Most of the top items on Robert J. Pringle’s resume came in the business world while with Mountain Bell Telephone Co., except for one big notation from the sports world.
Pringle, who died April 29 in Carefree, Ariz., spearheaded Denver’s bid to bring the 1976 Winter Olympic Games to the Mile High City.
The International Olympic Committee awarded the 1976 Winter Games to Denver during a May 1970 meeting in Amsterdam. Pringle was the chairman of the Denver Organizing Committee. Its proposal to host the Games was selected over bids from Sion, Switzerland; Tampere, Finland; and Whistler, British Columbia.
However, the Olympics were turned back to the IOC after Denver taxpayers, in voting on Nov. 7, 1972, stipulated that public funds would not be used to support the Games. The 1976 Winter Olympics eventually were staged in Innsbruck, Austria.
“The Olympic bid was a major part of his life,” Gini Pringle said of her husband. “He was very proud that he achieved it for Denver, although the results weren’t what he expected.”
Pringle was on loan to Denver’s Olympic venture from Mountain Bell. But the agreement stipulated he would return to the telephone company when the bidding process was completed. Many believe the loss of his direction handicapped the effort, allowing the momentum to swing in favor of turning the designation back to the IOC.
A memorial service for Pringle is planned for Saturday in Carefree.
