One of Oakland’s most beloved sports figures is the subject of a new book written by a man who’s a legend himself. “Mornings with Madden” is a collection of the folksy on-air chats between legendary Raiders coach and NFL broadcaster John Madden and now retired KCBS radio anchor Stan Bunger.
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Bunger’s book will be out in October but is already getting press and a good bit of radio attention. Talk about a labor of love — he spent months listening to the recordings of Madden’s morning call-ins to KCBS, collecting colorful stories that Coach Madden shared with the news station’s listeners. Bunger got the idea for the book not long after Madden died.
“When I was at John’s memorial, I realized the Maddens thought of me as more than just a guy on the radio. I’d never really seen myself in that regard, so I thought ‘there’s a story here.”
The mutual respect Bunger and Madden had for each other led Stan to realize the importance of those unscripted conversations
“There was all of that wisdom locked up in those recordings,” he said.
When he told Madden’s sons Mike and Joe that he wanted to do something with John’s legacy, they were all in. When you think about it, there was something extraordinary about an icon like John Madden calling in to the local radio station to talk sports, morning after morning, with no agenda.
“He did this radio thing consistently from 1982 to 2018,” says Bunger, adding that Madden spent more years doing those radio riffs than he did as a pro football coach, pitchman or TV broadcaster.
Mornings with Madden begins with John’s early days on San Francisco radio at KYA with “Emperor” Gene Nelson, who had the idea for bar-stool talk with Madden — just shooting the breeze about sports. In 1983, Nelson moved over to KSFO and took Madden with him.
I joined them as the morning news co-anchor (with Dave Henderson) and was occasionally fodder for Madden’s muses. When we retired the morning show in an ownership change in 1994, Madden had a brief stint on KNBR before signing a contract with KCBS, his longest stint in San Francisco radio.
As he skyrocketed to fame with all his endeavors, he seemed to relish the time on his hometown station, regaling the audience with his stories and wit.
“I wrote over 100,000 words, many of which were Coach’s words from the broadcasts,” says Bunger, who admits his book has only scratched the surface of the ‘Maddenisms’ that could be culled from the KCBS recordings.
“I’m sure there’s at least as much stuff still in those archives, maybe even more and maybe even better stuff,” he says. “Mornings with Madden” will be released Oct. 15 and available at a variety of bookstores and on Amazon.
Holiday cheer: Two local women are betting on Oaklandat a time when our city can use the support. Longtime friends Kim Bardakian and Nicole Vasgerdsian are selling curated gift boxes under the Town Love label, partnering with Oakland producers of everything from kettle corn to cookies.
The stylish Town Love gift packs promote local businesses as well as entertainment venues. Each $89 box includes artisanal foods from Granola Guru, Oakland Fortune, Cookie Factory, Peter’s Kettle Corn, Red Bay Coffee, That’s My Jam and Teas with Meaning.
The boxes also hold two free tickets to an Oakland Roots soccer game, a drink coupon for the Claremont Lobby Lounge & Bar or Limewood Bar & Restaurant and a discount coupon for the Oakland Museum of California.
Montclair’s popular retailer Pelago is the exclusive carrier of these Town Love gift boxes, but you can also preorder them for the holidays by Nov. 1 at townlovebox.com.
Sprucing it up: The group Friends of Joaquin Miller Park has been busy clearing dead brush and flammable debri above Woodminster Amphitheater. The project is paid for by a grant from Cal Fire, the agency that also funded last spring’s badly needed vegetation mitigation.
By the way, next time you’re in the park, check out the murals painted on the Woodminster Cascades bathroom by indigenous artists from the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. The Friends of Joaquin Miller Park secured a $2,500 grant to help pay for the mural.
Ginny Prior can be reached at ginnyprior@hotmail.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and at ginnyprior.com.