Irwin, former voice of Packers, dies

By ASSOCIATED PRESS Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

MILWAUKEE — Jim Irwin, the longtime former radio voice of the Green Bay Packers during a distinguished sports broadcasting career, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 77.

His wife, Gloria, said Irwin died Sunday of metastatic cancer at their home in Southern California, where he was in hospice care.

Irwin worked as a color analyst for Packers games on WTMJ-AM from 1969 until 1975. He then worked as a play-by-play announcer until he and his longtime on-air partner, former Packers receiver Max McGee, retired at the end of the 1998 season. During his run, Irwin called 612 consecutive Packers games.

In addition, Irwin also called Wisconsin football games for 22 years, Milwaukee Bucks games for 16 years, Wisconsin basketball games for five years, and UW-Milwaukee basketball games for two years. He also filled in for Bob Uecker on Brewers games.

Irwin was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2003 and was recognized as Wisconsin sports Announcer of the Year 10 times. He’s in the Wisconsin Broadcasting Association Hall of Fame.

Irwin was born in Linn Creek, Mo. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea before majoring in speech at the University of Missouri.

Irwin was diagnosed with cancer in 2010.

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