Legendary sportswriter Mel Antonen dead at the age of 64

February 1, 2021
Mike Tanner

UNDATED–Legendary sportswriter Mel Antonen has died from complications from COVID-19 at the age of 64.

Antonen was a Hamlin High School and Augustana University graduate.

Prior to a 24 year career covering Major League Baseball for USA Today, Antonen worked for the Watertown Public Opinion and Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Antonen also wrote for Sports Illustrated, covered Olympic games and did broadcasting work for MLB Network.

He was inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. During his induction speech, Antonen said, “I love baseball because it always brings me home. A baseball park in my mind is a home. It doesn’t matter if it’s next to a cornfield, as it is in Lake Norden, or if it is next to a rumbling subway, in New York.” 

Antonen is survived by his wife Lisa and 14 year-old son Emmett.