Chuck Swirsky

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Chuck Swirsky
Swirsky calling a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center in 2009.
Born (1954-01-30) January 30, 1954 (age 70)
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican–Canadian
EducationInterlake High School
OccupationRadio sports announcer
EmployerChicago Bulls

Chuck Swirsky (born January 30, 1954) is an American–Canadian radio sports announcer. He is the

play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Swirsky's association with Chicago sports started in 1979 with his WCFL AM 1000 talk show, which debuted on August 27 of that year. Outside Chicago, Swirsky called play-by-play for both University of Michigan basketball and football and was formerly the play-by-play voice of the Toronto Raptors
.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Swirsky grew up in Bellevue, Washington, and is a graduate of Interlake High School.

Broadcasting and career

Swirsky began his broadcasting career on

Catholicism. [2]
[3]

Swirsky left WGN for Detroit, where he did play-by-play for University of Michigan basketball in the mid-1990s. He was also sports director for WJR radio. Rob Pelinka was among his Michigan color commentators.[4]

Swirsky next moved to Toronto to become the play-by-play voice of the Toronto Raptors during the 1998–99 NBA season, first on the radio, then for television beginning in 2001. On March 23, 2007, Swirsky was honored by the Raptors when they gave out 18,000 bobbleheads with his likeness.[5] He was known for his famous "Salami & Cheese" phrase, which was used to advertise Raptors game packs during the 2007–08 season.[6][7] Another catch phrase was "Onions, Baby, Onions," uttered when a player made a three-point shot, and later used to advertise Raptors NBA TV HD.[8] Swirsky became a Canadian citizen on January 14, 2008.[9]

During the middle of his tenure in Toronto, Swirsky also hosted a sports radio show on CJCL (The Fan 590) called The Chuck Swirsky Show. Swirsky took listeners' calls and provided sports news. On May 6, 2008, Swirsky left the organization for personal reasons related to his family.[10] The show ended on July 31, 2008, and Swirsky's vacated position was filled by Matt Devlin.

Swirsky has since returned to Chicago to carry out the radio play-by-play for the Chicago Bulls[11] on its flagship station WMVP, which is the same station as Swirsky's first employer, WCFL. He has also called Chicago White Sox games in 2015 as a fill-in for then play-by-play broadcaster, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson.[12]

On September 7, 2016, Swirsky was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. In May 2018, he was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the WGN Radio Walk of Fame.

References

  1. ^ Sports Spectrum magazine, December 1993, Vol 7 Num 10, pages 2 and 13. Archived at issuu.com. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  2. ^ https://www.facebook.com/share/aViZunneF6dnUcTm/? Chuck Swirsky Facebook Post, January 30, 2014. Retrieved 2024-29-03
  3. ^ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/9zZYNRvps21XLGa7/? Chuck Swirsky Facebook Post, March 23, 2024. Retrieved 2024-29-03
  4. ^ O'Donnell, Jim (February 19, 1995). "Lake Talk". Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
  5. ^ "2006-07 Game Night Giveaways". raptors.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
  6. ^ "Chuck's Salami and Cheese Pack". raptors.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  7. YouTube
  8. YouTube
  9. NBA.com. Archived from the original
    on February 1, 2008.
  10. ^ Smith, Doug (May 6, 2008). "Raptors announcer Swirsky leaving for Bulls". TheStar.com. Toronto. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
  11. ^ Smith, Doug (May 7, 2008). "Now that's onions, baby! Swirsky done with Raps". thestar.com. Toronto. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
  12. ^ Mitchell, Fred (May 24, 2015). "Ken Harrelson to miss White Sox road trip; Chuck Swirsky to sub". Chicago: Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 21, 2017.

External links

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