Longtime NFL Films composer Sam Spence died Saturday morning in Lewisville, Texas. He was 88 years old.
Spence had been battling illness for several months in the United States after returning from Munich, Germany, where he had composed and recorded songs for NFL Films. It was also where Spence lived with his wife Friedl for many years.
"He lived to hear from people who enjoyed his work," his son Kim Spence told the Houston Chronicle. "He believed his music would allow him to live forever."
Among the songs Spence recorded for NFL Films are "Up She Rises," "Pony Soldiers," and "The Over the Hill Gang," with much of the material being recording between the 1960s and 1980s. Spence's music was also used in television shows The Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants.