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Next stop on the Lakers Shrine tour, Chick Hearn memorabilia.

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Lakers Shrine: Chick Hearn

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Sensational. Dazzling. Showtime.

Taylor Geas

Francis Dayle “Chick” Hearn had that thing. That thing that doesn’t need to be explained. In Chick’s case, it could be heard.

They say people are mirrors to one another, that everyone you meet reflects some part of yourself back to you. That’s why sport is so sacred, because it feels like you achieved greatness through your team. That’s also why sport is so devastating, because the loss seems like it belongs to you too. It's rare though, one of the rarest things in the world, for one person to come in and appeal to the masses the way a sport does. Chick did though. His voice captivated everyone that heard it, it made people feel connected to the Lakers — to basketball. It made fans feel attached to something much deeper than a game.

“There was no put on with him.” Stu Lantz, the Spectrum SportsNet color commentator said of his 15-year broadcast partner. “When you’re genuine, people see it. You can’t hide genuine. You can fake it all you want, but you can’t hide it. He would just make you feel so at home, plus he was in everybody’s living room, you know? With 82 games, he’s in your living room 82 times a year. You just fell in love with the guy,”

Now, Chick’s no longer here, he sits above the western sideline at the highest point, but somehow, he’s still here. Really, even Stu says, “Every time I step into the arena, I think of him.”

Everyone wants to see a part of Chick in themselves and so they grabbed a part of him before he was gone and never let it go — his words.

Chickisms are what his words and phrases are called today, what Chick created. When the Lakers arrived in Los Angeles for the 1960-61 season, Chick Hearn arrived too. He was the team’s announcer for both TV and radio, a simulcast. Most teams split the responsibility with one person specialized in broadcast television and another specialized in broadcast radio, but that would’ve been a disservice to whatever channel didn’t get Chick. His voice was made for both.

“He literally changed the way people would watch and listen to the game. He had a remarkable gift,” former Laker and current Spectrum SportsNet analyst, Derek Fisher said.

He was passionate and equally practical. His vision was precise yet imaginative. His style was always fast and clear. Chick found his rhythm from the bounce of a basketball — and even when the players faulted, he somehow never missed a beat.

Hearn called a record 3,338 consecutive Lakers games starting on November 21,1965, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena (he only missed two before his streak began). Maybe his dedication came from his love for the game. Maybe he knew how much the fans needed him.

That was one of the most important lessons he left behind, “to do right by the fans, that’s the most important thing,” Spectrum SportsNet play-by-play announcer, Bill Macdonald explained. “This is one of the greatest fanbases in basketball. This is one of the greatest fanbases in sports. And you gotta’ do right first and foremost by the Lakers Fans. And that’s what Chick did.”

After over 3,000 consecutive games, the only reason powerful enough to keep from his chair in the broadcast booth was cardiac bypass surgery in December 2001 for a blocked aortic valve. He returned in April 2002, right in time for the Lakers' pursuit of their final championship to complete the three-peat.

Robert Horry remembers this time as a player with Chick by his side, “A lot of times when I was there, he wasn’t feeling good but he worked through it. He had to have his wife, Marge, come on the road with him. And think about it, most people would say ‘Nah, I’m just going to do home games.’ No, not Chick. He said ‘I love this game; I’m going to keep going.’ He started bringing his wife with him and he started battling all the illnesses. He kept going.”

The Spectrum SportsNet commentator says, even today, when he’s feeling a bit more relaxed while covering a game sometimes, he’ll let a “slaaaaam dunk” slip. “We all do it, we all have our little Chick sayings.”

Because for 42 years, Chick wrote the book on the language of basketball. Finger roll, charity stripe, triple-double, slam dunk — those terms are staples to the game. But his speech went well past these, he had phrases, metaphors, similes, analogies that gave the game a pulse. 710 ESPN play-by-play announcer John Ireland pointed out that Chick would “never forget the guy in the car because that guy in the car is rushing to get home and watch the game.” He knew how tough it was to miss a game, and he used his words-eye-view was so no one had to.

Chick was capable of coming up with his Chickisms in a matter of seconds, often he predicted the play before it happened. That level of mastery came from being a disciple to the game, devoted to the game. That was Chick. His career spanned from Elgin Baylor and Jerry West to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. His successors were tucked into bed by their parents falling asleep listening to him.

