Mike Patrick, who spent 36 years as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN and was the network’s NFL voice for “Sunday Night Football” for 18 seasons, has died at the age of 80.
Patrick died of natural causes on Sunday in Fairfax, Virginia. Patrick’s doctor and the city of Clarksburg, West Virginia, where Patrick originally was from, confirmed the death Tuesday.
Patrick began his play-by-play role with ESPN in 1982. He called his last event — the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Dec. 30, 2017.
“Mike Patrick called countless significant events over decades at ESPN and is one of the most influential on-air voices in our history,” said Burke Magnus, president of content for ESPN. “In addition to calling ESPN’s first-ever regular season NFL game and voicing the ‘Sunday Night Football’ franchise for 18 seasons, Mike’s work on college sports was exceptional.
“For 36 years, he called football and men’s and women’s basketball, including the Women’s Final Four and so many historic matchups between ACC rivals Duke and UNC. Our deepest condolences to Mike’s family and his many friends throughout the industry.”
Patrick was the voice of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football” from 1987 to 2005 and played a major role in broadcasts of college football and basketball. He called more than 30 ACC basketball championships and was the voice of ESPN’s Women’s Final Four coverage from 1996 to 2009.
“I’m so sorry to learn about the passing of Mike Patrick. I called him Mr. ACC as he had a great love for doing the big ACC games,” ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale said Tuesday. “Mike had great energy and a keen knowledge of ACC basketball, and I truly enjoyed sitting next to him calling so many special games over the years.”
Patrick called ESPN’s first-ever regular-season NFL game in 1987, and he was joined in the booth by former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann and later Paul Maguire.
For college football, Patrick was the play-by-play voice for ESPN’s “Thursday Night Football” and “Saturday Night Football.” He also served as play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s coverage of the College World Series.
“It’s wonderful to reflect on how I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” Patrick said when he left ESPN in 2018. “At the same time, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with some of the very best people I’ve ever known, both on the air and behind the scenes.”
Patrick began his broadcasting career in 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was named sports director at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida, where he provided play-by-play for Jacksonville Sharks’ World Football League telecasts (1973-74). He also called Jacksonville University basketball games on both radio and television and is a member of their Hall of Fame.
In 1975, Patrick moved to WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., as sports reporter and weekend anchor. In addition to those duties, Patrick called play-by-play for Maryland football and basketball (1975-78) and NFL preseason games for Washington from 1975 to 1982.
Patrick graduated from the George Washington University where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
