In a city home to some of pop culture’s biggest stars, the ones that seem to shine the brightest don Forum blue and gold uniforms — a designation about the color “purple” coined by Chick Hearn that former owner Jack Kent Cook loved, but refused to acknowledge. A huge reason why the Lakers ostensibly outshine the movie stars in Los Angeles has to do with the fact that they’re success has been largely unparalleled — and Hearn’s voice and call at the end of games captured the zeitgeist of Lakers wins like nothing else. During Hearn’s 42-year tenure as the Lakers play-by-play man, the faces of the owner changed, the faces of the super stars changed, the arena changed but that singular call at the end of games — the one about the fridge, eggs, jello and butter — remained the same.
Chick’s voice, verve and personality distinguished himself from his peers in the same way that Vin Scully has for the Dodgers over the years. Los Angeles has been blessed to be able to listen to two of sports most golden voices, but no one really epitomized with his voice what the team tried to establish on the court. Chick was a legend, he was a fan, and he was ours. Today, we celebrate the life of one of the greatest Lakers in the history of the organization. He’s been bronzed in front of of Staples Center, he’s had his microphone retired in the rafters and his voice will be cemented in our hearts forever.
Elizabeth Benson
Chick Hearn left a legacy in sports broadcasting that is unparalleled. He was more than the voice of the Los Angeles Lakers; he was the connection between the fans and the game itself.
During his 42-year career with the Lakers, it was nearly impossible to find a key or memorable moment in Lakers’ history without hearing Chick’s unique, staccato, voice calling games for the listeners and watchers, especially since he broadcasted 3,338 consecutive Lakers games.
He wasn’t a broadcaster; he was a storyteller. His storytelling and one of a kind phrases, or “Chickisms,” blended perfectly with Dr. Jerry Buss’ vision of providing the audience with entertainment on the court. Fans could breathe easily when Chick would “put the game in the refrigerator.”
Listening to Chick Hearn growing up was like listening to a symphony in action. Whether it was during the Showtime era or the Shaq and Kobe era, Chick brought the game to life and made a fan sitting on their couch at home, feel as if they were in the front row of the Forum or at Staples Center.
On this day, all Lakers fan remember and celebrate a Laker legend that enhanced the way those that were lucky enough to listen to him broadcast a game, listened to or watched the Lakers. Simply put, Chick made the fans a part of the game and a part of the team.
Ryan Cole
Chick Hearn made the experience of watching Laker games one of a kind. He was a master of words, and knew exactly how to captivate the attention of his audience. My fondest memories of Chick came as a a kid when I would listen to him broadcast games on the radio with Stu Lantz. What made Chick so special was his ability to create colorful phrases throughout his broadcasting career. A saying such as “the mustards off the hot dog” is just one of the many phrases that he coined that will forever remain in my memories of him. My favorite moment in Chick’s broadcasting career was his call on Magic Johnson’s baby skyhook against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals. Though I wasn’t close to being alive at that time, it’s a sequence I continually replay simply to hear Chick.
Dan Duangdao
There are so many memories of the great Chick Hearn, but the first Lakers game I ever watched and all the home games he called still mean a lot to me to this day. The first game I watched was the Lakers overcoming a 28-point deficit against the Warriors on a buzzer-beating tip-in by Kobe Bryant which led to an eventual overtime victory. I’m sure most fans turned off the TV that night, but there was something special about Chick’s play-by-play calls that kept an eight-year-old kid engaged and hopeful.
Since that game, I continued to watch all the Lakers road games on KCAL9 but there was a problem — I didn’t have cable and couldn’t watch the home games. Fortunately, Chick was there for me on KLAC 570 and I could imagine watching the game through his commentating. Even when the Lakers played on NBC, I would turn off the volume and turn on the radio instead.
Simply put, I was really fortunate to grow up listening to Chick Hearn and his “Chickisms.” There’s no one that compares to him and he was one of the reasons I became a Lakers fan.
Drew Garrison
Basketball is a palette of paint that Chick Hearn knew exactly what to do with. His voice, his mannerisms and his passion for the sport defined an era of basketball that saw the Los Angeles Lakers landing nine titles. His vision of the game bridged a gap from 1965 – when Jerry West averaged 31 points per game without the three-point line to the Showtime Lakers and Magic Johnson to the final game of the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant three-peat era in 2002.
His excellence as a broadcaster amplified the luster that became the purple and gold clad Lakers.
There’s no overstating the significance of having Chick Hearn guiding Lakers fans and the world through an 82 game season and playoff run 48 minutes at a time. His dedication to his craft – broadcasting over 3,000 Lakers games consecutively – is easily represented by the mark he left on how the game of basketball is discussed by fans and professionals. Slam dunk? Chick Hearn. Matador Defense? Yeah, that was Chick. The list goes on and on for phrases and ideas the legend coined.
