Mike Patrick, a longtime play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s Sunday Night Football, has died. He was eighty. Patrick, a native of Clarksburg, West Virginia, oversaw the NFL Sunday night game for 18 years, as part of a 35-year tenure at ESPN. While he called a number of events, Patrick was best recognized as the lead voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Football from 1987 to 2005. Sunday Night Football moved to NBC in 2006, and ESPN got the rights to Monday Night Football.

He co-called ESPN’s inaugural NFL regular-season game alongside Paul Maguire and Joe Thiesmann. Patrick’s additional responsibilities included college football, the College World Series, and the Women’s Final Four.

Patrick previously worked as a game caller for the WFL’s Jacksonville Sharks before joining ESPN. He oversaw Washington’s preseason games from 1975 to 1982. Patrick also served as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force following his graduation from George Washington University. We send our condolences to his family.