Philadelphia - A beloved member of the Penn family, John McAdams, 64, passed away early Thursday morning in his sleep.

A Palestra legend, McAdams was to begin his 25th season as Penn basketball's public address announcer in 2005-06. McAdams, who was honored by The Sporting News as the best collegiate PA announcer in 2001, called Big 5 games in The Palestra since 1981, and averaged announcing over 300 games throughout the City of Brotherly Love each year.

McAdams was one of the few full-time public address announcers in the country. He was the voice of the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, served as the PA announcer for the annual high school baseball Carpenter Cup and Princeton football games, and was a part of the operations team at Penn, handling public address duties for basketball, baseball, lacrosse, sprint football and other sports when he could fit them into his busy schedule. He also served as the press box public address announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles and served as the voice of the Atlantic 10 basketball championships. McAdams was also the official scorer for the Reading Phillies and Philadelphia Phillies baseball teams.

McAdams ended the college basketball season in 2001 by announcing the NCAA East Regional at the Wachovia Center, has been the public address announcer for the last two NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championships and served as the main PA man at the 2005 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships at Lincoln Financial Field. A sought-after speaker for collegiate sports events and banquets on scholastic, collegiate and professional levels, McAdams, who is survived by his wife Nancy, was a member of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association and a graduate of Temple University.

"Every day was a gift for John McAdams. He was as professional as you can get in a profession that doesn't always get the respect it deserves. His diligence in his work and his love of life and of sports was a large part of his charm, yet it was the constant smile on his face that made you want to be his friend. Goodbye, my friend." - Carla Zighelboim, Director of Athletic Communications