Jim Reilly

His Kind of Town
Johnny "Red" Kerr has been a fixture in the Chicago hoops scene dating back to the early 1950s. Bulls.com offers a charming retrospective on the legendary Bulls broadcaster, chronicling his early years with the University of Illinois, his historic meeting with Julius Erving and his tenure behind the mic during the heyday of the Jordan years.

"In 1952 [Kerr] helped the Fighting Illini capture the Big Ten Championship and advance to the Final Four," writes Marty Farmer on Bulls.com.

After his NBA playing career ended, Kerr made a shrewd front-office move as VP of the Virginia Squires. "I signed Doc to his first pro contract and people didn't really know who he was," recalls Kerr. "It wasn't like when Michael Jordan came along and people knew about him from his North Carolina days or certainly like today with LeBron James."

As the first head coach of the Chicago Bulls and later a broadcaster with the squad, Kerr has seen it all in Chicago. "It was strange in the early years, but we had some great laughs," says Kerr. "We just didn't have the magic name that we do now. When Michael Jordan arrived, it really changed everything."

Entering his 34 year in the broadcast booth, Kerr is optimistic about the future of the Bulls. "The Bulls are a no-nonsense, young team that’s on the rise," says Kerr. "When John Paxson took over, his job was to straighten out the team and get it back on a winning track. He’s done that by making some tough decisions."