I grew up listening to Chick Hearn announce Laker games. He was like no other. From coining the phrases : slam dunk, no look pass, the mustard is off the hot dog, finger roll, in the popcorn machine, etc. To doing over three thousand broadcasts in a row, he was a legend. He gave a 'wordseye view' of basketball and will be sorely missed, especially here in L.A. Rest in Peace Chick. "The refrigerator is closed, the lights are off, the eggs are cooling, the butter is getting hard, and the jello is jiggling"
"...Worthy looks inside-gives it up to Magic at the top of the key, Magic dribbles the ball like a yo-yo on string, tosses it inside to Kareem, swings left, shoots right-GOOD!" RIP Chick
The Greatest I loved Chick Hearn. I had never followed basketball untill I moved to LA during the 1987 NBA finals, I became an immediate Laker and Chick Hearn fan. I have never watched a regular season game since I left, something I did all the time back then, and the reason was Chick. When the games were on NBC I'd turn the sound off and listen to Chick's call on the radio. Very sad day.
It was very odd and hard to listen to TV or radio broadcasts when he was out for months a while back. Now, it's going to be difficult to not hear him this upcoming season. My mom & dad turned into Laker fans partly because of him. R.I.P. Chick.
Re: The Greatest So did I, Chick was always better then the NBC announcers. He lived to eighty five years of age, had a job he loved to go to, and had a great wife for almost 64 years. We should all be so lucky.
Sad day. He was a legend in sports broadcasting. Also invented the Airball phase. He was really dedicated to the Lakers organisation and loved his job. A very likable guy. He was doing laker games before even Shack or Kobe were born. I remember he played host on a show called bowling for dollars.
As a student who's aspiring to be either an announcer or sports journalist, I am particularly saddened at Chick's passing. He and Johnny Most, for their unique styles, were two of the most influential personalities for fans of the NBA for generations. Chick, this one's for you... "Magic...no-look down to Worthy, slaaaaaam dunk!"-heard many a times during the Showtime era of the 80's.