Don Poier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Don Poier | |
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| Born | February 24, 1951 Snohomish, Washington, United States |
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| Died | January 21, 2005 (aged 53) Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Sportscaster, Play-by-Play Announcer, Area Announcer |
Don Poier (February 24, 1951 – January 21, 2005) was a play-by-play announcer who spent more than 20 years announcing regional telecasts of Pac10 football and basketball games. He joined the Vancouver Grizzlies organization during their first year in the league. Poier gained national recognition as the one of the voices of EA Sports NBA Live Series video games from 1999 through 2003, with former NBA player and sportscater Bob Elliott. After doing radio play-by-play announcing for every Grizzlies broadcast since their first game in Vancouver (before relocating to Memphis), he was promoted to television play-by-play for the 2004-2005 season.[1]
On January 21, 2005, Poier was found dead of an apparent heart attack in his Denver hotel room before the Grizzlies' game against the Nuggets.[2] The Grizzlies decided to play the game in spite of Poier's sudden death, and lost by a final score of 92-82.
The media center at FedExForum, the Grizzlies' home arena in Memphis, has been named in honor of Don Poier. In addition, a memorial banner hangs from the ceiling at every Grizzlies home game.
