Summerall gives testimony about faith, struggles
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For most of his career, Pat Summerall sat behind a broadcast desk, talking sports, trading laughs and chatting with fellow sportscasters.
Tuesday morning's Masters Prayer Breakfast wasn't much different.
About 2,000 people watched as the broadcaster joined the Rev. David McKinley onstage at Warren Baptist Church.
"Am I in Madden's seat?" McKinley asked in a nod to John Madden, who for two decades called NFL games shoulder to shoulder with Summerall.
"You're perfect," Summerall replied.
"It's a little intimidating, I'll tell you," McKinley said.
Summerall laughed.
"John Madden was a little intimidating, too," he said.
The banter initially centered on golf but, like Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson before him, Summerall used the prayer breakfast, an annual program of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, to share the story of his faith and how it had transformed his life.
Summerall was born with a "bum leg" into a poor, broken family. Thankfully, he said, his parents found a doctor willing to try an experimental surgery to correct his clubfoot. That surgery led to his enjoying a successful NFL career before he took up broadcasting.
"Obviously, things turned out very well," he said.
Summerall told memories of Augusta, including one moment after the 1992 Masters Tournament when other sportscasters confronted him about his long-standing drinking problem.
"They thought I needed help, and they were right," he said.
Summerall checked into the Betty Ford Clinic, where he began to read the Bible.
"I found answers," he said.
Summerall, 69 at the time, was baptized. His health, however, continued to deteriorate.
"I started to lose weight. I started to feel fatigued," he said. "I realized what was happening."
A liver transplant in 2004 saved his life.
The organ was given by the family of a 13-year-old boy who had collapsed and died in gym class.
"I thought at the time, I used up my life. Someone had to die for me to live. That didn't seem fair," Summerall said.
McKinley drew on the spiritual parallel.
"In much the same way, that is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ," he said.
The men prayed, and Summerall offered his fans a parting bit of encouragement before one of many standing ovations:
"The reason all of us are here today is because God is not through with us yet," he said. "Take some time if you haven't done it to count your blessings and realize what Christ has done for you."
Reach Kelly Jasper at (706) 823-3552 or kelly.jasper@augustachronicle.com.
