden Super Bowl Team in 1997, and an All-Time All-Madden team in 2000.
In All-Madden, he explained,
What does it mean to be 'All-Madden'? It's a whole range of things. For defensive linemen and linebackers, it's about Jack Youngblood playing with a busted leg, Lawrence Taylor wreaking havoc on the offense, and Reggie White making the other guy wish he put a little more in the collection plate at church. It's about a guy who's got a dirty uniform, mud on his face, and grass in the ear hole of his helmet.
ABC Sports stated, "the All-Madden Team has become synonymous with greatness."
That first year when he narrated the team when he got to Jack Youngblood he said "They out to make a poster of Mr. Football and this guy should be on it".
In 1990 he used the same line for Dan Hampton. It was fitting for both.
Here is the complete initial selections
All-Madden Team -- 1984
Quarterbacks
Joe Montana - 49ers
Running Backs
Eric Dickerson - Rams
Walter Payton - Bears
John Riggins - Redskins
Wide Receivers
Dwight Clark - 49ers
Roy Green - Cardinals
Offensive Line
Bill Bain - Rams
Joe Fields - Jets
Russ Grimm - Redskins
Joe Jacoby - Redskins
Henry Lawrence - Raiders
Defensive Line
Richard Dent - Bears
Dan Hampton - Bears
Al Harris - Bears
Dave Logan - Buccaneers
Howie Long - Raiders
Steve McMichael - Bears
Jack Youngblood - Rams
Linebackers
E.J. Junior - Cardinals
Jack Reynolds - 49ers
Mike Singletary - Bears
Lawrence Taylor - Giants
Defensive Backs
Todd Bell - Bears
Lester Hayes - Raiders
Mike Haynes - Raiders
Donnie Shell - Steelers
Eric Wright - 49ers
Special Teams
Pat Summerall - Giants
Otis Wonsley - Redskins
And here is 1990—
Quarterbacks
Troy Aikman - Cowboys
Randall Cunningham - Eagles
Joe Montana - 49ers
Warren Moon - Oilers
Running Backs
Marcus Allen - Raiders
O.J. Anderson - Giants
Neal Anderson - Bears
Keith Byars - Eagles
Merril Hoge - Steelers
Barry Sanders - Detroit
Emmitt Smith - Cowboys
Wide Receivers
Fred Barnett - Eagles
Anthony Carter - Vikings
Gary Clark - Redskins
Ernest Givens - Oilers
Jerry Rice - 49ers
Sterling Sharpe - Packers
Tight Ends
Keith Jackson - Eagles
Offensive Line
Stan Brock - Saints
Jumbo Elliott - Giants
Jim Lachey - Redskins
Bruce Matthews - Oilers
Don Mosebar - Raiders
Mike Munchak - Oilers
Nate Newton - Cowboys
Bubba Paris - 49ers
Jackie Slater - Rams
Steve Wisniewski - Raiders
Jeff Zimmerman - Cowboys
Defensive Line
Richard Dent - Bears
Kevin Fagan - 49ers
Jacob Green - Seahawks
Dan Hampton - Bears
Pierce Holt - 49ers
Erik Howard - Giants
William Perry - Bears
Greg Townsend - Raiders
Reggie White - Eagles
Linebackers
Charles Haley - 49ers
Rickey Jackson - Saints
Pepper Johnson - Giants
Vaughan Johnson - Saints
Matt Millen - 49ers
Sam Mills - Saints
Brian Noble - Packers
Pat Swilling - Saints
Lawrence Taylor - Giants
Defensive Backs
Mark Carrier - Bears
Darrell Green - Redskins
Ronnie Lott - 49ers
Rod Woodson - Steelers
Special Teams
Sean Landeta - Giants
Dave Meggett - Giants
Reyna Thompson - Giants
And here is the final iteration of the All-Madden team, chosen in 2001
Quarterbacks
Brett Favre - Green Bay Packers
Jeff Garcia - San Francisco 49ers
Kurt Warner - St. Louis Rams
Running Backs
Marshall Faulk - St. Louis Rams
Ahman Green - Green Bay Packers
Garrison Hearst - San Francisco 49ers
Cecil Martin - Philadelphia Eagles
Anthony Thomas - Chicago Bears
Ricky Williams - New Orleans Saints
Wide Receivers
Marty Booker - Chicago Bears
Isaac Bruce - St. Louis Rams
Marvin Harrison - Indianapolis Colts
Joe Horn - New Orleans Saints
Keyshawn Johnson - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Terrell Owens - San Francisco 49ers
Offensive Line
Larry Allen - Dallas Cowboys
Matt Birk - Minnesota Vikings
Ray Brown - San Francisco 49ers
Olin Kreutz - Chicago Bears
Bruce Matthews - Tennessee Titans
Andy McCollum - St. Louis Rams
Orlando Pace - St. Louis Rams
Jon Runyan - Philadelphia Eagles
Adam Timmerman - St. Louis Rams
Chris Villarrial - Chicago Bears
Bob Whitfield - Atlanta Falcons
Defensive Line
