Dateline: LOS ANGELESJohn G. Zimmerman, who introduced groundbreaking techniques in sports photojournalism as a staff member of Sports Illustrated, has died. He was 74.
Zimmerman, a native of Los Angeles, died Aug. 3 of complications of lymphoma in Pebble Beach, his family said.
He was among the first to put a remote-controlled camera inside a hockey net to capture action around the goal. He also positioned cameras behind a basketball net to show Wilt Chamberlain at work and underwater to catch the action of divers and swimmers.
Though the techniques currently seem familiar, Zimmerman broke new ground when he perfected them more than 40 years ago.
During his career, he shot 107 covers for Sports Illustrated, including action shots of stars such as Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax and several swimsuit issues.
"He basically was the godfather of sports photography at Sports Illustrated," said Steve Fine, director of photography at the magazine. "He took shots from angles that had never been seen and pioneered techniques that had never been used _ including slow shutter speeds, blurs _ and produced interesting studies of motion."
Zimmerman, who was born in Pacoima, California, attended Fremont High School and participated in the school's three-year photography course, which was considered one of the best vocational programs in the country.
Zimmerman served in the Navy during World War II and was eventually hired as a lab technician at the Time-Life office in Washington. He was hired by Sports Illustrated in 1956, one of just two photographers.
He left the magazine's staff in the early 1960s to pursue his photography career on a free-lance basis. Zimmerman covered 10 Olympics for Time, Life and Sports Illustrated and his work also appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.
Zimmerman continued to contribute frequently to Sports Illustrated into the 1980s and retired a decade ago to Pebble Beach.
He is survived by his wife, Delores; three children, Darryl, Greg and Linda; a sister, Molly Bishop, and a brother, Ed Zimmerman.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be sent to the American Cancer Society.
