Health issues didn’t hurt announcer Jay Miranda’s spirit
Years of battling health issues from diabetes didn’t bring down Cesar S. “Jay” Miranda Jr.’s positive outlook or enthusiasm for life and sports in Butler County.
The chronic disease claimed Miranda’s life Thursday, Oct. 23, when he died at age 60 at UPMC Passavant.
A 1983 graduate of Butler High School, Miranda was also a graduate of Duquesne University, where he majored in communications.
He began announcing sports in 1998 as a volunteer at the Little League fields in Center Township. He moved on to announcing high school, college and Butler BlueSox baseball games for more than 25 years at Pullman Park. He also announced Butler High School football games at Art Bernardi Stadium from 2009 to 2021, and Butler High School varsity wrestling matches from 2004 to 2023.
The positive voice he used in announcing was a reflection of his true spirit, said Tina Miranda, his wife of nearly 35 years.
“That’s exactly the way he was at home. We’d come home and we’d joke about things. Just off the wall things,” Tina said.
Many people who knew Jay have called, sent messages and written tributes on social media since he died, she said.
Jay started announcing when one of his sons played Little League Baseball in Center Township.
“He brought a folding table, pop up tent and karaoke machine. He brought CDs and got a mic and announced the games and the rosters from the teams,” Tina said.
He loved all sports, but baseball was his favorite and the BlueSox were his team, Tina said.
“I just want to thank him for 34 yeas of just a wonderful life with him, four beautiful children, and he will be missed more than you can imagine,” Tina said.
Bill Mylan, Butler Area School District athletic director, said he and Jay met for the first time almost 25 years ago when he was the wrestling coach and Jay was announcing matches. Jay began announcing football games after Mylan became athletic director.
“Jay was an incredible guy to be around. Always full of energy. His passion and enthusiasm really came out during his announcing jobs,” Mylan said. “Being from Butler, I think it meant a lot to him to be involved.”
He said it was inspiring to see Jay working with a positive attitude and spread positive vibes while dealing with his health issues.
“Through all those trying times, he had a great attitude and great outlook on life. Jay refused to let those things bring him down,” Mylan said.
It was a sad day and a big loss for Butler High School sports when Jay had to stop announcing, he said.
“The inspiration he provided people by just always having a positive outlook on life served as inspirational for me and I’m sure a lot of other people,” Mylan said.
Butler High School wrestling coach Scott Stoner said Jay was one of the most influential people he has met, both as a parent and in his 33 years as a teacher and coach.
“Becoming a friend of mine over the years and trusting me to coach his kids, he saw what we did and gravitated to it. He gravitated to people who did something for kids and wanted to be around that,” Stoner said.
Seeing the effects of Jay’s medical issues was heartbreaking for Stoner, but he said Jay showed resiliency and a positive attitude.
“He suffered, but never had a down moment. I don’t know that I could have gone through what he did. He was a stud. His wife, Tina, stood by his side with unconditional love to support him,” Stoner said.
He said Jay gave selflessly of himself and enjoyed being part of something, Stoner said.
“He’s one of the rare people who left an impact on the community. Jay was one of those rare people. He was a legacy guy,” Stoner said.
A blessing service was held Tuesday for Jay at the Martin Funeral Home Downtown in Butler. A full obituary appeared in the Sunday, Oct. 26, edition of the Butler Eagle.
