Jim Zabel (September 5, 1921 – May 23, 2013) was an American radio and television broadcaster best known for serving as the play-by-play announcer for

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

football and men's basketball games for 48 years on

WHO (AM) WHO (1040 kHz "Newsradio 1040") is a commercial AM radio station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and carries a news/talk radio format. The radio studios are on Grand Avenue in Des Moines. WHO broadcas ...

Radio. A native of Davenport, Iowa, Zabel attended The

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

, where he was an editor of the student newspaper, graduating with a degree in journalism in 1944. Zabel joined WHO as the sports director in 1944, He was employed by the station as a talk-show host after retiring from play-by-play. Zabel worked for WHO-AM and its sister television station,

WHO-TV WHO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Grand Avenue in downtown Des Moines, and its transmitter is located in Al ...

, as both a sports broadcaster and as a host of general-interest programs. His television shows included ''Beat the Bear'', which lasted for 25 years, and ''Let's Go Bowling'', which lasted for more than 30 years. Zabel was a live presence for a half-century of sporting events in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, including the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

, for which he provided radio commentary for many years. It has been estimated that he provided commentary for more than 6,100 sporting events. He was named to the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. In 1997, Zabel was succeeded by Gary Dolphin as the play-by-play announcer for network broadcasts of Iowa Hawkeyes football and men's basketball games. Zabel died on May 23, 2013, at the age of 91 doing what he loved, preparing for his Sunday evening WHO-radio show, ''Two Guys Named Jim'' at his home in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabel, Jim American broadcasters College football announcers

Announcers An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...

1921 births 2013 deaths