Colorado Buffaloes longtime radio broadcaster Larry Zimmer dead at 88
Former Colorado radio broadcaster and Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Larry Zimmer passed away on Saturday. He was 88.
Zimmer called over 1,100 games in his career and served as the voice of the Buffs for KOA starting in 1971. He took on additional duties covering the Denver Broncos over the same time period for 26 years. During his tenure, Zimmer called 22 bowl games, 20 NFL postseason games, including CU's 1990 national championship and four Super Bowls for the storied franchise before Dave Logan took over in the late 90s. He also served on the Broncos' Ring of Fame committee for more than three decades.
“Larry was the voice of the Buffaloes when I was in high school,” said Dave Logan, who prepped at Wheat Ridge before playing for CU. “He broadcast every game of my career and then to have a chance to work with him starting in 1990 doing Bronco games was really a blessing for me. He was a great partner, a great broadcaster and a great person.”
Zimmer was associated in the Colorado sports scene for over a half-century. He retired as KOA Sports Director in 2004, but continued to work on CU football broadcasts as a color commentator and eventually retired in 2016. He missed three seasons when Buffs were aired on a different station, but he continued to cover college football during the 1982-84 break as the “voice” of Colorado State University.
In his own words: An Interview with Larry Zimmer
A native of New Orleans, Zimmer attended Louisiana State University before graduating from the University of Missouri in 1957 with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism. Bill McCartney was his fraternity brother prior to covering him at Colorado. During two ensuing years of active duty in the U.S. Army, he earned the rank of 1st Lieutenant and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. He started his broadcasting career in Missouri, continued it in Oklahoma during his Army stint and then moved in 1966 to WAAM in Ann Arbor, MI, where he was the football, basketball and hockey “voice” for the Wolverines.
“When I came on board as the play-by-play announcer for the Buffaloes in 2004, the transition was seamless because of the professionalism, kindness and graciousness of Larry Zimmer,” CU broadcaster Mark Johnson said. “His endorsement and acceptance of welcoming me into the booth was a signal to Buff Nation that this “new kid” should be given a chance by the fans. For 12 years, Zim was my mentor and partner calling CU football. He showed me the ropes and filled in the gaps in my knowledge of what it meant to be a Buff.
“In the ensuing eight seasons following Larry’s retirement, he became my greatest cheerleader,” Johnson added. “Frequently, I’d receive a heartwarming text from Zim saying simply, ‘Great broadcast on Saturday! You and Gary (Barnett) did a nice job capturing the game for all of us listeners!’”
During six decades of broadcasting, Zimmer has covered Olympic competition, NFL Europe, the College World Series in Omaha, regional and NCAA basketball for NBC, CBS and ESPN and World Cup Ski events. One of the major highlights of his broadcasting career took place in 1980, as Zimmer joined the CBS crew that broadcast the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid. Although he was not in the booth, Zimmer attended the USA-Soviet Union hockey game that would come to be known as the “Miracle on Ice,” where he did phone live reports back to Denver. In 1998, he 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.