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Biography

The voice of the Lakers, or Chick Hearn, is in my opinion the greatest announcer of all time. Of course that opinion may be a little biased me being a Laker fan and all, but this man is great. He has not missed a game in the last 40 years and recently surpassed 3,000 games announced without a miss. Many people have commented on Chick's great announcing, such as Walt Frazier says in his book about Chick: "Hearn's fellow announcer has to know only four words; 'Right you are Chick'. Certainly Stu Lantz, his partner in announcing for the past 12 years, is a great complement to Chick and also has great insight. But Chick has had people listening to him for years on the radio while he provided a 'words eye view'. Thats how well he keeps up with the action and has great stories to tell while doing so. Even if listening on radio he'll give you a good idea of whats happening. He also has many 'Chickism's' he says such as 'He put him in the popcorn machine',' Slaaammmm Dunk', 'The mustard's off the Hot Dog', and when a game's decided 'This one's in the refrigerator, the door's closed, the light's are out, the butter's getting hard, and the jello is jigglin'!' He knows lots about all the players in the league, especially the Laker players. He doesn't use favoritism much and travels with the team so he knows lots of the players, coaching staff, and front office personally. He uses that knowledge to provide insight on them sometimes during broadcasts. All I can say is he is a Great announcer and hope he remains with the Lakers for years to come. Here is what Fox Sports had to say about him:

Hall of Famer Chick Hearn enters his 40th season providing colorful play-by-play of Lakers action. The only play-by-play announcer the team has ever had, Hearn has announced Lakers games on FOX Sports Net West since 1985, and has teamed with color analyst Stu Lantz for the past 12 seasons. In 1988, Chick earned a Cable ACE Award for "Best Sports Play-by-Play." He is also the recipient of a Golden Mike Award, a star on Hollywood Boulevard's "Walk of Fame," six California Sportscaster of the Year awards, and three Southern California Sports Broadcasters Associations awards for "Best Television Play-By-Play". Hearn's greatest honor came in 1991 when he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Hearn came to Los Angeles in 1956 to announce USC football and basketball games. During the 1960's, Hearn broadcast a nightly national sportscast on CBS radio which earned him two Emmy Awards. He began as play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1961 NBA playoffs, the Lakers first season in Los Angeles, and he has been at the mike for every subsequent season. In that span, Hearn has missed only two games, the last on November 20, 1965. He recently broadcast his 3,000th consecutive game this past season on January 19 in a Lakers victory against Orlando. 

Although best known for his work with the Lakers, Chick has covered virtually every kind of sporting event, including championship boxing on FOX Sports West's "Fight Night at the Forum," NCAA football, the Rose Bowl, and even "Bowling for Dollars."

Born Francis Dayle Hearn in Aurora, Illinois, Chick attended Bradley University. He was given the nickname "Chick" when, as an AAU basketball player, he was handed a box of sneakers only to be surprised and find a chicken inside.

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