Ireland remembers his bedtime routine growing up as a kid in Orange County. “My mom would make me go to bed at nine o’clock. And a lot of cases that was in the middle of the third quarter of a Lakers game. So, I would take a transistor radio and put it under my pillow and put my head on the pillow so it was just loud enough where I could hear Chick, but my mom couldn’t hear that I was listening to the radio.”

Now after 11 years of doing the job, John said he’ll be talking in a “stream of consciousness” and say something that has never come out of his mouth ever before.

“I’ll get an email the next day from somebody that will say ‘that was so cool how you used Chick’s old phrase,’ and I didn’t even know I had it. The only explanation is that I was channeling Chick,” John explained, “I pull them out of the back of my mind.”

His work is like the Bohemian Rhapsody of basketball; the first of its kind, never to be replicated. “Sometimes we try to do it and sometimes we get close but it’s kind of always like we’re imitating Chick,” Billy Mac said.

It’s been nearly 20 years since his time here, and from LA sportscasters to analysts, from longtime Lakers fan to the new generation, everyone is still thinking about Chick, talking like Chick, channeling Chick, because Chick was relentlessly Chick. “His legacy still lives on deep within us forever,” 710 ESPN color commentator Mychal Thompson expressed.

He has a statue outside the arena, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a place in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, a jersey in the rafters, and a voice in everyone’s head.

Chick showed everyone who listened that greatness happens off the floor too. Some legends don’t shoot, they call the shots. For 42 years, he was describing moments that would become a part of history and he thought he was only broadcasting, but he was becoming a part of history too. He showed everyone that greatness isn’t just about winning. Chick showed everyone that greatness is going to work and doing your job the best you can, day after day, for those that are depending on you.

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The Legend of Chick Hearn

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Francis Hearn, or as the world knows him, Chick Hearn, is the man that changed the sports broadcasting game forever. He gave the world a word’s-eye view of the game… more specifically, our game. He changed the way in which Lakers fans experienced basketball, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Every year, we remember the man that brought, “The game’s in the refrigerator..., The mustard came off the hotdog, and couldn’t throw a pea into the ocean,” into our lives by awarding two deserving broadcast journalism students at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism with the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship.

This year, with contributions from the Los Angeles Lakers, Marge Hearn, and hundreds of fans, we awarded Cecil Hannibal and Robert Aronson with scholarships.

Cecil, a senior journalism major at USC Annenberg, has served as a sports correspondent for Annenberg TV News. This summer he was selected as an International Radio &amp; Television Society summer fellow and intern at CBS This Morning. After graduation, Cecil plans to become a local TV reporter or digital host and has a long-term goal of covering human interest stories in the world of sports. 

Robert, a junior journalism major at USC Annenberg, has been a sports columnist and reporter covering soccer and baseball for the Daily Trojan. He also has served as a sports and news anchor for Annenberg TV News. This past summer, he covered the Women’s World Cup as an intern at Fox Sports, where he continues to work as a freelance production assistant.

It was a wonderful night honoring one of our Laker greats, and giving two passionate students the opportunity to follow in his footsteps. Keep up the great work, Cecil and Robert!

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2019 Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship Award

Cuando se trata de los Lakers, no hay mayor honor que el que Shaquille O’Neal recibirá este viernes.

Trece años después de que el gigantón dominara el parquet con la camiseta púrpura y dorada, su imagen será inmortalizada en bronce afuera de STAPLES Center.

La estatua de 9 pies y 1,200 libras de O’Neal completando una volcada es un reflejo del impacto que tuvo en su tiempo con los Lakers.

Pocos alguna vez alcanzan las alturas requeridas para ganarse ese honor, por lo que Shaq se convertirá en apenas la quinta persona en la historia del equipo en recibirlo.

Magic Johnson
Cuatro años después de la apertura de STAPLES Center, los Lakers le rindieron tributo al hombre que hizo que su antiguo hogar, el Forum, fuera el lugar predilecto en los 1980s.

El pentacampeón Magic Johnson fue el primero en ser honrado con una estatua el 11 de febrero de 2004, y el líder del Showtime de los Lakers recibió una representación de 17 pies suya liderando un contragolpe.

