Silver Minings: John Madden receives honorary doctor of science degree

As if legendary head coach John Madden didn’t already have enough accolades, he has added another one to his Hall of Fame career.

The 85-year-old former Raiders head coach received an honorary doctor of science degree from his alma mater, Cal Poly. Here’s a photo from last week that Ronnie Lott posted to Twitter.

For those who may not know, Madden originally received a football scholarship to the University of Oregon, where he studied pre-law and played football. He redshirted because of a knee injury and had a knee operation. After Oregon, he attended the College of San Mateo and then Grays Harbor College, where he played football in the fall of 1956.

After that, he transferred to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he played both offense and defense for the Mustangs in 1957 and 1958. While he was there, he earned a BS in Education in 1959 and an MA in Education in 1961.

Madden was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958 but was injured in training camp and never got to play. Al Davis went on to hire him as a linebackers coach in 1967 ... and the rest is history.

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