Ralph Lawler is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
By Taylor Smith
Bingo!
According to Variety, Ralph Lawler, the longtime voice of the Los Angeles Clippers, will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The ceremony, to take place on the morning of March 3rd, will be hosted by Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Leron Gubler. Doc Rivers is also expected to speak.
It’s safe to say that the 77-year-old Lawler, who has been calling Clipper games since the franchise moved from Buffalo to San Diego in 1978, has endured his fair share of basketball-related agony through the years. 37 years is a long time for anyone to be calling basketball games, but it’s a particularly long time to be broadcasting a team that has enjoyed so little success. However, he always maintained the same delightful enthusiasm and wittiness he always had regardless of how poor the team may have been. Lawler has his fair share of detractors (what play-by-play guy doesn’t?), but there’s something intrinsically fun about a guy just sitting there and using a hand-held microphone to call a basketball game.
Fortunately, Lawler has gotten to be a part of a quality on-court product for the last several years as the Clips have risen into the upper echelon of the West. He’s known for his variety of “Lawler-isms”, such as “Lawler’s Law” (“first team to 100 wins; it’s the Law”), “Bingo!” (when a team hits a three) and, “fasten your seat belts, we’re coming down to the wire!” (when the game is close down-the-stretch).
Ralph will become the first person associated with the Clippers to receive a star on the Walk of Fame. He’ll join former Laker broadcaster Chick Hearn, Kings play-by-play man Bob Miller and noted national treasure (and Dodger broadcaster) Vin Scully among fellow L.A.-based sportscasters to receive the well-deserved honor.