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Former Bronco Zimmerman inducted into Hall of Fame today

True grit led to former Bronco's inclusion in Hall of Fame

By Lynn DeBruin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 1, 2008 at 11:14 p.m.

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Gary Zimmerman retired to Oregon after his NFL career, and the only request he had for his Hall of Fame bust was, "I want to look like a lumberjack."

Photo by Photos By Thomas Patterson / Special To The Rocky

Gary Zimmerman retired to Oregon after his NFL career, and the only request he had for his Hall of Fame bust was, "I want to look like a lumberjack."

Former Broncos tackle Gary Zimmerman was rock solid in the NFL. Now he and his wife Lisa, who still laughs about when she met her future husband, enjoy Spud, their Labrador retriever.

Photo by Thomas Patterson / Special To The Rocky

Former Broncos tackle Gary Zimmerman was rock solid in the NFL. Now he and his wife Lisa, who still laughs about when she met her future husband, enjoy Spud, their Labrador retriever.

The Zimmerman file

* Born: Dec. 13, 1961, in Fullerton, Calif.

* College: Oregon.

* Drafted: First-round choice by New York Giants in 1984 supplemental draft. Rights traded to Minnesota Vikings. Ended up instead playing two years for the U.S. Football League's Los Angeles Express.

* NFL: After joining the Vikings in 1986, he began a streak of 169 consecutive starts that lasted until shoulder surgery sidelined him late in 1996 season.

* Broncos: Traded to Denver during 1993 preseason.

* Notable: Selected to two All-Decade teams and seven Pro Bowls.

Ring of truth

Former Broncos lineman Mark Schlereth said the nut Gary Zimmerman received in his Super Bowl ring case symbolized how much he meant to the team.

"It's up to everybody's interpretation, but Zim, next to John Elway, was the most valuable player on that team," Schlereth said.

And the nut was the Broncos ownership's way of saying, "We want you back."

"That, to me, was telling Zim, 'You're not done yet. This is the ring you get because we need you back.' It was ownership's way of saying how much they appreciated him and wanted him and needed him."

Gary Zimmerman: In his own words

* On his motivation: "I hear people who are bulimic, they see themselves as fat. When I was playing, I saw myself as not good enough, so I always tried to be better. I could watch people and think they did a good job, but then watch myself, and I was like, kind of embarrassed, so I tried to work harder."

* On his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame sinking in: "The Hawaii thing (getting measured for his bronze bust) didn't really hit me, but when the guy came out here with the blob of clay, that was when it was like, 'It's real.' That blob was sitting there looking back at me and it was, 'Wow, this is for real.' "

* On whether the bust looks like him: "I had to pay extra for the makeover. The standard package was just Mr. Potato Head. I had to pay for some hair."

* On keeping the rusty nut in his trophy case rather than the actual Super Bowl XXXII ring: "I'm not really a jewelry type of guy, so an old, rusty (nut) is pretty cool."

* On why he was a snowboarder: "Skiing is for old people."

* On what he'll do next: "I'm going to be a hand model (like George on Seinfeld)."

* On his induction speech: "It will be like that commercial where the guy is boring everybody and the kid holds up a sign that reads, 'The end.' "

What they're saying about Zimmerman

* Pat Bowlen, Broncos owner: "I don't spend a lot of time scouting players, but it was very clear to me he was the pre-eminent left tackle in the game. At the time, I said, 'Listen, we've got to see if we can do a trade, because he's the missing piece.' "

* John Elway, former Broncos quarterback, to The Associated Press: "His strength and athleticism were exceptional. He understood the game and was as tough as I have ever seen. He was a classic left tackle and very deserving of his election to the Hall of Fame."

* Mike Shanahan, Broncos coach: "His shoulder was out of joint and I told him to stay out. He's not going back in. He said, 'Oh, yes I am. I'm not going out until No 7 goes out.' And he played the whole second half. We took John out with a couple of minutes left, and that's when Zim went out. That gives you an idea how tough he is."

'He looks like Superman'

At 6-foot, bronze sculptor Ben Hammond hardly can be classified as short. But as he discovered working with 6-foot-6 Gary Zimmerman, everything is relative.

