Joel P. Nixon, former VP of broadcasting for the National Hockey League, died at the age of 86 on Oct. 6.
Following a start in college radio sports broadcasting, Nixon was an executive producer for telecasts of the New York Mets, director of sports for Doyle Dane Bernbach, and senior VP of Madison Square Garden.
In 1979, Nixon was named VP of broadcasting for the NHL. While with the NHL, he helped expand hockey’s national and regional cable exposure and was responsible for organizing the first tour of the former Soviet Union by North American hockey teams.
After retiring from the NHL in 1993, he helped found minor league hockey franchises in New Mexico and Louisiana.
Nixon graduated from Princeton University in 1950 with a degree in political science.
He is survived by his wife Elaine Harvey Nixon, son J. Peter Nixon, daughter Kelly Nixon Mayr and 11 grandchildren.
