Diane Pucin of the Los Angeles Times has a long profile of someone who hasn’t missed a single Clippers game in 30 years – play-by-play man Ralph Lawler:
Bob Miller, the hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Kings, says there is no harder job than calling the action of an awful team, game after game, minute after endless minute.
Lawler has been doing that for the Clippers for 30 years, but the losses — 1,583 — have not defeated him.
Straight-backed and broad-shouldered, with a tan perfected by the desert sun at his La Quinta home, Lawler loves being the voice of the Clippers, who are 19-62 with one game left. Only his white hair and mustache hint at his age. Before a recent game, he walks around Staples Center with steps so long — he’s 6-foot-2 — that people have to run to catch up. He is looking forward to the next four hours because, he says, the Clippers still could win.
14 Responses
I love Ralph! He is one of the reasons I became a clippers fan when i was a kid. I loved his calls with Walton and now with Mike Smith. The guy knows how to be critical in the most tactful of ways…
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Ralphs a real gem. He makes listening to the games enjoyable, and if you ever get to meet him in person – well, he’s just as nice there.
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Ralph is the man
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Ralph is the best reason I have to be a Clipper fan (especially this year). My wife loves him too, which is great because I’d probably only get to watch a third of the games if she weren’t also a fan. If given the choice, I’d almost rather watch the Clippers lose with Ralph calling the game than win with another announcer. Hmm …maybe I’m not even a Clipper fan after all. I may just be a Lawler fan.
Cappy Reply:
April 15th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww293/LALawlers/LALawlers.jpg
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Ralph is a true treasure…there aren’t too many old-line NBA announcers still around other than Marv Albert, Al McCoy in Phoenix, Hot Rod Hundley in Utah, Joe Tait in Cleveland, and a couple of others I can’t think of directly. We have had bad teams on the court, but we’ve always had damn-good broadcast teams.
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
all praises are due to him. but i dont think he’s a) not THAT truthful and b) TOO optimistic.
I guess it doesnt help to rip the team you’re working for publicly. But the outcry is not there. As more than a casual observer, he should be giving us his insights as to WHY the Clippers suck and WHO is to blame.
Maybe i’m just pissed off.
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Gordon for 3…BAAAAANGO!!!!
Gotta love Ralph.
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Props to Ralph for sticking with it through all the bad and getting to experience very little of the good.
This org really does not deserve him – they deserve a couple of schmucks like the 2 buffoons that call the Laker games.
ACD Reply:
April 15th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
It is indeed really tough to watch laker telecasts. It seems like they just sit there all game and take turns giving Kobe a figurative bj.
benoit benjamin's two left shoes Reply:
April 15th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
If I hear Stu say one more time “And [insert name of player here] says to [insert name of other player or referee here] [insert inane comment here],” I’ll scream. Come to think of it, I do scream. It only happens about 79 times a game.
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
If I hear Stu say one more time: “And [insert name of player here] to [insert name of another player or referee here] [insert totally inane comment here],” I’ll scream. Come to think of it, I do scream, something like 79 times a game.
Posted on April 15th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I became such a big fan of Ralph’s I started yelling BINGO (although not as long) when I would hit 3′s in pick up games (never league thank god). The LA peeps always got it, the out-of-towners? Not so much…
Posted on April 16th, 2009 at 12:19 am
After years of disappointing roster turnover, with the exception of a few years here and there, Ralph is the anchor of this team. My Odom jersey? Useless. My Brand jersey? May as well be a rag to wash my car with. But Ralph… he is, by far, the single best reason to become and stay a Clippers fan. I grew up listening to Chick Hearn and Ralph Lawler, two men to whom I attribute much of my basketball knowledge. Ralph’s such a great guy and I swear he’s the only reason I can ever stand to watch those games where the Clippers are just flat-out disappointing (this happens a lot). He’s always upbeat and honest. You’ve got to love a guy like that.
*gasp* I just realized I should get a Lawler jersey!! Holy crap if the NBA sold Lawler jerseys they’d sell like hotcakes to the Naçion!
Posted on April 22nd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
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