‘Madden Cruiser I’ on display at Hall of Fame Village in Canton
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CANTON – The most famous bus in the history of the NFL — the “Madden Cruiser I” — is now on display at the Hall of Fame Village.
The bus, which carried former Oakland Raiders coach, broadcaster and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden to NFL games, is available for fans to tour for free at the Play-Action Plaza, the Hall of Fame announced Wednesday. Madden passed away in December 2021 at age 85.
He had converted a Greyhound bus into the Madden Cruiser in 1987, soon after he began his career in broadcasting because he didn't enjoy traveling by plane. He decided to donate the original Madden Cruiser to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
“We’ve kept the original ‘Madden Cruiser’ for all these years, and when it came for us to decide what we were going to do with it in perpetuity, the only place which made sense was the Pro Football Hall of Fame," Madden said at the time. "We asked to donate it and they accepted and we are happy that it will be there forever."
After his death, it went on display in Las Vegas, where the Raiders relocated, and then returned to Canton where it was held in storage.
The interior has been restored to its original condition, featuring technology that was considered state-of-the-art in the late 1980s, the Hall of Fame said.
The bus includes:
Two color televisions (one in the rear, one in the front)
Telephone and intercommunications system
Citizen’s band radio
Two laser disc players
Built-in vacuum cleaner
Stereo system
Videotape player
There also are multiple beds toward the front of the bus, a private room with a queen-sized bed in the rear for Madden, a full bathroom and a complete kitchenette with a microwave oven.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘Madden Cruiser I’ on display at Hall of Fame Village in Canton
