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Bingo!: 40 Years in the NBA is the memoir of legendary Los Angeles Clippers and sports broadcaster Ralph Lawler. The book covers Lawler’s extraordinary life and career, from his childhood in Peoria, Illinois; through his time at Bradley University; to the beginning of his sports announcing career at the Riverside International Raceway; his years spent in Philadelphia with the Flyers, Phillies, and 76ers; his years in San Diego with the Sails and the Chargers; and culminating in his 40-year career with the Clippers. Along the way, basketball and the NBA is the focus of the book, with Lawler’s observations and stories about players, coaches, and teams from the 1940s through his retirement at the close of the 2019 season forming the core of the book. Included among the myriad stories and reflections will be his relationships with NBA legend Bill Walton, infamous Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Clippers GM and NBA great Elgin Baylor, and a variety of famous players and coaches from throughout the NBA. As Lawler used to famously say from behind the microphone, "Fasten your seatbelts!" Bingo! is a fun-filled journey through professional basketball, with plenty of "Oh me, Oh my!" moments, and the definitive answer to the burning question all NBA fans want to know: Is there any truth to "Lawler's Law"?
Ralph Lawler
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.
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