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NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – Paul Zimmerman, long-time Sports Illustrated NFL author, nicknamed "Dr. Z" for his analytical approach, died Thursday. He was 86 years old.
NBC Sports football writer, Peter King, confirmed the death of Zimmerman. King worked with Zimmerman at Sports Illustrated and completed Zimmerman's autobiography, "Dr. Z: The Lost Memoirs of an Irreverent Football Writer".
Zimmerman had three shots in 2008 that ended his writer career after 29 years as a senior football writer for Sports Illustrated.
"When I started covering football in 1984, it was composed of Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan and Tex Maule were all doing one," King said. "His football knowledge was unparalleled, he knew the technical side and loved it, as well as the personal side."
Zimmerman briefly played college football at Stanford and Columbia and covered the New York Jets for the New York Post for 13 years. He also worked for the Sacramento Bee, the New York Journal-American and the New York World-Telegram & Sun before joining SI in 1979. His "Guide to the Professional Footballer" was published in 1970 and revised in 1984 as The New professional footballer's guide "
Zimmerman was president of Pro Football Writers of America during the 1982 season. He received the Dick McCann Award, PFWA's highest honor, in 1996 for his long and distinguished contribution through media coverage. In 2014, PFWA created the Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman Award, awarded for all of his accomplishments as an assistant coach in the NFL.
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