Frank Gifford: The Scarsdale Years

(Updated August 13) Though Frank Gifford was well known as a football player, television commentator and husband of Kathie Lee, many don't know that Gifford lived in Scarsdale and raised three children here with his first wife before moving onto Greenwich. Gifford passed away at age 84 on Sunday August 9th.

Gifford met his first wife Maxine at the University of Southern California where he played football and she was the homecoming queen. They were married in 1952 and had three children together, Jeff, Kyle and Vicki. The two boys both played football on the SHS team and Vicki was a cheerleader.

An article in the Boca Raton news in 1974 says that Gifford lived on an estate in Scarsdale on the site of a dairy farm near Winged Foot Golf Club where he played "as often as he could." He was a member of the club since 1961. Readers helped us to identify Gifford's former home that still stands on Grand Park Avenue.

Residents who grew up here remember that Gifford was a frequent fan at Scarsdale High School football games. The Scarsdale's sports booster organization, Maroon and White was founded in 1966, and at its first awards dinner honoring male athletes Frank Gifford addressed the group at Schraffts Restaurant in Eastchester. Frank and Maxine Gifford made an appearance in the 1968 film "Paper Lion," based on a 1966 book by George Plimpton.

In an article from philly.com in 1993, Gifford said that after he retired from playing football, his TV work and traveling kept him away from home. Saying Maxine was very shy, Gifford writes, "When Maxine had to deal with my celebrity, that shyness really hurt her. Work became my narcotic of choice, my entire focus. And it destroyed my marriage." He divorced Maxine after 26 years.

Their youngest child Vicki was married to Michael Kennedy, a son of Ethel and Robert Kennedy in 1981. Michael died in a ski accident in Aspen in 1998. Michael and Vicki had three children and the marriage ended after it was alleged that he had an affair with the children's 14 year-old babysitter.

Though Frank and Kathie Lee were well known in Greenwich, their Scarsdale years have been largely forgotten. Share memories you have of Gifford in Scarsdale in the comments section below.

Rosalyn Binday, a longtime Scarsdale resident who runs Advocate Brokerage in Scarsdale sent in the following clarification:

"Los Bajos was NOT Frank Gifford's house. Because it is a Spanish style house, the Lowe's who purchased it around 1980, gave it the name "Los Bajos" as that is what "The Low's'" means in Spanish. Prior to that, the house was named "Shady Acres".

Frank Gifford's house was sandwiched in between "Hidden House" and "Shady Acres". The last I knew Steven and Barbara Kantor live in what used to be the Gifford house. As a point of interest, I am pretty sure that Maxine Gifford told me they had purchased the house from football star Kyle Rote, who also played for the New York Giants.

To better explain how I know this, the Gifford's were my next door neighbor and my family knew Maxine and the children. (Frank no longer lived there, as they had divorced.) We lived in "Hidden House", which we sold to Brandon Steiner, the founder and CEO of Steiner Sports Marketing. The name "Hidden House" preceded my ownership and had been the name of the house since the beginning of mail delivery. It was originally a Quaker farm. The deed stated "Now or formerly Rollins Farm" and what was to become the Gifford house was at one time the cow barn of the Quaker farm. We bought Hidden House from Mike Manuche and Martha Wright. Martha was an actress and singer. Mike Manuche owned a very successful steak restaurant, which was frequented by famous sports people of the day; specifically members of the NY Giants (like Frank Gifford). They were all very good friends."