Ahora como Presidente de Operaciones de Baloncesto de la franquicia, Johnson buscará seguir sumando a su legado, que ya cuenta con cinco trofeos al JMV y 12 selecciones al Juego de Estrellas.

Chick Hearn
Pese a que nunca disputó un minuto, Chick Hearn quizás haya tenido más impacto en los Lakers – y en el deporte del baloncesto – que nadie.

El relator de los Lakers durante 42 años, Hearn falleció ocho años antes que los Lakers presentaran su estatua durante una serie de playoffs el 20 de abril de 2010.

La viuda de Hearn, Marge, fue la primera en sentarse en el asiento vacío al lado de la representación de Hearn, que fue ubicada para que los aficionados pudieran posar con él.

Jerry West
Cuando los Lakers llegaron a Los Ángeles en 1960, ellos se trajeron un novato que dirigiría dos eras de dominio del equipo.

Como jugador, Jerry West fue seleccionado al Juego de Estrellas en todos sus 14 años de carrera. Él llevó a los Lakers al título de 1972 y tuvo gran parte de la responsabilidad en los tres banderines que se agregaron a principios de los 2000s. Como el gerente general del equipo en 1996, él realizó un canje por el novato Kobe Bryant y firmó al agente libre Shaquille O’Neal.

El 17 de febrero de 2011, West fue honrado con su propia estatua manejando el balón – una pose similar que los aficionados de todo el mundo conocen ya que fue la utilizada en el logo de la NBA, que sigue vigente al día de hoy.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
El 17 de febrero de 2011, el tiro más difícil de defender de la historia del baloncesto fue inmortalizado en bronce.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – el líder en puntos en la historia de la NBA – recibió su estatua, que lo muestra impulsando su famoso gancho celestial.

Abdul-Jabbar — cuyos logros incluyen seis campeonatos, seis premios al JMV y la Medalla Presidencial de la Libertad – había expresado su deseo de tener una estatua, que fue presentada con luminarios como Magic Johnson y Pat Riley presentes.

Shaquille O’Neal
El 24 de marzo de 2017, O’Neal se convertirá en el próximo en bañarse en bronce.

La ceremonia contará con Shaq, sus compañeros, amigos y otros, y el miembro del Salón de la Fama develará la estatua de su imagen volcando, que colgará de la fachada del STAPLES Centers para que todos la puedan apreciar.

Nota: STAPLES Center también cuenta con estatuas de las leyendas de los L.A. Kings Wayne Gretzky y Luc Robitaille, además del reconocido boxeador angelino Oscar De La Hoya.

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Shaq se une a leyendas de Lakers inmortalizadas en bronce

Joey Ramirez

When it comes to the Lakers, there is no higher honor than the one that Shaquille O’Neal is set to receive on Friday.

Thirteen years after the Big Fella dominated the hardwood for the purple and gold, his likeness will be immortalized in bronze outside of Staples Center.

The 9-foot, 1,200-pound statue of O’Neal throwing down a slam dunk is a testament to the impact that he had during his time as a Laker.

Few ever reach the heights required to earn this honor, which is why Shaq will become just the fifth person in team history to receive it.

Magic Johnson
Four years after Staples Center opened, the Lakers paid tribute to the man who made their old home, the Forum, the place to be in the 1980s.

Five-time champion Magic Johnson was the first to be honored with a statue on Feb. 11, 2004, as the leader of the Showtime Lakers was bestowed a 17-foot tall depiction of him leading a fast-break.

Now the franchise’s President of Basketball Operations, Johnson will seek to add to his legacy, which already boasts five MVP trophies and 12 All-Star selections.

Chick Hearn
Despite the fact that he never played a minute, Chick Hearn might have left a bigger impact on the Lakers — and the game of basketball itself — than anyone else.

The Lakers’ play-by-play announcer for 42 years, Hearn had died eight years before the Lakers unveiled his statue during a playoff series on April 20, 2010.

Hearn’s widow, Marge, was the first to sit in the empty seat next to Hearn’s likeness, which was placed there so fans can pose with Hearn. And legends like James Worthy and broadcast partner Stu Lantz toasted the man who coined phrases like “slam dunk” and “finger roll.”

