Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn Post Office

(House of Representatives - October 07, 2002)

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for yielding me this time, and I thank the House of Representatives and particularly the Committee on Government Reform for moving this bill to the House floor in record time.

We are here to honor a man who epitomized the spirit, the unity, and the joy of life, of living in southern California, a man who was the best reason to buy a transistor radio, perhaps the best reason to live in southern California, and perhaps the best reason to be an NBA fan. We knew how much he meant to us, but we did not fully know until he died last August 5. He had broadcast 3,338 consecutive games between November 1965 and December 2001. Not only did he broadcast those consecutive games, but his total number of games called reached 3,362.

In addition to broadcasting those Lakers games, he also broadcast NCAA basketball and football games, NFL football games, UNLV basketball, and the first Ali-Frazier fight. He won two Emmy awards, three Golden Mike awards, two National Sportscaster of the Year awards, seven California Sportscaster of the Year awards, and a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. He was also inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame and the American sportscasters Hall of Fame./

No one in this country I think influenced the poetry of basketball to the extent of Chick Hearn. He invented or popularized the terms we all are familiar with: slam dunk, air ball, finger roll, give and go, and one other phrase that I will use at the conclusion of my remarks.

Francis Dayle Hearn was born in Buda, Illinois, on November 27, 1916. He was a talented athlete, but a car accident ended his semi-pro basketball career in the 1930s. While playing in Aurora, Illinois, his affable response to a practical joker's placing of a dead chicken in his locker won him the nickname Chick, the name that we all in Los Angeles came to know him by.

He served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II and after the war became a sportscaster in Aurora and Peoria, Illinois. In 1956 he moved to Los Angeles to cover college football and basketball for CBS radio and NBC television. He joined the Lakers in their first season in Los Angeles and became the voice of basketball for southern California.

Chick is survived by his wife, Marge, a granddaughter and a great granddaughter. Chick and Marge were residents for many decades in the San Fernando Valley and have lived in Encino for well over 20 years. This bill will rename their local post office the ``Francis Dayle `Chick' Hearn Post Office.''

Mr. Speaker, this legislation, of course, enjoys the support of not only the Lakers organization, but the entire California delegation. I talked to Marge earlier today and she asked me, What are the chances that this bill will pass this House today? And I said, Marge, ``it's in the refrigerator. The door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard, and the Jello's jiggling.''