His famous close-out call is something my friends and family still use today. Watching animated Chick Hearn and Stu Lantz push the refrigerator across the screen, watching Chick toss the hard butter and cooled eggs off the screen and ultimately watching them jiggle with the Jell-O, then slamming the San Antonio Spurs logo into the refrigerator after the Game 5 victory in the Western Conference semifinals stands as an everlasting moment to me. You could hear the excitement between both Lantz and Hearn, and it serves as one of the final playoff series that we had the pleasure of being serenaded by “The Golden Throat.”
Ross Gasmer
Chick Hearn and the Lakers are synonymous; the void he left is still being felt without his voice.
It would’ve been incredible to hear what Chick would’ve said about the latest version of the Lakers and the ownership mess. While he was always fair in calling the game, he had an opinion about how the team was doing and he let everyone know throughout the broadcast.
To talk about what he meant to the Lakers you just have to walk outside Staples Center and look to the rafters as he’s one of the few broadcasters to have both a statue and microphone retired in a stadium.
However, my favorite Chick memories are when he put the game in the refrigerator.
No matter how big of a blowout the game was, hearing that one line every single Laker game made it that more special.
I’ll never forget where I was when I heard the news about Chick’s passing and subsequent sadness and long string of tears rolling down my face as I knew I’d never hear him put a game in the refrigerator again.
Click Here To Continue Reading Our Chick Hearn Roundtable
Chick Hearn was the constant for the Lakers in Los Angeles. Through every coach, superstar, dynasty, era, Chick was there for all of it and his voice can be heard through every Lakers moment you can remember.
Whether it was Magic’s amazing 42 point, 15 rebound, 7 assist performance as a rookie or Kareem breaking the scoring record, or Kobe to Shaq against the Blazers, Chick Hearn’s iconic voice is a part of all of it.
Even as he got older and got some players mixed up, referring to Kobe as Magic or Horry as Worthy, it didn’t matter, we just wanted to hear Chick’s voice.
And even though Chick was the biggest Laker fan in the world, he never showed bias to the other team or amazing plays. Dr. J’s amazing dunk on Michael Cooper is elevated because of Chick’s call.
I couldn’t even think of one great Chick moment, my favorite memory would have to be my family gathering around the TV to watch a Laker playoff game, muting the sound, and turning up the radio to hear Chick calling the game. It was just that much better.
We miss you Chick, the greatest play-by-play man of all-time.
Ramneet Singh
Los Angeles is known as a city of stars and the Lakers are accustomed to gathering the best talent the league has to offer. Over its history, some of the biggest names in the NBA have donned the purple-and-gold. From Jerry West to Kobe Bryant, the Lakers have had star power that not only entertains fans, but win championships.
However, there was another star in Los Angeles who never actually suited up for a game. Chick Hearn was a legendary broadcaster who delighted listeners with his unique take on the game and paved the way for everyone after him. Hearn coined the phrases “slam dunk” and “air ball,” and was a staple at every game.
Players have come and gone, but Hearn was always with the Lakers during both the good and the bad. There was really never a Lakers game without Hearn and even if the team was on the verge of losing, there was nothing like hearing Hearn call the game live. There will never be a more recognizable voice in basketball and Chick Hearn’s presence will be forever missed.
Hearn once called 3,338 consecutive Lakers games and was in the booth for the final time in 2002 when the Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets for their third consecutive title.
Ryan Ward
It’s been 11 years since Chick Hearn passed away, but his legacy lives on as arguably one of the greatest play-by-play announcers of all-time.
Although I can’t say there’s one Chick moment in particular that I’ll always remember. Chick’s had countless moments and made seemingly endless contributions to the game inventing phrases like slam dunk and air ball, but it was simply his voice and presence on broadcasts of Lakers games that made watching games that much more enjoyable.
Chick was so beloved by Los Angeles Lakers fans and the organization that he was given the honor of having the second bronze Lakers statue outside of the Staples Center after Jerry West. The statue was a well-deserved honor from a man who broadcasted 3,338 consecutive Lakers games dating all the way back to Nov. 21, 1965.
Perhaps the one thing I’ll remember Chick for the most and what I always looked forward to was the legendary broadcaster putting the game in the fridge.
Once it became clear the Lakers had the game in the bag, Chick would put it in the fridge saying the following: “This game’s in the refrigerator! The door’s closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butter’s getting hard, and the Jell-O is jiggling.”
Serena Winters
The time when Lakers fans muted their televisions to listen to the radio voice of Chick Hearn has passed, but his memory lives on in Chickisms, a statue outside of Staples Center, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Chick Hearn Court, the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and the Staples Center rafters, just to name a few.
He added a new dimension to watching professional sports, and the Lakers were the fortunate team to benefit from his verbal vision and originality.
The kids running around screaming “slam dunk!” likely have no idea where that phrase came from. Neither do they know that “air-ball” was actually a phrase coined by Chick. Equally, most college players probably have no idea that the “triple-double” they just recorded in the books wouldn’t be called a triple-double, if it hadn’t been for Chick.
But, whether or not those that use his phrases know his story, his words will always live on. And, that’s what Chick would have wanted.
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