Sports broadcasting legend, boxing manager, 'Morning Zoo' host passes away
Chris Collins, a radio legend who served as the voice of the NHL's San Jose Sharks and MLS's Seattle Sounders FC, has died.
Collins was 65 when he died Tuesday after experiencing complications from an infection he contracted during surgery, according to his friend Tony Cox.
Chris Collins died Tuesday night . Chris was a top Morning DJ for decades but I got to know him with the #SJSharks in the 1990’s . Had a lot of laughs during too many pre game dinners to count at the Shark tank. Thoughts with his family . Rest in peace, Slick pic.twitter.com/5JExcW4jzg
— Joe Salvatore (@radiojoee) June 18, 2025
Collins entered the world of sports broadcasting after helping launch Sacramento's KSFM 102.5-FM, whose award-winning Morning Zoo dominated local ratings for years.
From 1992-97, Collins became a familiar voice in the Bay Area to fans of the expansion Sharks. He teamed with Randy Hahn and Dan Rusanowsky on the radio and TV sides of the team's NHL broadcasts.
The San Jose Sharks organization was saddened to hear about the passing of former television and radio color analyst Chris Collins. Chris was a member of the Sharks broadcast team for five seasons, 1992-1997, and worked alongside both Dan Rusanowsky and Randy Hahn in the Sharks… pic.twitter.com/RAeVMonCs0
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) June 18, 2025
Collins' connection to hockey did not end in the booth. He was a founder/manager of the China Sharks Hockey Franchise, which in 2008 attempted to bring an NHL brand of hockey across the Pacific.
Collins also managed Tony "The Tiger" Lopez, an accomplished boxer from Sacramento, as part of an eclectic career that touched many sports.
"A constant voice in Sacramento radio, Chris brought humor, heart, and a deep love of comminuty, justice and music to the airwaves," Collins' "Morning Zoo" co-host Mark S. Allen wrote on Facebook. "He was my boss — and my friend. Chris brought me from L.A. to Sacramento, (thank you Larry Morgan for intro) and I’ve never forgotten what that meant."
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