It figured that Chick Hearn would call the play-by-play at his own funeral.
Not in the flesh, of course--not even Hearn was capable of that. But time and again, as the longtime Laker announcer was eulogized Friday, mourners reached into his deep bag of "Chickisms" to describe a man whose wordplay, descriptive powers and passion gave his basketball team--and, in a sense, his city--a colorful soundtrack for 42 years.
Not even Cardinal Roger M. Mahony could resist.
Looking ahead to a fourth consecutive Laker championship, Mahony told mourners: "I am going to go outside and look up in the sky, because I think for the last time we will see the meteor go by, and we will wave so long.
"This one's in the refrigerator."
It was a line that might have brought shocked gasps at any other funeral, but those who were there--a who's who of basketball greats and local political leaders--understood that Mahony was simply quoting one of Hearn's most beloved aphorisms, used to signal that the Lakers had put a game out of reach and were on their way to victory.
It was a phrase that also came up repeatedly at Staples Center, where thousands of Laker faithful filed all day through a darkened arena to pay their respects at the empty broadcast booth where Hearn finished his career. Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn died Monday of brain injuries suffered in a fall at his home in Encino. He was 85.
"It's in the fridge, but the light will always be on," a fan wrote in one of more than a dozen thick memorial books spread out on black-draped tables in a concession area at the downtown arena. Next to the books were keepsakes for the mourners: photographs of Hearn that included a handy list of Chickisms on the back--"slaaaaaam dunk," "frozen rope," "faked the floperoo," "give and go," "no harm, no foul," "triple-double," "air ball," and so on through a lexicon that was part English, part basketball and all Chick Hearn.
Hearn began broadcasting Laker games in 1960, when the team moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles and became, along with Dodger announcer Vin Scully, one of the most omnipresent public figures in Southern California over the following four decades.
His role as a unifying force was apparent at Staples Center, where people of all ages, races and cultures turned out to honor Hearn. And it was a prominent theme of his funeral, which drew several generations of Laker stars to the St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church in Brentwood.
Elgin Baylor and Jerry West were there, as were Keith Erickson and Pat Riley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, Rick Fox and Kobe Bryant. Many had to duck as they walked through the church's front doors. Some former players, their hair gray or long gone, shuffled down the aisles on rickety knees and ankles, a giveaway of Hearn's longevity.
Other mourners included Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn, Gov. Gray Davis, Scully, retired UCLA coach John Wooden and Laker fan extraordinaire Jack Nicholson.
Mahony Sets the Tone
Mahony conducted the 90-minute service, which leaned heavily on eulogies by current and former Lakers players. But it was Mahony's homily that set the tone.
The cardinal said Hearn's biggest accomplishment was to bring "a spirit of unity and harmony" to Los Angeles on a scale that few people, if any, have been able to do.
"He dropped down barriers in this community," said Mahony, who recalled watching diverse crowds squeeze together on the escalators of Staples Center, all unknowingly united by the voice of Chick Hearn.
"He was able to bring together people from all kinds of backgrounds, races, languages, ethnic groups," he said. Hearn, he added, "helped our city more than anyone can dream or imagine."
Besides Hearn's unifying spirit, his work ethic, kindness and gruff impatience were common themes that ran throughout eulogies by Johnson, Fox, West and granddaughter Shannon Newman. His closed casket rested at the front of the sanctuary.
"He always made me feel like I was worthy of wearing a Laker uniform," said a tearful Fox, who wore his white Laker warmups to the funeral. He thanked Hearn's wife, Marge, sitting in the front row, for "keeping Chick going for 42 years."
"It is our turn to be there for you," Fox said. Hearn would frequently mention his wife of 64 years during broadcasts.
West's Recollections
West, who began with the Lakers the same year as Hearn, recalled how the announcer got cabin fever every year waiting for the season to start and was quick to anger when the team's airplanes were delayed on the tarmac, often yelling, "Let's go!" from his seat. Later, when West became the Lakers' general manager, he said Hearn would call and demand that he begin making trades to help the ailing team. "This is after we won 10 in a row."
"Chick was, without a doubt, the most impatient person I've met in my life," West said, "besides me."
West said there will be many Hearn impersonators who will use Chickisms while announcing. "And they will fail miserably because they're not Chick Hearn," he said.
