Larry Zimmer Dies at 88; Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Linked to Broncos for 52 Years

Longtime Denver Broncos radio broadcaster Larry Zimmer died Saturday at the age of 88, the team announced.

A member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, Zimmer called Broncos games for KOA Radio for 26 years. He also served on the Broncos' Ring of Fame committee for more than three decades. In total, he was linked to the team for 52 years.

Zimmer began as a color commentator for Broncos games in 1971 and remained in that role until 1989. He served as the play-by-play announcer from 1990 to 1996. He called over 500 games during his tenure, including 20 playoff games and four Super Bowls.

Over his 60-year broadcasting career, Zimmer also covered the Olympics, NFL Europe, the College World Series, World Cup ski events and NCAA basketball for NBC, CBS and ESPN.

In addition to calling Broncos games, Zimmer was also the longtime voice of the Colorado Buffaloes. He called more than 1,000 university sporting events and voiced Buffaloes football games for 42 seasons. After his retirement as KOA sports director in 2004, he continued to call games for the university through 2015.

Zimmer's exemplary work as a broadcaster earned him the National Football Foundation's Schenkel Award in 2009, which honors a sportscaster who has had a "long and distinguished" career with a single institution.

Zimmer received an induction into the Broadcast Professionals of Colorado Hall of Fame that same year followed by inductions into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and the University of Colorado Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

Zimmer is survived by his wife of 51 years, Brigitte, along with his two children and his granddaughter.