Chuck Swirsky
Encyclopedia
Chuck Swirsky is the radio play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

 of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

. He was formerly the longtime play-by-play voice of the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...

.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Swirsky grew up in Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...

 and is graduate of Interlake High School
Interlake High School
Interlake High School, also known as IHS, is a public high school in Bellevue, Washington. The school is one of the six high schools in the Bellevue School District. It is known for its diversity, its students' scholarship, and the International Baccalaureate program located at the school. The...

 (class of 1972).

Broadcasting and career

Swirsky was a sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...

 for WCFL
WCFL (AM)
WCFL was the callsign of a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor, hence its call letters. The station is now known as WMVP. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove and is still in use by WMVP...

 in Chicago from 1979 to 1981. He was the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

 public address announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...

 from 1980 to 1983. He joined WGN
WGN (AM)
WGN is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is the only radio station owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns the flagship television station WGN-TV, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago magazine locally. WGN's transmitter is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois...

 radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 in 1981 and remained through the mid 1990s. While he was with WGN he also did play-by-play for DePaul
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...

 games alongside former coach Ray Meyer
Ray Meyer
Raymond Joseph Meyer was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well-known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record...

 and also did Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 pre-game and post-game coverage. He also made frequent appearances on the Bob Collins radio show, Collins dubbing him "The Swirsk". (Larry Lujack
Larry Lujack
Larry Lujack , a Top 40 Music radio disc jockey, was known for his world-weary sarcastic style, "Klunk Letter of the Day" and darkly humorous "Animal Stories" along with "sidekick Little Tommy", and "Cheap Trashy Show Biz Report." He was also referred to as Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle...

, sarcastic DJ of rival WLS radio, called Swirsky, "Chicago's answer to Mr. Spock", making fun of his prominent ears.) During his time at WGN, a man dressed as Max Headroom hijacked a broadcast of Doctor Who
Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion incident
The Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion was a television signal hijacking in Chicago, Illinois, on the evening of November 22, 1987. It is an example of what is known in the television business as broadcast signal intrusion. The intruder was successful in interrupting two television stations...

 and made a mocking reference to Swirsky.

Swirsky left WGN for Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 where he did play-by-play for both University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 basketball and football in the mid 1990s. Rob Pelinka
Rob Pelinka
Robert Todd Pelinka, Jr. is an American lawyer, National Basketball Association sports agent and former college basketball player from Lake Bluff, Illinois . He is best known as Kobe Bryant's agent and President and CEO of The Landmark Sports Agency, LLC...

 was among his Michigan color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...

s. 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. He is known for his famous "Salami & Cheese" phrase, which was used to advertise Raptors game packs during the 2007–08 season. Another catch phrase is "Onions, Baby, Onions." This is said when a player makes a three point shot, and was used to advertise Raptors NBA TV HD
Raptors NBA TV
NBA TV Canada is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. .-History:In December 2000, MLSE was granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for a category 2 digital specialty channel license...

. He became a Canadian citizen on January 14, 2008.

During the middle of his tenure in Toronto, Swirsky also hosted a sports talk radio show on CJCL (The Fan 590) called The Chuck Swirsky Show. The show, which was broadcast every afternoon (when not conflicting with any weekday matinee Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 broadcasts) between 1PM-4PM, talked about the big sports issues of the day, took listener telephone calls on air, and interviewed various people in the world of sports. On days that Swirsky was unable to host the show (either due to his commitments with the Raptors as their play-by-play announcer on the road or due to vacation breaks), the duo of Doug Farraway & Barb DiGiulio served as fill-in co-hosts. He hosted the last episode of The Chuck Swirsky Show on July 31, 2008.

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. His vacated position was filled by Matt Devlin
Matt Devlin (sportscaster)
Matt Devlin is the play-by-play TV announcer for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA, replacing Chuck Swirsky in 2008.Matt spent 6 years as the lead play-by-play voice of the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies and 3 for the Charlotte Bobcats...

.

He has since returned to Chicago to carry out the radio play-by-play for the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

.

External links

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