Philadelphia 76ers television voice Marc Zumoff announced his retirement today, ending a run of nearly forty years with the franchise and nearly thirty years as the team’s lead play-by-play broadcaster.

Zumoff, a Philadelphia native, cited desire to spend time with his family among other reasons, but he’ll certainly be missed in Philadelphia and around the league; listening to him call games was one of the treats of a League Pass subscription.

From Zumoff’s statement, which is very much worth reading in its entirety:

I still love what I do. In fact, I can easily see myself doing this until I simply can’t do it anymore. But there are several issues at play here.

Foremost is my wife of nearly 38 years, Debbie. I can never repay her for all of the nights and weekends she spent alone, raising our sons and holding down her own, high-pressure career. Simply, she is my best friend, and we want to spend more time together.

If life is a basketball game, I’m into the fourth quarter! I’d like to play a musical instrument, learn to speak a foreign language, cook, travel, and by all means give back with my time and strength to the charitable causes that I hope will make for a better world.   

There’s a lot out there for me to still do, and I want to do it all while I’m still able.

NBC Sports Philadelphia put together this tribute video as well, with praise from Ian Eagle, Adam Silver, and Mike Breen, along with archival praise from Sixers legends like Allen Iverson.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe shared this as well:

It’s rare that anyone stays with one place for four decades, and it’s nearly as rare that a local kid grows up to be the voice of a team. Zumoff did both, and that kind of connection he built with the fanbase is something that’s almost impossible to replicate. What a run, and hopefully he enjoys a well-earned retirement.

[NBC Sports Philadelphia]

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.