Legendary Colorado radio broadcaster Larry Zimmer passes away
Legendary radio broadcaster Larry Zimmer passed away peacefully on Saturday evening at the age of 88. During his incredible career, Zimmer called games for the Denver Broncos, Colorado Buffaloes and Colorado State Rams, and he even worked for CBS during the 1980 Olympic Games. But for CU fans, he will always be known as the “Voice of the Buffaloes.”
Zimmer’s CU radio career began in 1971 when KOA hired him to be the play-by-play announcer for the Buffaloes and a color commentator for the Broncos. He called every CU football game from 1971-2004, save for a three-year hiatus in the early 1980s.
In 2004, Mark Johnson was named Colorado’s new play-by-play announcer with Zimmer moving to color. Those two worked together until Zimmer’s retirement following the 2015 football season.
Zimmer called 1,011 overall CU games in his career, split between football (486) and men’s basketball (525).
As we say goodbye, we leave you with Zimmer’s most iconic call. Here’s Zimmer calling Rashaan Salaam reaching the 2,000-yard rushing mark in 1994:
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