CHICAGO – John McEvoy, a Wisconsin native and longtime journalist best known for his work covering horse racing, died Monday, June 10. He was 83.
McEvoy was born May 10, 1936, in Kenosha. He graduated from Kenosha High School (now known as Mary D. Bradford High School), where he played basketball and was editor of the school newspaper. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UW-Madison, where he served as sports editor of The Daily Cardinal.
After a brief stint teaching English at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., McEvoy worked as a reporter for the Kenosha News. He later covered the overnight crime beat for the Milwaukee Journal before taking a job at the Daily Racing Form in Chicago.
McEvoy started as a copyreader and writer in 1964, before being promoted to editor in 1979. He remained in that role until 1994, when the Daily Racing Form closed its Chicago office.
McEvoy also authored six horse racing mystery novels, two of which won Ben Franklin Awards from the Independent Book Publishers Association.
McEvoy is survived by his wife, Judy, his daughters Julia and Sarah, his son Michael, and nine grandchildren. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. June 29, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Evanston.
