Joe Mc Laughlin (sportswriter)

Joe McLaughlin, born Joseph Carroll McLaughlin, (April 17, 1934 — November 25, 1997) was one of Texas’ most well-known and respected professional sportswriters of the late 20th century. According to the Houston Chronicle, McLaughlin was considered “one of the true newspaper legends of the Southwest Conference,” his name synonymous with high school, professional and college sports in Texas during the 1960s, 1970’s and 1980’s.

McLaughlin’s success as a reporter out of Texas Tech University and the "Lubbock Avalanche-Journal" led to a widely read column called “Mac’s Facts,” which appeared in the Abilene Reporter News in the late '50s and early '60s. This led to stints at the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram" and "The Dallas Times Herald," as well as the "Houston Chronicle," where he worked for several decades before retirement. However, sitting still didn't suit McLaughlin and he returned to the business working part-time for the "San Antonio Express News" until felled by his battle with brain cancer in mid 1990s. McLaughlin was regularly sought out for expert commentary on television and radio, and has been cited/referenced in and edited innumerable books, magazines and articles. His work, a relative time machine of sports in Texas, has been sought after by the Southwest Special Collections Library and Museum at Texas Tech University. His stories are recognized as a Who’s Who of athletes, from Olympians to World Boxing Champions, including Wilfred Benitez, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Termite Watkins, Dave "Ziggy" Zyglewicz, many of whom trace their rise to fame over the decades through Joe’s stories. In addition, because of his outstanding contributions to the athletic program at Rice University, in 1998, Rice University Athletic Director Bobby May dedicated a memorial to McLaughlin in the University’s library. McLaughlin was also featured as Notable Chickasaw Sports Figure by the Chickasaw Nation in 2012.

McLaughlin began his career at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in the 1950s. This was followed by stints at the Abilene Reporter-News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. By the mid 1960’s, McLaughlin had begun what would be the first of 26 years at the Houston Chronicle as a writer and editor. While covering professional boxing, McLaughlin interviewed a rising star named Cassius Clay, who later became known as Muhammad Ali and be counted amongst the numerous athletes McLaughlin had covered who would grow to be friends.

McLaughlin soon began covering Rice University and the University of Houston athletic programs. Among the highlights was following the Houston basketball program during the 1982-1984 seasons as they became known as “Phi Slama Jama.” The "Dream Team" included Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon as they led Houston Cougars to two back to back NCAA Championship appearances.

After retiring from the Chronicle in 1990, McLaughlin and his wife Al-Rue moved to Sattler, Texas, near San Antonio. His daughter, Prebble McLaughlin, followed in his footsteps, working as a part-time writer and swimming coach after ending her own swimming career. Prebble later began acting and working as a radio personality. Despite his attempt to retire, McLaughlin found that he missed the newspaper business and decided to return, working for the San Antonio Express-News until his death from cancer on November 25, 1997.

Though his career enabled him to be on a first-name basis with some of the biggest names in American sports, Joe always remained true to his humble beginnings in Madill, Oklahoma and his Chickasaw Indian roots. Joe loved to talk about his Chickasaw heritage, to the extent that even co-workers could recite some of his favorite childhood stories about his proud Chickasaw family. Before he fell ill, he was most anxious to visit a museum in Tishomingo where a quilt bearing squares with names of his Chickasaw relatives was being displayed as part of a Chickasaw exhibit.

McLaughlin’s wife, Al-Rue, passed away in 2011 in Florida. Daughter, Prebble, is married with a daughter, Briar, and lives in Destin, Florida.

Famous quotes containing the word joe:

    While we were thus engaged in the twilight, we heard faintly, from far down the stream, what sounded like two strokes of a woodchopper’s axe, echoing dully through the grim solitude.... When we told Joe of this, he exclaimed, “By George, I’ll bet that was a moose! They make a noise like that.” These sounds affected us strangely, and by their very resemblance to a familiar one, where they probably had so different an origin, enhanced the impression of solitude and wildness.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)