"I felt like a little Chihuahua walking down the street with him," said Hammond, who visited Zimmerman in Bend, Ore., while preparing the bronze bust that will be displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. "I almost had to run to keep up with him because of his long legs."

While John Elway might have been godlike in Denver, Hammond said Zimmerman had true superhero characteristics. "His masseter muscles are huge. He looks like Superman," said Hammond, who studied under Blair Buswell, who sculpted Elway's likeness for the Hall of Fame.

As a young artist growing up, when Hammond drew superheroes, he always exaggerated certain features to make the person look more massive. No exaggeration was necessary with Zimmerman. With the wide jaw, his face already was like an upside-down triangle.

"You could tell he was excited and honored and flattered," Hammond said of Zimmerman. "He didn't have an attitude, 'Well, it's about time I'm in the Hall of Fame.' He still seemed surprised and pleased."

So what else is distinctive on the bust?

Besides the wide jaw muscles and full ears, one will notice Zimmerman is sporting a little hair and a mustache of his younger days in the NFL.

His only request? "I want to look like a lumberjack," Zimmerman told him.

Worth the wait

Before finally being elected, Zimmerman was a Hall of Fame finalist four previous times, including his first year of eligibility.

That year, then-Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak sent a bottle of Dom Perignon.

It stayed in the refrigerator for six years.

On the night of Feb. 2, after the live television announcement, the family's big group hug and all the congratulatory phone calls, he finally popped the cork.

"I'll tell you, it tasted good," Lisa Zimmerman said.

Enshrinement events

* What: Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and Hall of Fame Game.

* Where: Fawcett Stadium, Canton, Ohio.

Schedule

* 4 p.m. MDT Saturday: Six-member Class of 2008 is inducted. TV/radio: ESPN, NFL Network; KEPN-AM (1600).

* 6 p.m. MDT Sunday: Colts vs. Redskins in Hall of Fame Game to begin the NFL preseason. TV/radio: KUSA-Channel 9; KKFN-FM (104.3).

Remaining inductees

* Fred Dean, 1975-85: A pass-rush specialist. The defensive end spearheaded 49ers' first two Super Bowl teams.

* Darrell Green, 1983-2002: Former Redskins cornerback is only member of this class to be elected in first year of eligibility.

* Art Monk, 1980-95: Played on three Super Bowl champions in 14 seasons with the Redskins; made 940 career receptions.

* Emmitt Thomas, 1966-78: Spent entire career with Chiefs and ranks fourth all time among pure cornerbacks in interceptions, with 58.

* Andre Tippett, 1982-93: Linebacker and member of All-Decade team of the 1980s. Helped lead 1985 Patriots to first AFC title.

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He's an aspiring photographer now, one so intent on honing his craft that he has traded in an old dirt bike to buy a new lens.

But to get the full picture of Gary Zimmerman, who will join John Elway in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at enshrinement ceremonies today, you have to look back at some old snapshots.

There's one of a nurse, seeing "Zim" after yet another postseason visit to the operating room and with three appendages doctored up, asking sympathetically if he had been in a car accident.

Then there's the scene against the rival Oakland Raiders when, despite having a shoulder out of joint, he refused to leave the game until No. 7 came out.

And finally, there's the nut itself, not Zimmerman for still wearing shorts at practice in the dead of winter, but the rusty one that sits in a fancy ring box in his trophy case in Bend, Ore.

Zimmerman still can hear all the screams and giggles and high-fives when every other member of the 1997 Broncos squad opened boxes that contained iced-out Super Bowl XXXII championship rings.

But when Zimmerman opened his, there was simply that ugly, metal nut. And it looked so beautiful.

"It's right on the money," Zimmerman, now 46, admitted.

Man's man

As a 6-foot-6, 294-pound left tackle, Zimmerman was a bear of a man, one capable of neutralizing standouts such as Derrick Thomas and protecting Elway's blind side.

More important, he was an ironman, starting 169 consecutive NFL games at one point, including 76 for Denver. The kind of rugged player more suited to a rusty nut than a flashy ring.

