[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 130 (Monday, October 7, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H7036-H7038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FRANCIS DAYLE ``CHICK'' HEARN POST OFFICE
Mr. DAN MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 5340) to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 5805 White Oak Avenue in Encino,
California, as the ``Francis Dayle `Chick' Hearn Post Office.''
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 5340
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FRANCIS DAYLE ``CHICK'' HEARN POST OFFICE.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 5805 White Oak Avenue in Encino,
California, shall be known and designated as the ``Francis
Dayle `Chick' Hearn Post Office''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be
a reference to the Francis Dayle ``Chick'' Hearn Post Office.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Dan Miller) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dan Miller).
General Leave
Mr. DAN MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and
extend their remarks on H.R. 5340.
[[Page H7037]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. DAN MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the House consider H.R. 5340,
introduced by our esteemed colleague, the gentleman from California
(Mr. Sherman), that designates the facility of the United States Postal
Service located in Encino, California, as the Francis Dayle ``Chick''
Hearn Post Office Building.
Mr. Speaker, all Americans were saddened to hear that Chick Hearn,
the renowned play-by-play announcer of the National Basketball
Association's Los Angeles Lakers passed away on August 5 of this year.
He was unquestionably one of the most adored and distinctive sports
broadcasters in American history.
``Chick'' Hearn's record of broadcasting longevity is astonishing.
Since the 1960s, he called over 3,300 Lakers games, plus numerous
University of Nevado at Las Vegas basketball games, many college and
professional football games, and even the first Muhammad Ali-Joe
Frazier boxing match. His continued excellence earned him the nickname
the ``Golden Throat.''
It was remarkable that, despite leaving the Laker's announcing booth
last December because he had to undergo heart surgery, he valiantly
returned to call the Lakers playoff games all the way through to their
third consecutive NBA championship this past summer.
While his longevity in the broadcasting booth is well known, many
outside of California may not realize that scores of basketball phrases
were in fact invented by the colorful Chick Hearn. He made famous terms
that are now pervasive in basketball vernacular such as ``air ball,''
``finger roll,'' ``give and go,'' and even ``slam-dunk.''
Mr. Speaker, naming a Post Office after Francis Dayle ``Chick'' Hearn
is a fitting tribute to a man who was as beloved and appreciated as
Chick Hearn was. Therefore, I urge all Members to adopt H.R. 5340.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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.
{time} 1345
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.''
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she might
consume to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson).
Ms. WATSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I come to support two
champions who will have post offices named after them.
First I would like to support H.R. 5340 and sportscaster legend Chick
Hearn. I represented the Lakers for many a year in Inglewood while
Chick Hearn was at his finest, and I feel very close to that voice even
in death, because his was the voice representing a real sportsman's
spirit; and he was able to educate, train, and mentor almost everyone
who heard him in sportsmanship.
As the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) expressed, he coined
many phrases that are used today. Our younger people will grow up
parroting those phrases and appreciating good sportsmanship and good
women in sports as well. Our women's basketball team played in that
same sports arena while I represented that area; and I am so very, very
proud of what he was able to put forth to them in the line of
sportsmanship and in the line of broadcasting what good sports was all
about.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
As a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased
to join with my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 5340, which names a
Post Office in Encino, California after the late Francis Dayle
``Chick'' Hearn. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5340, which enjoys the support and
cosponsorship of the entire California delegation, was indeed
introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) on September
5, 2002.
Francis Hearn was born in the great State of Illinois in the city of
Aurora. He attended Bradley University and was given the nickname
``Chick'' when, as an AAU basketball player, he found a chicken inside
a box of sneakers.
Chick Hearn began his career in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting
the University of Southern California football and basketball games. He
went on to do night and radio sports, winning Emmy awards along the
way. In 1961, Chick began play-by-play announcing for the Los Angeles
Lakers, a job he held for over 30 years. During his Lakers career,
Chick Hearn became one of the most recognizable voices in the industry
and the greatest basketball announcer of all time. His great announcing
gave birth to ``Chickisms,'' as it was called. These were comments
Chick made while broadcasting the games. Some of his greatest comments
were: ``The mustard's off the hot dog,'' ``He's in the popcorn
machine,'' ``slam dunk,'' ``air ball,'' ``This game's in the refrig.''
A man of much commentary, Chick Hearn earned a Cable ACE Award, Best
Sports Play-by-Play in 1988, and a star on Hollywood Boulevard's ``Walk
of Fame.'' He was the recipient of a Golden Mike award, six California
Sportscaster of the Year awards, and three Southern California Sports
Broadcasters Association awards. His greatest honor came when he was
inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Sadly, he passed
away on August 5, 2002, from injuries suffered in a fall.
[[Page H7038]]
Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman)
for seeking to honor Chick Hearn by naming a post office after him in
Encino, California; and I urge the swift passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DAN MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this
measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Aderholt). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dan Miller) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5340.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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