Joseph Mathew Patanelli (September 18, 1919 – August 18, 1998) was an American professional basketball and minor league baseball player.^[1][2] He played for the Toledo Jeeps and Minneapolis Lakers in the National Basketball League and averaged 3.6 points per game.^[1][3] He also played for the Kansas City Blues in the Professional Basketball League of America during the 1947–48 season.^[2]

Patanelli was offered an athletic scholarship to play football for Indiana University but did not finish his education, having to return home following the death of his father.^[2] He never played for the school's basketball team.^[2]

In addition to basketball, Patanelli played minor league baseball for four years – three for Chicago White Sox-affiliated teams, and one affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds.^[4] He competed for the Wisconsin Rapids White Sox (1946), Fall River Indians (1947), Superior Blues (1948), and Rockford Rox (1948).^[4] In 368 career games, Patanelli batted .258 and hit 16 home runs.^[4]

His older brother was Matt Patanelli, a standout football player for the University of Michigan.^[2]

• Elkhart County Hall of Fame profile Archived June 10, 2018, at the Wayback Machine