Bingo!: Forty Years in the NBA

Ralph Lawler is best known for his 41-year tenure as the voice of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. His broadcasting career began in the 1960s upon graduating from Bradley University in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois. Lawler initially worked as a sports announcer at 1440 KPRO in Riverside, California and did some announcing at the nearby Riverside International Raceway. From there, Lawler went on to work in Philadelphia, where he broadcast games for the Flyers of the National Hockey League, the 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Phillies of Major League Baseball, Big 5 college basketball, and Temple college football. He also worked as a sports reporter for then-CBS station WCAU-TV, before returning to Southern California for good in the late 1970s, calling the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association and the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League before beginning his stint with the (then) San Diego Clippers in 1978. He is one of a very few announcers who has called games in each of the four professional U.S. sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL). Lawler was named a 2019 Curt Gowdy Media Award recipient by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at All-Star Weekend and over the course of his 40 seasons, he has also been awarded with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, three Emmys, a Telly Award and inductions into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters (SCSB) Hall of Fame and the California Sports Hall of Fame. Lawler and his wife Jo have three grown children and seven grandchildren and currently divide their time between Florida and Oregon.

Chris Epting is the author of 30 books, including James Dean Died Here (Santa Monica Press), Roadside Baseball (Santa Monica Press), Change of Seasons (John Oates' memoir)(St. Martin's Press) and many others. He is also an award-winning travel writer and has contributed articles for such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Westways and Travel + Leisure magazine, among other publications. In addition, Chris is a veteran music journalist and recently co-wrote Def Leppard's Phil Collen's memoir, "Adrenalized," and the forthcoming Doobie Brothers' memoir "Long Train Runnin'" He also co-created and co-hosts the REELZ Channel docu-series "It Happened Here."

Bill Walton was NCAA player of the year at UCLA from 1972 to 1974, when UCLA set an NCAA record eighty-eight consecutive-game winning streak. A former NBA Champion and MVP, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and selected as one of the NBA’s Fifty Greatest Players ever. He has also had a successful award-winning broadcasting career with ABC, ESPN, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, Turner, and Fox, among others. He currently resides in his hometown of San Diego with his family. Visit him at BillWalton.com.