Biographies

Jerry Schemmel

Jerry Schemmel
Nuggets Radio play-by-play Announcer

Jerry Schemmel has been the radio voice of the Denver Nuggets since 1992 and will continue to anchor Nuggets home games this season. His sportscasting career spans 25 years and includes radio and television play by play of several professional and major college sports. Schemmel earned his B.A. and Juris Doctor from Washburn University, where he also played and coached college baseball. After graduating, he spent one year as deputy commissioner and legal counsel for the Continental Basketball Association.

Long-time play-by-play radio voice Jerry Schemmel recently accepted a position with KOA Radio on the Colorado Rockies broadcasts for the upcoming season and will call his last game for Altitude on January 25, 2010.

On July 19, 1989, Schemmel boarded United Airlines Flight 232, originating in Denver and bound for Chicago. An in-flight engine explosion crippled the plane and forced it to crash land in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 112 of the 296 onboard.

Schemmel is the author of the book, Chosen To Live. Chosen To Live chronicles the crash of flight 232 and its subsequent effects on his life. The book has been featured in such publications as Reader’s Digest, Hoop Magazine, Sports Spectrum and Guideposts. Schemmel has been a guest on several national television programs, including “Regis & Kathi Lee,” “48 Hours,” “CBS This Morning,” “Turning Point,” “The Today Show,” “The Hour of Power,” “Good Morning America,” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

During the summers of 2003 and 2004, Schemmel rode a bicycle across the United States as a fundraiser for two Denver area charities. The efforts have raised a total of $225,000. He has also completed three marathons and is a volunteer assistant baseball coach at Metro State University. In the summer of 2007, he was the radio voice of the Billings Mustangs, a Rookie League affiliate if the Cincinnati Reds. Schemmel grew up in Madison, SD and now resides in Littleton, CO with his wife Diane, 15-year-old daughter Maggie and eight-year-old son, Ryan.

Favorite sports movie: Field of Dreams

Favorite movie overall: The Passion of the Christ

Favorite sports book: "Its Not About The Bike" by Lance Armstrong

Favorite book overall: The Bible

Favorite sports moment: Completing my first cross-country bicycle ride

Favorite band: Casting Crowns

Best thing about working at Altitude: Working with very talented and very professional people

If you meet one person living or dead, it would be: Jesus Christ

Favorite memory of a home team: Nuggets playoff series victory over Seattle in 1994

Your first childhood career aspirations were: To be a Major League Baseball Player