A Tribute to Frank Gifford:
A touching story of Gifford's kind gesture to his former partner Howard Cosell

by Lou Schwartz

Monday Night Football's Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell

Having personally known both Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell for many years, the following tale told by Gifford to Glenn Beck personifies the wonderful, forgiving person Frank Gifford was.

I believe it is worth repeating.

Glenn Beck: "Howard Cosell is getting close to dying and he’s really on death’s doorstep. He calls and leaves a message for Frank and says, 'Frank, I don’t understand,' and he’s crying. 'I don’t understand what happened to all my friends. I don’t understand.' Not knowing that he didn’t have any friends, he only had people that were glomming on to him because he was Howard Cosell. And he said, 'I don’t understand what happened.' He said, 'I’m alone. Nobody will talk to me. I’m dying, Frank, will you please come and visit me?'

"He almost didn’t, and Kathie Lee said, 'It’s the Christian thing to do. You got to do it.' He said, 'He was a horrible guy to me. You know, and a horrible guy to everybody.' But he did. And Frank told me, it was the best thing he ever did. He said he went and he talked to him and sat with him. And he said he cried and cried and cried and didn’t know — really didn’t understand.

"He went and visited him every week until he died. And nobody — nobody knew what was going on. But even Howard’s family didn’t come to visit him. And it was in the end, just Frank Gifford, that went and did the right thing and comforted a man who was in his last days. I am truly sorry for the loss of Frank Gifford because of his family. His family is wonderful. His wife is remarkable. Just a remarkable woman. And Frank Gifford was one hell of a guy."

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