Legendary Hoosier broadcaster Joe McConnell was laid to rest this past week. McConnell, 79, passed away on on April 8.
There are few major sporting events that the Goodland, Indiana native didn’t cover in his 40-year career.
Not only did he call three Super Bowls, the NBA Championship series, the NBA All-Star Game and American League Championship Series, but McConnell was the voice of multiple professional and college teams that include the hometown Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers, and college athletics at Indiana State, Notre Dame and Purdue.
A graduate of Franklin College, Joe is five-time winner of the AP/UPI Sportscaster of the Year Award and has been named Sportscaster of the Year in both Indiana (2000) and Illinois (1981). Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels named Joe McConnell a “Sagamore of the Wabash” upon his retirement from Purdue in 2009.
In November, McConnell was named to the Richard M. Fairbanks Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame at the annual Indiana Broadcasters Conference in Carmel.