Hall of Fame
Frank Palmeri
Lakewood
For a period of 57 years, from 1948 until 2005, Frank Palmeri was known as the “voice” of high school sports in Colorado. Included in that time, Palmeri had no fewer than 51 years as the voice of the CHSAA State Wrestling Championship and Parade of Champions, nearly that many for the State Basketball Tournament and State Track Meet.
Palmeri started in public address work in 1948 for the Denver Parochial League and then, in 1959, he started with Jefferson County athletics, serving as public address announcer in every sport for the league. It is no wonder that the professional announcer’s voice is familiar to three generations of Colorado prep athletes.
A native Coloradan, Palmeri grew up in north Denver, graduating from North High School in 1944. After a stint in the U.S. Navy, he earned his BA and MA degrees from the University of Denver and added work at CU, CSU and Walden University. He spent 45 years as a physical education , history, English teacher and media specialist with Jefferson County Schools.
Among his honors are the 1992 CHSAA Distinguished Service Award recipient, induction in the Jefferson County Hall of Fame (1998) and various other honors from virtually every officials association in the state. In 2005, Palmeri was named the National Announcer of the Year by the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers Association.