Chuck Swirsky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chuck Swirsky (born January 30, 1954 in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.) is the radio play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. He was formerly the longtime play-by-play voice of the Toronto Raptors.

Born in Virginia, Swirsky grew up in Bellevue, Washington and is graduate of Interlake High School (class of 1972). As of May 6, 2008, Swirsky resides in Burlington, Ontario, with his wife and three kids.

[edit] Broadcasting and career

Swirsky was a sportscaster for WLUP in Chicago from 1980 to 1981. He was the Chicago Bulls public address announcer from 1980 to 1983. He joined WGN radio in 1981 and remained through the mid 1990s. While he was with WGN he also did play-by-play for DePaul games alongside former coach Ray Meyer and also did Chicago Bears pre-game and post-game coverage. He also made frequent appearances on the Bob Collins radio show, Collins dubbing him "The Swirsk". (Larry Lujack, sarcastic DJ of rival WLS radio, called Swirsky, "Chicago's answer to Mr. Spock", making fun of his prominent ears.)

Swirsky left WGN for Detroit where he did play-by-play for both Michigan basketball and football in the mid 1990s. Swirsky began his career as 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.[1] He is known for his famous "Salami & Cheese" phrase, which was used to advertise Raptors game packs during the 2007-08 season.[2][3] Another catch phrase is "Onions, Baby, Onions." This is said when a player makes a great play, and was used to advertise Raptors NBA TV HD.[4] He became a Canadian citizen on January 14, 2008.[5] On May 6, 2008, Swirsky, the voice of the Toronto Raptors for the past decade, left the organization for personal reasons related to his family.[6]

He has agreed to carry out the radio play-by-play for the Chicago Bulls. [7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2006-07 Game Night Giveaways. raptors.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  2. ^ Chuck's Salami and Cheese Pack. raptors.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
  3. ^ Chuck Swirsky Commercial: "Salami and Cheese" at YouTube
  4. ^ Chuck Swirsky Commercial: "Onions, Baby, Onions" at YouTube
  5. ^ Going Canadian... .. nba.com/raptors/news/swirsky (2008-01-14). Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
  6. ^ "Raptors announcer Swirsky leaving for Bulls", TheStar.com, 2008-05-06. 
  7. ^ Now that's onions, baby! Swirsky done with Raps. thestar.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.

[edit] External links

This biographical article relating to a U.S. basketball player, coach, or other figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.