Justin: Minnesota sports legends pay tribute to KSTP’s Joe Schmit

A few weeks after deciding he would be leaving KSTP-TV, sports anchor Joe Schmit started to have second thoughts. And then he worked the Super Bowl shift.

“I think I’ve worked 42 of the last 45 Super Bowls,” Schmit said last week in a phone interview from Salt Lake City, where he was scheduled to give a speech. “I kept thinking, ‘I’ve got a big-screen TV at home. What I’d rather be doing is watch the game there.’”

Not that Schmit will have lots of time on his hands once he steps away from TV duties on April 30. He’s in big demand as a public speaker. He’s helping develop a musical based on “The Right Thing to Do,” a children’s book he co-authored with Joe Mauer. He also plans to travel more. He and his wife, Laura, will celebrate his retirement with a visit to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

But for now, Schmit is swamped with accepting well wishes from viewers, fellow broadcasters and athletes he has covered for four decades.

“It’s overwhelming,” said Schmit, who also served as the station’s sports director. “People are saying the kind of things they would say at my funeral. But it’s really, really nice. You touch people in ways you didn’t realize.”

In honor of his career and contributions, we asked some famous admirers to share their thoughts.

Mike Tice, former Vikings head coach: “We used to do a live show after the games on Sundays. That made it harder on me. Sometimes, I’d be beating myself up after a loss or be excited after a win and want to spend time with family and friends. But the one thing that was constant was Joe’s appreciation for me coming in to do the show with a positive attitude and energy. He was very delicate in how he phrased the questions about how something might have gone wrong.”

Mark Rosen, former WCCO-TV sports anchor: “He did a really good job with storytelling. The stories he did that struck me the most were the ones he did on [former St. Paul Saints president] Mike Veeck when his daughter, Rebecca, was going blind. He avoided the sportscaster vernacular and told us a really human story.”

Randy Shaver, former KARE sports and news anchor: “When you watch him, you know you’re going to get the information, but also a dad joke or two, because that’s who he is. He’s got a great sense of humor that comes across. But when things get serious, he’s on top of it.”

Darby Hendrickson, former player and assistant coach for the Wild; assistant coach with the Nashville Predators: “The first time I was in the state hockey tournament, Joe came to our house. That was big time. He went to our church for a while and he became everyday Joe. But he was also synonymous with big events. He could be interviewing Arnold Palmer one day and the next day, he’d be doing a thing on bowling in Brooklyn Park.”

Leah McLean, KSTP news anchor: “Joe has been inspiring us and making us laugh for a long time. For years I sat in between Joe and Dave Dahl when we were all together in the news studio. It was always in good fun with good friends. Joe would often have us cracking up so much that we struggled to be serious again when the commercial breaks ended.”

Joe Mauer, former Twins player: “I’ve known Joe since my high school days. He has had a tremendous impact on this community, not only through his sports coverage, but also as a person of integrity and kindness. Whether he was talking stats or sharing wisdom from one of his books, you could genuinely tell he loved what he was doing and he did it well.”

Patrick Reusse, Star Tribune columnist; former KSTP radio personality: “Joe had a tremendous ability to get along with coaches, athletes and other media members — although, I did see him get into it a few times with Sid [Hartman] during the scrums around lockers. I thought he was terrific at working with rest of the KSTP sports department — Ed Karow, Robb Leer, now Chris Long and Doogie Wolfson. Leer was his bulldog — and a pain to Sid’s ego at always barking out the first question at press conferences."

Leo Lewis, former Vikings wide receiver: “You have people in the media who are divisive or skeptical or sarcastic when interpreting sports. But Joe was never extreme. He told it like it was. He was reliable and levelheaded.”

Lou Nanne, former player and general manager for the Wild: “He’s such a genuinely warm and compassionate guy. I had the good fortune of having him come to my cabin in Wisconsin one day and we spent the whole day fishing on a boat. He’s got an infectious personality, always upbeat, warm and considerate. I love him, not only as a sportscaster, but as a person.”