Pat Summerall, famed NFL broadcaster and a Thomas Nelson author, died April 16 in Dallas of cardiac arrest. Summerall, who had been in a hospital after surgery for a broken hip, was 82, Associated Press (AP) reported.

For many sports fans in the 1960s through the 1990s, he was the voice of the NFL, starting with CBS' Sunday telecasts and later with Fox, famously paired for much of that time with John Madden. He also broadcast the PGA (Professional Golf Association), professional tennis and other sports in a network career that spanned 40 years.

"He was an extraordinary man and a wonderful father," his daughter, Susan Wiles, told the AP. "I know he will be greatly missed."

However, much of Summerall's life was characterized by alcoholism and abandonment of his family, Baptist Press (BP) reported. In 1992, Summerall's friends and family encouraged him to get professional help for his alcohol problems. Tom Brookshier, his former broadcast partner, read a letter from Summerall's daughter, Susan, during a staged intervention.

"I hadn't been there much for my kids, but Susan's letter made it clear that I'd hurt them even in my absence," Summerall wrote in his autobiography, Summerall: On and Off the Air, published by Nelson in 2006. "She recounted one incident after another. I was numb to most of it, sad to say. Yet, her final words made my knees buckle: 'Dad, the few times we've been out in public together recently, I've been ashamed we shared the same last name.' "

Summerall wept tears of regret and reluctantly agreed to enter rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic, where he found freedom from alcohol and became a Christian, BP reported.

"My thirst for alcohol was being replaced by a thirst for knowledge about faith and God," Summerall wrote in his memoir. "I began reading the Bible regularly at the treatment center, and it became a part of my daily routine. The more I read, the more I felt a void in my life that needed to be filled."

Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, preached Summerall's funeral at the church April 20, BP reported. Summerall is survived by his wife, Cheri, three children and 10 grandchildren.

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