Chick Hearn
Chick Hearn
Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearnwas an American sportscaster. Known primarily as the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, Hearn was remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, associated with colorful phrases such as slam dunk, air ball, and no harm, no foul that have become common basketball vernacular, and for broadcasting 3,338 consecutive Lakers games starting on November 21, 1965. Additionally, Hearn started the now common tradition of estimating the distance of shots...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSportscaster
Date of Birth27 November 1916
CityAurora, IL
CountryUnited States of America
Players are spoiled by charter airplanes, the finest hotels, a big per diem every day.
The dollar that's being paid the players has hurt the game. The players take advantage of coaches. The players' attitude is, "I make more than you, so don't tell me what to do."
I do something that I don't think anyone else does. I warm up before a game. Baseball and basketball players warm up, so why shouldn't the announcer warm up?
Radio is the art form of sports casting. If you're any good, you can do a great job on radio.
Most people can't talk as fast as I do. I'm not proud of that. That's God-given.
I've got to be right on top of the action, or else all those people watching the game will say, 'This guy's not very good.'
You can't please everybody all the time, but you can please a majority.
Anybody who doesn't think I want the Lakers to win is a fool. But I'm no homer.
I always like to pretend two things: one, I'm sitting in the seat beside you watching the game together. I'll say, 'Wasn't that a great shot? Boy, it sure was.' The other thing I do is pretend I'm talking to people who are non-sighted. I try to create a word picture. I get more mail from blind people thanking me.
Portland can put the champagne away and get out the bottled water, 'cause that's all they're gonna drink on their way home!
The game's in the refrigerator, the door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard and the Jell-O's jiggling,
My work is a love for me; I'd do it for free, but don't tell my bosses.