Former Broncos wide receiver and longtime Denver sportscaster Mike Haffner has died. He was 82.

Hank Siegel, a former Denver television producer who was executive producer at KMGH-TV channel 7 when Haffner was a sportscaster at the station, said Thursday he was told by Haffner’s wife, B.J., Kunkel, that Haffner had died in Las Vegas after having been ill in recent years.

Haffner played in the NFL from 1968-71, including 1968-70 with the Broncos. He caught 59 passes for 991 yards and seven touchdowns for Denver, including 35 balls for 563 yards and five touchdowns in 1969. He concluded his pro career with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1971 but didn’t catch any passes in three games.

Siegel said Haffner’s broadcasting career with channel 7 spanned from the 1980s into the early part of this century. Before that, he was an NFL analyst for NBC.

“Mike had a kind heart,” Siegel said. “He had a great sense of humor. He was always optimistic.”

Haffner had two 100-yard receiving games for the Broncos. One came as a rookie, when he caught four passes for 122 yards for a 30.5-yard average against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 14, 1968. The other came when he caught six passes for 102 yards on Oct. 26, 1969 against the Houston Oilers.

“I remember he had a great catch against the New York Jets, and the Broncos upset the Jets when they were (defending) world champs,” said former Broncos public relations director and longtime team historian Jim  Saccomano, referring a 23-yard reception from Pete Liske in a 21-19 Denver win on Sept. 21, 1969. “He went totally airborne and leaped and caught the ball on his fingertips. It was a great catch.”