Ya Gotta Love Him, Baby!
By John Shuff
02/08/10 - 03:06 PM
(page 1 of 5)
The Jazz vs. Sacramento Kings game on Jan. 29 meant a lot more to the SLC crowd than just a seven-point victory. A ceremony was held during halftime to honor the team’s legendary play-by-play commentator, Hot Rod Hundley.
A banner with Hundley’s name now hangs from the rafters at EnergySolutions Arena, and the press office is officially called the Hot Rod Hundley Media Center.
Click here to see our exclusive photo gallery of the media center unveiling and halftime presentation.
Hundley has meant a lot to the NBA, Jazz and locals ever since Salt Lake magazine came into existence 20 years ago. Looking through the archives, we found a story Publisher John Shuff wrote on Hundley for our very first issue in 1989. As a salute to Hundley and the work he’s done, here’s the article in its entirety. Enjoy. – Jaime Winston
Ya Gotta Love Him, Baby
Hot Rod Hundley, the fast talking, wisecracking, "Pizazz of the Jazz," is like the guy next door.
When I left Rod Hundley's office at Triad Center I glanced at a memo on his desk from an old friend. One line that struck me as an indicator of the man I had just talked with said, "One of the great joys in life is to know that some things really don't change...and you're one of those things." I didn't see the signature, but it really doesn't matter because Rod Hundley, the fast talking, wisecracking, "Pizazz of the Jazz," is like the guy next door.
If fame and recognition change a man, then look again because it hasn't made a dent in Hundley's facade. For 16 years he's been the broadcast voice of the Jazz, the last 10 here in Salt Lake City. His irrepressible style and passionate love for his Jazz has endeared him to viewers and listeners throughout the Mountainwest. His wit, coupled with an acute basketball mind, has made him one of basketball's premiere play-by-play personalities. Jim Nantz, his one time broadcast partner and presently one of CBS Sports' shining stars, says, "He's the best basketball analyst I've ever heard. He was so loose he made me feel comfortable. I can honestly say that broadcasting with him was one thing I've done that never felt like work."
Rod Hundley is a hot ticket and a hot property. He was twice an all-state high school basketball player in West Virginia; a Dell magazine All American (one of the five best high school players in the country); a recipient of over 100 basketball scholarships; first team All-American his senior year at the University of West Virginia; and first round draft pick of the Cincinnati Royals in 1957 (who later traded him to the Minneapolis Lakers). And this doesn't complete his list of accomplishments – he was selected for the NBA All Star game twice, and just this year at age 54 he received the enviable invitation to play in the NBA Legends game.
But life for the flamboyant, fun-loving Hundley has not been the proverbial piece of cake that he leads you to believe. He’s a loner. A man who at every stage of his life has had to prove to himself that he’s the best. A man whose past has shaped his life, “I was tossed from home to home from the time I was born. I really never knew my parents. During high school I lived alone in a 32-room hotel. I was street smart. Nobody told me what to do.”
Throughout his basketball-embroidered life Hundley has done it his way. When looking back, he had no other choice. He’s a man that looks objectively at his life and takes the hurdles with a casual stride, although you know most of them were difficult. He loves life, his three daughters (he’s been separated from his wife for 14 years) and most of all, he loves what he does. Not many people who are honest with themselves can say that.
On the following pages, Rod Hundley shares with Salt Lake City magazine readers some interesting perspectives about his life, the Jazz and professional basketball. We hope you will find them interesting and thought-provoking.
Email
Print
Feed
