Joseph Mooshil Obituary

I first met Joe Mooshil when I was a school boy. The extended Mooshil family all shared an apartment building on North Mozart. My sister, Kathy, was a good friend of Joe's three daughters and a classmate of Maria Mooshil.

As an impressionable young kid, when I first saw Joe Mooshil, my first reaction was that he was some type of a gangster. He always wore a suit and tie and an expensive overcoat. He had a full head of hair, smoked cigars and he carried himself well. He simply exuded class and had a commanding presence.

I did not know until much later that Joe Mooshil was actually a veteran sportswriter. His clothing was representative of an earlier generation when those in the press box always dressed to the nines. Later, when he appeared on television as a guest on "The Sportswriters," he would sometimes relax by wearing a sweater. He was knowlegeable about sports and his opinions were sound.

He was one of the unsung heroes of the sports page since he usually wrote without a byline: his game summaries were syndicated through the wire services to newspapers across the USA reporting on out of town games (generally baseball, hockey and football results -- professional basketball achieved greater popularity and recognition later on). You probably read his work without knowing it.

Years later, the quality of baseball game summaries really suffered in my opinion. Unlike Mooshil, the succeeding generation of "writers" could post paragraphs that omitted critical information that forced you to cross reference the box scores to find out what had actually taken place at the ballpark.

Joe Mooshil was the genuine article and I am glad to have met him on occasion be it ever so briefly.

My fondest memories of Mr. Mooshil were when Leah and I would be listening to Beatles music on the record player and he would tell us that rock music wasn't going to last! I still think of all the great times I had with the Mooshil family in their gorgeous place on Mozart. My deepest sympathies go out to Mrs. Mooshil, Maria, Leah, Angele, and their families.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Mooshil's family. - Marie, Karen, Kathie and Kim Joseph

My thoughts and prayers go out to Mrs. Mooshil and her three wonderful daughters. When I think of Mr. Mooshil growing up, I think of a man with a thick mane of hair, a cigar smoking nearby, and a bigger than life presence. It was with Mr. Mooshil that I met Bill Veeck at the Old White Sox park. When asked what I thought of the team, I answer frankly about my impressions of the game, and basically said I was a Cubs fan! Mr. Mooshil your light will continue to burn brightly for me through your greatest gifts--my three good friends--Leah, Angele and Sweet MariA . God bless you!