Hugh Douglas - Philadelphia Eagles
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila - Green Bay Packers
Joe Johnson - New Orleans Saints
Robert Porcher - Detroit Lions
Warren Sapp - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Michael Strahan - New York Giants
Keith Traylor - Chicago Bears
Ted Washington - Chicago Bears
Grant Wistrom - St. Louis Rams
Bryant Young - San Francisco 49ers
Linebackers
Keith Brooking - Atlanta Falcons
London Fletcher - St. Louis Rams
Jeremiah Trotter - Philadelphia Eagles
Brian Urlacher - Chicago Bears
Defensive Backs
Mike Brown - Chicago Bears
Brian Dawkins - Philadelphia Eagles
Sammy Knight - New Orleans Saints
John Lynch - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike McKenzie - Green Bay Packers
Ahmed Plummer - San Francisco 49ers
Troy Vincent - Philadelphia Eagles
Aeneas Williams - St. Louis Rams
Kicker
Martin Gramatica - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tribute to Real Heroes
New York City firefighters
Madden's teams were quirky and fun and worthy remembering. Nice job, John.
Very NFC heavy
ReplyDeleteWell madden on CBS then FOX what do you expect?
DeleteNo doubt, just not a very objective selection process ...
DeleteIf memory serves, Madden was pretty open about that.
DeleteThe Madden Team specials I recall he straight out said that he chose players based on the games he covered.
Hopefully people will read Madden's second book, One Knee Equals Two Feet, published in 1986 ...
ReplyDeleteHe writes about the best players he ever saw and of course he has a Raiders bias ... I wont list all the players but some who are not yet in the HOF ...
OT Joe Jacoby
WR Otis Taylor
RB William Andrews
RB Roger Craig
DE Rich Jackson
MLB Mike Curtis
FS Jake Scott
SS Dick Anderson
CB Ken Riley
1985 All Madden Team special :
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnUq-2KUXh0
Please I want a 1992 all madden team sweatshirt..mine was lost in our housefire...please..a LG or xl
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, did any player receive anything for being named to the All-Madden team?
ReplyDeletenot ar first, but pretty soon after they got a trophy and a letterman jacket . . . .
DeleteVery nice Varsity Jacket
Deletevery nice article i enjoyed reading
ReplyDeleteAll-Madden Teams is tailoring a team specifically for you. Fitting your play style and making a truly individualized experience, this team has what it takes to take trophies and make a major impact on the Madden Championship Series.
ReplyDeleteHis first foray into the all team was in 1981 when he chose a more traditional All-Pro team for the Pro! Magazine. The only Maddenesque thing he does is move guard Randy Cross to the center from his guard post.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I have that one in the files. I always searched Pro! for a 1982 and 1983 version to complete the series but he never did one. The 1981 teams was more of an All-pro team with usual suspects . . . Cromwell at safety, Munoz at tackle and a blurb about each.
DeleteMadden took the advice of NFL coach John Robinson—a friend of Madden's since elementary school—and formed the "All-Madden" team.
ReplyDeleteVery useful information.
ReplyDeleteThe first year when he was reporting on the team when he met Jack Youngblood, he said "They were going to make a poster about Mr. Football and this guy should be on it".
The All-Madden team isn't that, but an esoteric team of the "Madden-type" players he likes and the type of players he wants to coach.
ReplyDeleteIt's always disappointing when a complete series is not available, especially when you have collected most of it. While it's unfortunate that Pro! didn't release a 1982 and 1983 version to complete the series, it's not uncommon for certain editions or years to be missing in collectible series like this
ReplyDeletewhat did he have against tight ends?
ReplyDeleteGood question ... maybe just loved the big guys more --- beats me, though. Good point
Delete