Joseph Daniel Mack Jr.

April 29, 1938 - June 15, 2021

Joseph Daniel Mack, 83, of Phoenix, AZ passed away on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at Hospice of the Valley at Friendship Village in Tempe, AZ. He was born on April 29, 1938 in Chicago, IL, the son of Joseph and Evelyn Mack.

Joe Mack was a boarding student from Chicago who entered St. Norbert High School for his junior year. The 6’8” Mack made an immediate impact on the basketball court. Playing for St. Norbert High School under Coach Fred Dillon, Mack scored a brilliant 1,209 points in only two seasons. Mack set school records for points in a season with 674 and points in a single game with 51. He set a Green Bay metro record averaging 32.3 points per game during his Senior year.

As a Senior in 1956, he led the school to a State championship by winning what was then called the St. Norbert College Invitational. Mack started the tournament with 26 points against Eau Claire Regis in a game that SNHS won 78-50. In the second round, he scored 35 points and grabbed 23 rebounds against Milwaukee Notre Dame, leading SNHS to a 72-60 victory. In that game, Mack squared off against future Marquette star and NBA player Don Kojia, outscoring him by 14 points. Mack scored 32 points in a narrow victory against Menasha St Mary to win the championship 70-68.

Mack was selected for the All American All-Star team, a precursor to The McDonald’s All-American Team, which instantly branded him as one of the top high school players in the United States.

Mack was highly recruited for college by such teams as USC, DePaul, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, St. Mary’s and North Carolina State (known at the time as North Carolina College of Agriculture and Engineering). He chose Marquette and played there for three years.

After college, Mack moved back to Chicago and lived there until 1972. He moved to Phoenix, AZ and worked as a painting contractor, opening his own firm, Coating Specialists, Inc., until retiring in 2017. He was the proud father of 4 children, 11 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.