1. Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years, as well as the team's assistant general manager for seven years beginning in 1972.
Chick Hearn is 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.
Chick Hearn was born in Buda, Illinois and raised in Aurora, Illinois, in west suburban Chicago, and attended high school at Marmion Academy and college at Bradley University.
Chick Hearn earned the nickname "Chick" while an Amateur Athletic Union basketball player at Bradley, when teammates played a prank on him: giving him a shoebox to see his surprised reaction when he opened it and found not sneakers inside, but instead a dead chicken.
Marge Chick Hearn died January 30,2016, at the age of 98.
Chick Hearn missed the Lakers' game the previous night after having been stranded in Fayetteville, Arkansas, by inclement weather after having announced a game between Arkansas and Texas Tech.
Chick Hearn recovered from both issues and resumed broadcasting on April 9,2002, receiving a standing ovation from the Staples Center crowd upon his return.
Chick Hearn's final Lakers-affiliated appearance was as the emcee of the team's 2002 championship parade in June.
Chick Hearn became assistant general manager of the Lakers in 1972, hired by Jack Kent Cooke, the team's owner at the time.
Chick Hearn advised management on personnel and trades, and helped negotiate player contracts as part of the role which he held for seven years.
Chick Hearn advised team owner Cooke to draft future hall of fame player Magic Johnson in 1979.
Chick Hearn was the long-time host of Bowling for Dollars on KTLA ; KHJ-TV.
Chick Hearn called the closed-circuit television broadcast of the first Ali-Frazier fight in 1971.
Chick Hearn did boxing commentary for Forum boxing fights in Inglewood in the 1980s, usually appearing alongside former featherweight contender Ruben Castillo.
Chick Hearn contributed to KCAL-TV's coverage of the US Open golf tournament from 1957 to 1964.
At the time, Chick Hearn handled the sports desk of the local news program on Los Angeles' NBC affiliate, KRCA.
Chick Hearn announced USC football and basketball games from 1956 to 1961, and served as the play-by-play broadcaster for USC football games on tape-delayed, syndicated telecasts during the 1973 season.
Chick Hearn was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, next to his son Gary and his daughter Shannon.
On May 9,1991, Chick Hearn became the third broadcaster to win the Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Chick Hearn later became the first broadcaster inducted into the Hall in 2003.
Chick Hearn was inducted by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1997.
Chick Hearn's name was later hung from the rafters of the Staples Center, alongside the retired numbers of past Lakers players, though with a microphone in place of a number.
Chick Hearn has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in radio.
Chick Hearn did not chitchat while the game was in motion.
Chick Hearn was able to report clearly and rapidly, which he considered a gift.
Chick Hearn was especially appreciated on radio because listening to the broadcast was almost like watching the game.
Sometimes this style made it difficult for his partners to get a word in edgewise; his seven-year color commentator, Keith Erickson, fondly reminisced at a ceremony commemorating Chick Hearn: "Not being able to talk for eight years [as his partner], I thought this was a great opportunity to share a bit".
The particular phrases that Hearn used during his broadcasts were labeled "Chickisms".