Mike Patrick, who spent 36 years as a Play-By-Play commentator for ESPN and was the voice of the NFL of the network for “Sunday Night Football” for 18 seasons, died at the age of 80.
Patrick died of natural causes Sunday in Fairfax, Virginia. Patrick’s doctor and the city of Clarksburg, Virginia-Western, from which Patrick originally came, confirmed death on Tuesday.
Patrick started his playing role with ESPN in 1982. He called his latest event – Liberty Bowl Autozone on December 30, 2017.
Patrick was the voice of the ESPN “Sunday Night Football” from 1987 to 2005 and played a major role in university and basketball football shows. He called more than 30 ACC basketball championships and was the voice of women’s four-four ESPN coverage from 1996 to 2009.
He called the very first match of the regular season of ESPN season in 1987, and he was joined in the stand by the former quarter of the NFL Joe Theismann and later Paul Maguire.
For university football, Patrick was the Play-By-Play voice for “Thursday Night Football” by ESPN and also “Saturday Night Football”. He was also Play-By-Play advertiser for the ESPN coverage of the College World Series.
“It’s wonderful to think about how I did exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” said Patrick when he left ESPN in 2018. “At the same time, I had the great pleasure of working with some of the best people I have ever known, both in the air and behind the scenes.”
Patrick began his radio career in 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was appointed sports director at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida, where he provided play games for the TV Jacksonville Sharks Football League (1973-74). He also called basketball matches from Jacksonville on radio and television and was a member of their fame.
In 1975, Patrick moved to Wjla-TV in Washington, DC, as a sports journalist and weekend anchor. In addition to these tasks, Patrick called Play-By Play for Maryland Football and Basketball (1975-78) and NFL pre-season matches for Washington from 1975 to 1982.
Patrick graduated from the University of George Washington where he was ordered as a second lieutenant of the United States Air Force.
