Larry Zimmer, who called more than 500 Denver Broncos games and over 1,000 University of Colorado events, died this weekend. Zimmer was 88 years old.
Colorado historian David Plati said Zimmer had been hospitalized for 10 days. While there, many of his friends in the media and former players from both teams came.
Zimmer started with Broncos games on KOA as the color analyst and was in that role from 1971-1989. Zimmer than moved over to the play-by-play position until 1996. In 1998, Zimmer was honored for being the only broadcaster in the country to broadcast the same professional team and the same college team for 25 years on the same radio station.
Zimmer was inducted into the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado Hall of Fame in 2009. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame followed in 2010 and then the CU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Colorado athletic director Rick George said Zimmer was, “A CU institution. His voice was synonymous with our athletic program and he was most beloved by our coaches, players and fans. Whether it was calling games on KOA or serving as a master of ceremonies for many of our functions, Larry Zimmer was CU. He is truly a part of our overall athletic history. We will miss Zim and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
The Broncos released a statement saying, “The Broncos are deeply saddened by the passing of legendary radio broadcaster and longtime Ring of Fame committee member Larry Zimmer. During his 52-year association with the Broncos, Larry called some of the franchise’s most iconic moments and helped honor some of our greatest legends. Our thoughts go out to Larry’s wife, Brigitte, and his entire family.”
