He Was One of the Last Links to the Fan

Chick Hearn was a giant because of the combination of his singular style, colorful personality and incredible longevity. Among all the memorable figures in Laker history, for local fans none was as synonymous with the team as Chick.

And beyond Los Angeles, he influenced the vocabulary of the game with original phrases so perfectly descriptive they couldn’t be improved upon.

Just about everybody used them at least now and then.

Chick’s almost boyish enthusiasm and unwavering determination to keep on doing what he loved endeared him to his audience more than talent or craftsmanship alone ever could. No matter how much you cared about the Lakers, you couldn’t possibly have cared more than Chick did.

In my hometown of St. Louis this summer, we lost Jack Buck. In Detroit, Ernie Harwell, still spry at 84, leaves the Tiger booth at the end of the season.

Voices like theirs (and Chick’s) mean more to their audiences than just the game on any particular day. They were the last ongoing links to the game you grew up with.

Their calls were bulletins and flashbacks at the same time--part of the soundtrack of your life.

A few, including Vin Scully, of course, are still going strong. But we will never see their like again. Not just because their talent is rare but because the circumstances in which that talent flourished can never be recaptured.

The best of today’s broadcasters may be admired and appreciated, but too much about sports and broadcasting has changed to allow for the enduring connection and fondness so many felt for Chick Hearn and a very few others.

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Bob Costas is one of country’s top sports broadcasters. Among his many duties for NBC have been play-by-play on the NBA Finals and baseball’s World Series.