By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Baylor Athletics Hall of Famer, former quarterback and radio broadcaster J.J. Joe passed away Tuesday at age 54 from an apparent heart attack.
After a four-year football career with the Bears from 1990-93, Joe joined the Baylor football radio broadcast team alongside John Morris. Joe spent 21 seasons as the primary color commentator and was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
“J.J. was a Baylor man to the core,” Morris said. “From his playing career as a four-year starter at quarterback, to the past 21 years as the color analyst on our radio broadcasts, J.J. was universally loved and respected by everyone who knew him and by fans who felt like they knew him through the airwaves.”
Joe grew up in Arlington, where he excelled at Lamar High School. As a senior in 1988, he earned Fort Worth Star-Telegram Offensive Player of the Year honors after throwing for 2,124 yards and 16 touchdowns while leading the Vikings to the Class 5A state quarterfinals.
“As a sportswriter in Arlington, I had the privilege to cover many of Joe’s games at Lamar, as well as a few at Baylor,” Arlington Voice Editor-in-Chief Ken Costlow said. “There was not a more pleasant and accommodating student-athlete to interview and get to know. He was a legend in North Arlington, where kids of all ages wanted to be just like ‘J.J.’”
Joe led Baylor to back-to-back bowl games in 1991 and 1992, and by the end of his career, he held all the school passing records. He still owns the program record for career yards per completion (17.3) and ranks in the top 10 for career passing yards (5,995), completions (347-of-665) and touchdown passes (31).
“I am honored to have been J.J.’s coach,” Hall of Fame Baylor head coach Grant Teaff said. “I am heartbroken. J.J. is one of the finest men I ever had the privilege of coaching. He was an excellent leader and a talented athlete. He was unselfish and always cared more about the success of his teammates than his own accolades. He was tough, determined and, boy, did he love his teammates and Baylor University.”
Joe aimed to leave as much of a lasting legacy off the field as he did on with Baylor football. His faith led him to First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, where he served as the senior executive director and chief financial officer after working in the banking industry. In 2004, he fulfilled his wish to remain part of the university when he joined the radio broadcast team. Over the years, he called three Big 12 championship seasons.
“When you’re playing and going through it, (the Hall of Fame) is not something you think about,” J.J. said in 2006 when he was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame. “I really only knew about it when I was broadcasting, when they would introduce a class every year. Whenever you play, you want to leave a legacy. I know my records will be broken … but you want to be thought of as a good guy.”
J.J. is survived by his wife, Lakeesha, and sons, Jordan, Josh and Jacob. Funeral services are pending.
