Adjusting to 'new normal' after heart attack, veteran broadcaster Larry Weir returns to mic for Spokane Indians, Hoopfest broadcasts

All Larry Weir wanted to do was get back in the radio booth, call a nice easy game and get his feet wet again. But the Spokane Indians and Vancouver Canadians had a different idea.

Exactly one month after suffering a massive heart attack on May 18, Weir returned to Avista Stadium on June 18 for his first call since his life-altering experience. The teams combined for 22 runs, 30 hits, six home runs and eight pitchers in a 3 hour, 15 minute back-and-forth affair eventually won by Vancouver 13-9.

"No easing back into it, right?" Weir said after.

Despite some nerves, the veteran broadcaster felt good with his performance - and his stamina - during the long broadcast.

"I had a little adrenaline going," he said. "I was nervous, which never happens before a broadcast anymore for me. There's a lot that goes into broadcasting baseball, and when you don't do it on a regular basis, it seems like there's a mountain, and you're not sure how high it is that you have to go."

On May 18, Weir was golfing with some buddies. As he went to hit his second shot on the first hole, he collapsed. His friends rushed to his aid, but found Weir unresponsive, not breathing and without a pulse. They performed CPR on him for several minutes until first responders arrived. Paramedics used defibrillators on Weir to revive him before rushing him to Sacred Heart for surgery.

Weir suffered an acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, which is a severe, life-threatening type of heart attack caused by a total blockage of a coronary artery. The condition requires immediate emergency medical intervention to restore blood flow and minimize permanent heart muscle damage.

Weir was in an induced coma for nearly 48 hours after the surgery to allow his mind and body to recover from the trauma.

After surviving the ordeal, one of Weir's initial concerns was how sharp and quick he would be during a live broadcast. His brain was deprived of oxygen for several minutes while his heart was stopped.

Other than maybe being a bit rusty with teams he doesn't cover on a daily basis, Weir felt "pretty good" with how he performed.

"Sometimes things happen fast (in baseball)," he said. "Sometimes you've got to be able to pull that name out at the snap of a finger, but I think I did OK."

Since the radio broadcast is simulcast with the streaming video, Weir didn't have much room for error.

"Some people were able to catch my mistakes," he joked.

Weir, 65, has progressed in his recovery from the initial recuperation to now attending cardiac rehab appointments. After staying with friends Curly and Lori Rousseau for the first few weeks, he has moved back into his apartment and is feeling stronger every day.

"I feel really good, probably better than I deserve to feel," he said. "Rehab is going well, to the point where they don't check my blood pressure four times during the session like they were doing when I started. They're only checking it twice now, once in the middle of my exercise and once at the beginning.

"Heart rate is good, everything's fine there. My stamina is building up slowly but surely. I try to do a little bit more every day, and so far it's been successful - as long as I just do a little bit more. It's when I decide I need to crush what I did the day before that I set myself back."

Weir is still adjusting to his new normal. But part of that adjustment is reflection on the experience - though he still has no memory of the events of the day or his first few days in the hospital.

"Just being (alive) makes me a little bit reflective, and a little ... I don't know if emotional is the right word, but I'm really thankful for the help that I've gotten," he said. "I'm thankful for everybody from Curly and Lori Rousseau, who put up with me for three and a half weeks in their home while I rehabilitated myself to the point where I can now take care of myself again. And, you know, obviously the first responders and all the crew at Sacred Heart, and now the rehab cardiac rehab team at St. Luke's. I mean, I'm just ... I'm so thankful for all those folks."

Weir was also thankful for the Indians for allowing him the opportunity to get back into the radio booth while Mike Boyle was out of town.

"They didn't have to do this, because I hadn't proven that I could do a game yet," he said. "So I'm very thankful for them for putting trust in me. I didn't want to fall short of what their expectations were. I didn't want to fall short of the standard that Boyle sets here on a daily basis - nor did I want to fall short of the standards I set for myself."

One never knows, when returning from any type of injury or illness, if they'll be up for the task until actually doing it.

"I know what I'm capable of as far as the rehab goes, but this is a different animal than what I'm doing at the rehab," Weir said. "It's three to four hours of talking consecutively, and trying to make sense of what's happening, and relaying that to the listeners so that they can see the game in their mind's eye."

But he's just happy to be back doing what he loves.

"It's easy to take this for granted. I've been doing this for a long time, this play-by-play business, and life itself is easy to take for granted when you're just rolling along and you don't think you have a care in the world," Weir said. "And all of a sudden something hits, and that sets you back. So I've learned, I think, just to be cognizant of the privilege that you have to continue to do the job that you're doing, but also the privilege that you have to continue living, and to try to maybe be a little more thankful for the opportunity you're given."

Part of that opportunity, Weir feels, is now giving back.

"I'm hoping that I can continue on that path, and start helping others. I do want to get certified in CPR. I want to help as many young broadcasters as I can. There's some things that I want to do to try to pay it forward, and I'm going to spend the better part of the next few months getting myself better and also finding avenues to do those things."

Weir is working Hoopfest this weekend, and the rest of his summer is going to be spent continuing his rehab, getting back in shape, and getting ready for Eastern Washington and Greater Spokane League football in the fall.

"Usually, summertime is kind of my time to reset and recharge for football season, but now it's a reset and recharge for life," Weir said. "Every day I'm thinking about, 'OK, how much are you're going to do today physically' when I'm not in the rehab, because I can get myself in trouble with that. I'm not supervised when I'm on my own, so I need to have a plan as to what I'm going to do, and then not, 'Oh, I'm feeling good after 30 minutes, let's keep going,' when I'm really not ready for that."

One thing he won't be able to resume for now is golfing. But that hasn't stopped him from riding along with Rousseau and others.

"I kind of missed not being able to be out there, you know, swinging the club with them, but it was good to be out there," Weir said. "I tended the pin, and I drove the golf cart, and stood in the sun for a little while, and just enjoyed being out and being around those guys.

"I mean, they saved my life, and there's no way I can thank them enough for what they did ... It was just fantastic to be able to be out there again with them, even if I'm not going to swing a club for a while."

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This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 7:15 PM.