No sportscaster in Wisconsin history will ever have the kind of impact that Jim Irwin had.  He passed away in California at the age of 77. The breadth and variety of his work was stunning. To characterize Irwin as merely the voice of the Packers is a simplistic injustice from those not old enough to remember his total body of work. Yes, he did play-by-play for the Packers. But also the Bucks (in a highly successful era). And the Badgers. And sometimes the Brewers. In a time when teams still took commercial flights, he must have tallied more miles in the air than many pilots or flight attendants. How he got from here to there and still sounded fresh is beyond me.

But do not forget that Irwin was more than a play-by-play man. His morning sports reports on WTMJ radio with Gordon Hinkley helped build his legend. Their unmatched chemistry in the days before sports talk radio captured the imagination of many, including me when I was a kid in Hartford. Irwin did daily sports viewpoints that displayed his intelligence and wit. He also was a television sports anchor in Green Bay and in Milwaukee. The WTMJ sports department of the 1970′s with Irwin, Hank Stoddard, Lionel Aldridge and Mike Hegan has to rank with the best anywhere in any era.

Later, I had a chance to work with Jim and it was a pleasure to get to know him. He and his wife Gloria treated me very kindly and I will never forget that. I’ve been thinking about why Jim was so successful. The best way I can put it is that he never lost his child-like enthusiasm for his job. He loved being on the air and he loved doing the games. He had fun doing them and the listener could tell. He brought passion to his broadcasts. The passion of a fan. That’s why I think Jim and Max McGee had a cult-like following. Packers fans knew they were just like them. They just had access to the radio microphones.

Jim Irwin won 10 Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year awards and many other honors. He also set a standard that will be impossible to match.