Pat Summerall’s Daughter Shares Story of His Recovery from Alcoholism

NEW YORK, NY — Susie Wiles, the daughter of legendary sportscaster Pat Summerall, shared details about her father’s battle with alcoholism in a recent interview with Post columnist Miranda Devine. Summerall, who passed away in 2013, entered rehab in April 1992, just days after covering the Masters golf tournament for CBS Sports.

Wiles recounted how her mother decided that professional treatment was necessary for Summerall. As part of the process, Wiles and her siblings were asked to write letters to their father, which he read only after entering the Betty Ford Clinic. “He said it was meaningful enough to really make him think,” Wiles recalled.

One particularly poignant line from Wiles’ letter expressed her feelings about her father’s behavior. “I said that sometimes I didn’t really want to share the same name, because he was doing so much that I didn’t respect,” she noted. “It got his attention, apparently.”

Wiles also described how Summerall’s drinking affected the family, saying he sometimes would not recognize his granddaughter due to his inebriation. “That was horrifying to me, because he’d been such a good dad,” she said.

According to Summerall, his time in rehab helped deepen his Christian faith. In his autobiography, he wrote, “My thirst for alcohol was replaced by a thirst for knowledge about faith and God.”

After leaving CBS Sports, Summerall, along with his longtime partner John Madden, moved to Fox and called three more Super Bowls, bringing his total to 16 across CBS, Fox, and NBC. Wiles reflected on the valuable experiences she had growing up in the broadcast booth with her father, noting that not many daughters had that opportunity.

“He always had a good time. He always seemed funny and just humorous,” added Devine. Summerall was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1952 and played for several NFL teams before transitioning to broadcasting.

Wiles emphasized her father’s hard work and dedication to learning, especially as the broadcasting landscape evolved. “You had to learn that back in the day,” she explained. “But he studied very hard, he worked very, very hard.”

Despite the struggles with addiction, Wiles remembered Summerall fondly as a fair and supportive father who treated her equally to her brothers. “I grew up in a household where everybody was equal,” she said, attributing her own success to her parents’ values.