GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 5 40
assistant sports information director at Purdue from
1965 to 1967.
"The fact he ended his fabled career as a Boilermaker
makes it a great story," said Pete Quinn, who served as
color analyst for all but one game McConnell did for Pur-
due. "I loved Joe, and I loved working with Joe. And only
part of the reason I loved working with him was because
he was a great broadcaster. He was a great man and will
always be part of my family."
Newton had the difficult task of eulogizing his dear
friend, mentor and colleague at McConnell's funeral April
12, but deftly summed it all up this way.
"Very few people in life get to do what they want to
do for a profession," Newton said. "There's probably a
smaller subset of that containing people who are meant
to do what they end up making their life's work.
"Joe decided when he was 10 years old that he wanted
to be a radio broadcaster. That's what he became. And he
became one of the all-time greats.
"I went back and listened to some of those great calls,
and they were flawless. He knew exactly what to say. He
knew what space and tone to give it. That's the way it was
from the beginning of his career to his last game (a win at
Indiana in 2009) in which Al-Terek McBurse returned the
opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. If you
listen to his call, it gives you chills how good it was. That
was what makes a great broadcaster. It really is amazing."
And so was the 79-year life of McConnell.
j
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