Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn, who made phrases like "slam dunk'' and "air ball'' common basketball expressions during his 42-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, died Monday. He was 85.
"Chick Hearn passed away at 6:30 this evening,'' Los Angeles Lakers spokesman Bob Steiner told a hushed news conference outside Northridge Medical Center Hospital, where Hearn was taken Friday night after suffering a fall.
Hearn fell Friday in the back yard of the Encino home he shared with wife, Marge. The two would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary on Aug. 13.
Surgeons operated twice Saturday to relieve swelling in his brain, but he never regained consciousness.