"Gary was the best left tackle I ever saw play the game," Elway told The Associated Press this week.

In the last of his 12 seasons, he played until the Vince Lombardi Trophy was lifted high, even though he couldn't raise his left arm above his shoulder.

"He was a man's man. He looked like you could bounce a medicine ball off his chest," Broncos publicist Jim Saccomano said.

"You never had to worry about him," added Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who will present Zimmerman at enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.

"You put him out there at left tackle and you never had to give him any help. When John developed that confidence in him, he felt almost as if he could ignore anybody coming from that side, because they weren't going to get to him. Obviously, that propelled us to the next level."

Elway was so reliant on Zimmerman, he left training camp in 1998 for the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., to try to coax one more season out of him.

Zimmerman admitted Elway's recruiting trip almost worked.

"I knew I couldn't do it. Then John came out and said, 'Oh, you can do it' and all that stuff, and when your buddy's around, you don't want to let him down. So I'm all excited about it and after he left, I'm all fired up, (saying), 'I'm going to do it.' But the reality is, I'd just be stealing, because I thought I wouldn't make it through the year. My mind wanted to, but my body said, 'No.' "

The Broncos went on to win a second Super Bowl, without Zimmerman, while he retired to Bend, and his 40 acres of pine, wife Lisa and daughters Lindsay and Kelsey.

Quiet, not cocky

Lisa was a freshman at the University of Oregon when she met her future husband.

She still laughs thinking about the scene in class, with Gary sitting there with a shirt button sewn to the tip of his finger to hold a torn tendon in place.

"I asked him what happened and he just said, 'Football,' " she recalled.

"I'm thinking, 'Cocky football player.' "

Only later did she realize it was shyness, not cockiness.

Though their paths crossed often in the athletic center as she ran track for the Ducks, they didn't carry on a conversation until their senior year.

"I think if I hadn't said something to him to start the conversation, we probably never would have spoken," Lisa Zimmerman said.

In Denver, Broncos fans and reporters knew Zimmerman as a man of few words. He thrived behind the line's self-imposed no-talk rule, which makes it all the crazier to hear him now when asked about his induction speech.

"The problem is, I've got too much to say for once in my life," Zimmerman said. "That's what's really bizarre. I've got so many people to thank and so many people who made a difference in my career, and a few little funny stories along the way, I've got to whittle it down."

Bowlen predicted Zimmerman wouldn't disappoint, just as Zimmerman delivered one of the most eloquent speeches when he was inducted into Oregon's state Hall of Fame a few years ago.

"A lot of people don't understand Gary is a very intelligent guy and he'll have some things to say that nobody would ever expect him to talk about," Bowlen said. "Zim will be Zim, but I'd be surprised if he isn't one of the more interesting guys who gives his speech."

Not so hip

While he clearly can talk, it's walking that recently has become a problem.

Though Zimmerman wouldn't change a thing, the wear and tear of football is evident.

He can't make a fist or straighten his fingers because his hands are mangled from years of abuse and surgery.

He can't play golf because of those shredded shoulders.

Though he loves snowboarding and snowmobiling, he hasn't done much of either in the past year because of a hip that needs to be replaced. Even dropping 40 pounds hasn't eased the pain.

"The shoulders have always been my problem, but the last few years it's been my hip. It's (to the point) where my shoulders don't bug me anymore because the hip has taken over the pain," he said.

He has a Sleep Number bed, but when he dials the firmness up to 70 for his shoulders, his hips hurt. When he

dials it down to 50 to soften the bed for his hip, his shoulders hurt.

"The last year or so, it's become very limiting," he said. "It's just gradually getting worse, to where I can't fight it off much longer."

On the field, though, playing in pain was part of the job.

"That's easy. That's just mind control," Zimmerman said. "It's hard at first, but it became a thing of pride for me, not to let an injury stop me from playing. . . . Once you start doing it, you can never give in, because the first time you give in, it's over."

Fly me away

That toughness was recognized by teammates, fans and members of the Hall of Fame voting committee.

What they might not have known is that Zimmerman, while he played gruff and tough, also has a soft side.

