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Bulls broadcaster Chuck Swirsky honored with bobblehead

Chuck Swirsky

Photo caption: Chuck Swirsky Bobblehead

In May, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled the Chicago Bulls radio broadcaster Chuck Swirsky bobblehead.

The limited-edition talking bobblehead will feature the play-by-play voice of the Bulls’ sportscaster, who recently completed his 25th season as an NBA broadcaster.

The special edition bobblehead is being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in conjunction with Chuck Swirsky and AUTOGRAPH1.

Wearing a headset and dressed in a black sport coat with a red and black striped tie, the smiling Swirsky bobblehead sits at a courtside table bearing his name at the base with CHICAGO across the front.

Known for his enthusiastic catchphrases, the Swirsky bobblehead will play the following clips at the touch of a button: To the rack! Count it! And a foul!,

Bam!, Onions! Baby onions!, Oh, baby! What a play!, Put him in the Hall! Put him in the Hall of Fame!, a corner snow cone three … Yes! Right down the pipe!,

and He rocked the rim with a two-handed power jam!

Bobbleheads will be individually numbered to 2,023 and are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store. The bobbleheads, expected to ship in August 2023, are $30 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.

Hired in May, 2008, Swirsky recently completed his 15th season handling the radio play-by-play duties on 670 The Score while sitting alongside color commentator and former NBA Champion Bill Wennington on the Bulls Radio Network.

He called his 2,000th NBA game during the 2022-23 season. In addition to his in-game duties, Swirsky contributes regularly to Bulls.com.

Swirsky spent 10 years in Toronto Raptors’ games. On March 23, 2007, Swirsky was honored by the Raptors, when they gave out 18,000 bobbleheads with his likeness.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in Bellevue, Washington, Swirsky started his broadcasting career in Chicago in 1979 at WCFL (AM 1000), hosting the city’s first nightly sports talk show. In 1980, Swirsky was named the public address announcer for the Bulls, serving until 1983.

He later rose to prominence while serving as the sports director for WGN-AM in Chicago from 1982 to 1994. In addition to hosting various sports talk shows, Swirsky also did play-by-play for DePaul University men’s basketball games and was the host of the Chicago Bears Radio Network for 10 years and held similar responsibilities for the Chicago Cubs Radio Network for 12 seasons.

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 Hall of Fame and the WGN Radio Walk of Fame. A three-time winner of the Best Sportscaster Award for the state of Michigan, Swirsky was also awarded Best Play-by-Play announcer by The Associated Press in 1996. At the start of the 2022-23 NBA season, Swirsky announced the release of his memoir, “Always a Pleasure.”

When asked about being honored with the new bobblehead, Chuck said, “With a heart of gratitude and humility I’m honored to be included in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. The passion I have in my heart for what sports has meant to me, first as a young boy in Seattle, then culminating with a career as an NBA play-by-play announcer, is a dream come true. Thank you to members of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and AUTOGRAPH1 for making this possible.”

Sports Editor at Chicago Crusader Newspaper | + posts

Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.

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