Jerry West
When the Lakers first arrived in Los Angeles in 1960, they brought with them a rookie who would go on to orchestrate two eras of the team’s dominance.

As a player, Jerry West was named an All-Star for all 14 years of his career. “Mr. Clutch” led the Lakers to the 1972 championship and had a large hand in adding three more banners in the early 2000s. As the team’s general manager in 1996, he traded for rookie Kobe Bryant and signed free agent Shaquille O’Neal.

On Feb. 17, 2011, West was honored with his own statue of himself mid-dribble — a pose familiar to basketball fans around the world since it was used as the NBA logo, which remains to this day.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
On Feb. 17, 2011, basketball’s most unstoppable shot was memorialized forever in bronze.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — the NBA’s all-time leading scorer — received his statue, which depicted him in the middle of launching his famous skyhook.

Abdul-Jabbar — whose many accolades include six championships, six MVP awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom — was vocal about his desire for a statue, which was at last awarded to him with the likes of Magic Johnson and Pat Riley in attendance.

Shaquille O’Neal
On March 24, 2016, O’Neal will become the latest to receive the bronze treatment.

A ceremony will be held featuring Shaq, his teammates, friends and others, as the Hall of Famer will unveil the statue of himself dunking, which will hang off a Staples Center awning for all to see.

Note: Staples Center also features statues of Los Angeles Kings greats Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille, as well as L.A. native and champion boxer Oscar De La Hoya.

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Shaq to Join Fellow Lakers Legends With Statue Treatment

With a game on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, the Lakers pay tribute to legendary broadcaster Chick Hearn, who was born exactly 100 years before this day. Hearn was vital to the Lakers’ popularity beginning in the 1960s, and he forged the sport’s vocabulary by coming up with phrases like “slam dunk” and “triple-double.” Hearn’s legacy still endures 14 years after his death, and he remains revered by those in and around the Lakers. Lakers.com’s Joey Ramirez is joined by current broadcasters Stu Lantz, John Ireland and Bill Macdonald, who recall stories of listening to and working with Chick.

You can also subscribe to the Popcorn Machine via iTunes.

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Popcorn Machine: Chick Hearn's 100th Birthday Tribute

There is a picture taped to the wall over my desk of a man I never met. He is looking at the camera with a friendly smile while peering into a refrigerator filled with eggs, butter and jello.  There is a lone bobblehead of the same man sitting atop my cubicle at work holding a silver microphone and bearing that same smile. That man is Chick Hearn.

It’s hard to believe its been 3 years since one of the greatest storytellers of basketball left us and I, like many fellow Angelinos, miss him dearly. Whether on the radio or simulcast on TV, Chick was a part of our lives, and the Laker organization, for over 42 years. His consecutive record for calling games still stands at 3,338 games beginning on November 21, 1965.   He was a part of our family during the highest highs and lowest lows, and on any given day you’d know how the Lakers were playing, because he wasn’t afraid to tell us.
There are times I’ll be flipping through channels only to fall upon a classic Laker highlight with Chick’s high pitched yet comforting voice booming in the background. I’d smile to myself, close my eyes and imagine I was a child in Lakerland again.  Do you remember refrigerators, popcorn machines, mustard off the hot dog, dribble-drives, yo-yoing up and down, slaaaam dunks and throwing up prayers. Or perhaps I can take you back to that fantastic spring evening in 1987 at the Boston Garden…

“Magic down the middle..just what I thought…a hook shot of 12 – goooooooood! Two seconds left! The Lakers take the lead on Magic’s Johnson’s running sky hook. Whoooooo weeeeee!”  (Listen)

I remember vividly the day I went to Staples Center to view the memorial for Chick. It was a warm August afternoon and fans lined the streets for a glimpse at the microphone he used in section 111 above center court. Over 20,000 Laker faithful filed by the blown up pictures chronicling his days as a Laker Broadcaster. The local TV stations made it their lead story of course and for weeks we celebrated and mourned a staple of Los Angeles. For many of us, the healing process is ongoing.

Adam W. Bloom is the lead team site editor for the National Basketball Association. While currently residing in New York City, he remains a loyal Los Angeles Lakers fan.