Anytime a friend is in need, Zimmerman is the first to offer help, whether it's pouring concrete or joining a search-and-rescue operation.

And his daughters, Lisa says, have him wrapped around their fingers.

What else might the public not know about this seven-time Pro Bowler?

Though he still can be found clearing underbrush and limbing trees on his land at the east edge of the Cascade Mountains, he also makes regular visits to schools in Bend, bringing the real ring and the nut to a sports psychology class or teaching younger children Morse code.

Then there are those monthly pizza get-togethers with local members of his ham radio club. Yes, this quiet, shy man got a ham radio license several years ago and can be heard at night in his shop talking with strangers half a world away.

And if Bend ever gets too crowded, Zimmerman always could renew his pilot's license and fly away for a while.

Zimmerman, once so fearful of flying he had to be tranquilized before boarding a plane during his U.S. Football League days, conquered his fears by taking control of the controls.

Lisa said it all started with a fishing trip to Alaska when the plane he was on began leaking fluid and was diverted to another airport. There, a bush pilot flew in to pick him up in a plane so small, Lisa said, "you could squeeze the wings together."

Zimmerman was reluctant to board until the pilot explained all the aerodynamics and noises.

"I honestly thought when he got back from that trip, he would never get on a plane again," Lisa said. "But he literally got off that plane and, while we were still in the airport, told me he was going to take flying lessons."

He did, and even owned a Cessna 182 until family life and football squeezed his time.

Finally busted

For now, he's more focused on getting Kelsey in focus during volleyball games or family get-togethers.

While the humble Zimmerman downplays his photographic ability, Lisa said the results so far have been "stunning."

"Once he decides he wants something or tries to do something, there's no stopping him," she said.

Even growing up, that was the case.

His father, a NASA engineer, didn't want his son to be disappointed when he said he wanted to be a professional football player.

So Dad sat him down and analyzed the number of pro players and teams, then weighed the odds of Gary making it against all the other children playing high school football.

"It was a reality check for Gary but it also inspired him even more," Lisa said. " 'If that's what I want to do, I better

really buckle down to make this dream come true.' "

He lived it, and now he has a bronze bust to go along with that rusty, old nut.

Comments

  • August 2, 2008

    6:03 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Jim writes:

    Good post. Nasty headline. Probably the editor's mistake.

  • August 2, 2008

    6:15 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    hdfresh writes:

    Good article on Zimmerman. It is nice to know more about the man protecting Elway.

  • August 2, 2008

    9:32 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Alive writes:

    The dog in the picture looks like it has flowers growing out of its back. It is amazing what they can do with genetics these days.

  • August 2, 2008

    9:36 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    incognitoboy writes:

    i agree, good article, and a nice shot of zim w/the chainsaw!

    and as a personal message to the man of the hour:
    way to go, zim! the unsung hero finally gets his chance to sing.... so sing it loud and be proud, cuz you earned it!

    but let's be honest here, how long has it REALLY been since you had as much hair as they put on your bust, hmm? ;-)

    as a fan, you have my humble thanks for being the rock, the anchor, the superbowl insurance policy, and the quiet strength of my favorite team of all time

    enjoy your spotlight weekend, sir!

  • August 2, 2008

    9:43 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Squatch writes:

    Thanks Zim. I remember being so happy the day the Broncis were able to get you to come to Denver. I wish you would have stuck around another year and got 2 rings since you deserved it. Hopefully we have a few more Broncos headed to Canton so your Busts wont be too lonely.

  • August 2, 2008

    2:38 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    analytixman writes:

    A good story about a great man. It's nice to see the accolades being handed out to a man in the trenches. Congrats to you and your family.

  • August 2, 2008

    3:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    SteveC writes:

    Way to go Zim, you deserve to be in Canton.

  • August 2, 2008

    3:32 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    n_jared writes:

    Congrats Zimmy! More Broncos in Hall. Stop the bias hate

  • August 2, 2008

    6:49 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Vector049 writes:

    Never heard of him.

  • August 2, 2008

    9:17 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    CONCERNEDABOUTBRAUCHLER writes:

    DWAYTOGO!