Chick Hearn statue unveiled at Staples Center
Magic Johnson is no longer the only member of the Lakers to earn a permanent piece of real estate at Staples Center.
A statue of legendary Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn was unveiled Tuesday afternoon in front of a crowd of about 500 people.
The statue shows Hearn seated at a desk while wearing a headset. There is a chair next to him that remains open, allowing fans to take photographs in it.
"Fabulous day," said Hearn's widow, Marge. "Just fabulous."
Former Lakers Byron Scott and James Worthy spoke during the 45-minute ceremony, which was attended by numerous former Lakers and team personnel including Kurt Rambis, Bill Sharman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor and Rick Fox.
"We miss him terribly," Scott said.
Said Worthy: "He was a big brother to all of us."
Hearn, Johnson, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya are the four statues in front of Staples Center.
--Mike Bresnahan
CONGRATULATIONS CHICKY BABY!!!!!!!
Well deserved.
Well earned.
Well done.
We miss you terribly.
Posted by: justanothermambafan | April 20, 2010 at 06:32 PM
TROY B… Outstanding take. As with Drew, I agree 100% that Kobe will outsmart the haters and doubters and make a concerted effort to play inside-out basketball and take advantage of our big men. When your shot’s off, all great scorers know the smart solution is to attack the rim and get to the line. That is what I believe we will see Kobe do. He is going to be looking to penetrate the paint.
~
That strategy is a perfect fit for the Lakers huge advantage in the front court. By turning down the outside shot and attacking the rim, Kobe will either get baskets, free throws, or assists in the paint. The result will be quality rather than volume scoring from Kobe, improved inside-game and points-in-the-paint, and better transition defense without the long rebounds that come from taking jumpers.
~
I also agree with you about Magic and Bird and the ‘80s. If Magic did not have to share titles with Bird, he would have 9 rings, second only to Bill Russell. That he had to share 4 championships with Larry Bird and the Celtics is easily forgotten by the MJ lovers. Aside from the obvious fact that you can’t compare generations, or team chemistry, or competitive environments, never say never.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TOM
Posted by: LakerTom | April 20, 2010 at 06:33 PM
That was awesome! I officially want a Chick Hearn bobblehead. Any chance you can grab me one MM? :-)
Posted by: Faith | April 20, 2010 at 06:50 PM
MM - do you have any pictures for those of us who are out of the local area?
I would greatly love to see some. :-)
Posted by: Caliphilosopher | April 20, 2010 at 06:51 PM
Guys,
I shot lots of video of the dedication. Uploading the video is a fairly time consuming process and since there's also a game to cover, I may not get to it until sometime tomorrow and post perhaps as late as Thursday. All depends. But look out for it fairly soon.
MM
Posted by: Mark Medina | April 20, 2010 at 06:52 PM
Cali,
http://tinyurl.com/y4hkvyl
Posted by: Faith | April 20, 2010 at 06:54 PM
Congratulations Chick and Marge!
Mike B. You left us craving a photo of the statue. can we get a image stat?
Thanks in advance.
Posted by: ChicNstu | April 20, 2010 at 06:56 PM
I WANT A BOBBLE-HEAD TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: justanothermambafan | April 20, 2010 at 07:02 PM
TY Faith,
That is a kodak moment. It brought tears to my eyes.
Let's do it for Chicky!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: ChicNstu | April 20, 2010 at 07:03 PM
Congatulations Chick! We miss you!
Best sports announcer ever!
Posted by: Troy B | April 20, 2010 at 07:04 PM
[Game Day Prayer]
Let us pray...
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for our Victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the first round of the 2010 playoffs.
Thank you for the healthy return of Andrew Bynum and the spectacular defense of Ron Artest.
Thank you, also, Heavenly Father, for the statue of Chick Hearn outside Staples Center. Chick was a blessing to all of us in Laker Nation. His insight, intelligence, passion, humor and personality lighted so many of our lives for so long. We miss him terribly and we ask you to let him know that Laker Nation deeply misses him and that we appreciate all the joy and entertainment he brought us for so long.
Thank you, Oh Father, for DJ Mbenga's health. His eye injury scared many of us and we are happy that he will be returning to the team soon.
We thank you, Oh Father, above all for your LOVE and your faith in each of us. You never give up on us and we strive to be worthy of you LOVE.
Oh Father, there are posters to this blog who haved clearly disrespected you and the sacrality of prayer. We ask you to open their hearts and turn them away from the darkness of negativity and scorn. We also ask you to strengthen our resolve so that we do not become more like those who have lost faith in you, the future, and themselves. We ask you to lead us to celebration and hope! Lead us to a brighter time of Victory and Realization.
Please bless the health of Sasha Vujacic, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, and all our injured warriors. Please protect their health and lead them to a complete and invigorated recovery immediately.
On this day of Game Two of the 2010 Playoffs, we ask you to bless the Los Angeles Lakers and lead our team to be their BEST in every way. We ask you to protect the hearts, minds and bodies of our team with the power of your Spirit. We ask you to inspire this team to play brilliant basketball, basketball that their BEST, not just as individuals, but as the power, elegance, genius and beauty of A TEAM. We ask you to show this team the wonder of synergy, not only in their minds, but their hearts and spirits.
Inspire this TEAM to realize its potential--to be their BEST--not only tonight, but through every game, to VICTORY, to CHAMPIONSHIP!
Thank you for the competition of the Oklahoma City Thunder and bless them for they provide us with the challenge through which we will improve. Please bless all players on our Lakers and the opposition and protect them from injury and physical harm.
Again, Heavenly Father, thank you for this blogmunity and the relationships it has fostered. Thank you for giving us Lakeraholics a place to express our passions. Thank you for the guidance of Mark Medina, he is appreciated and, above all, thank you for the Los Angeles Lakers and their continuing committment to excellence. Let their triumphs be an inspiration to humanity as to what a group of individuals can accomplish when they are committed to being their BEST despite opposition and despite excellent competition.
Lead this team to VICTORY!
Amen.
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!!!!
Posted by: Jon K. | April 20, 2010 at 07:05 PM
Thanks Faith! :-)
Posted by: Caliphilosopher | April 20, 2010 at 07:29 PM
Chickie Baby......we miss you. :\LAT was statue unveiled today? Today is Tuesday; not Wednesday....editors, where are you? Chick Hearn best play by play, what a guy!
Posted by: dudeabides | April 20, 2010 at 08:08 PM
We miss you Chick.
Great tribute.
Marge looked great. What a classy lady she is.
Please work on the Vin Scully statue right now!
Posted by: Ken | April 20, 2010 at 08:56 PM
Chickie!
Put the game in the refrigerator so I dont have to worry!!!!
We love you Marge!!!
Posted by: Magic | April 20, 2010 at 08:57 PM
I think the style of any posts you easy to understand.
Posted by: pandora charms | November 10, 2010 at 10:55 PM