Hot Rod Hundley obit

‘Hot Rod’ Hundley dies at 80

 

He was not on the list.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The voice of the Utah Jazz, "Hot Rod" Hundley, has died at age 80.

Hundley passed away at his home in Phoenix while surrounded by family, the Utah Jazz confirmed to FOX 13 on Friday night. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's in recent years. He was born Rodney Clark Hundley.

Hundley, known for his signature catch phrase "You Gotta Love It, Baby!" was the broadcast voice of the organization beginning in 1974, when the Jazz were located in New Orleans. He followed the team to Salt Lake City in 1979. Hundley retired as the voice of the Jazz in 2009.

According to a press release from the Utah Jazz, Hundley broadcast "many of the most memorable" moments in Jazz history during the span of the 3,051 games he called. He was the play-by-play voice of the Jazz's simulcast radio and television broadcasts for 31 years and the radio voice for his final four seasons.

“Hot Rod was the voice of the Utah Jazz for 35 years and his voice was synonymous with Jazz radio,” said Gail Miller, owner of the franchise, in the press release. “The expressions he used throughout the game broadcasts are legendary. He had the unique ability to make the game come to life so that you felt as though you could see what was happening on the floor when listening to him call the games. Rod was a very special talent and will be missed by our family as well as Jazz fans everywhere. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Hundley family.”

Hundley joined the team while it was still in New Orleans, and he is the only member of the original New Orleans Jazz staff to remain with the team for its first 35 seasons. A banner honoring Hundley hangs in Energy Solutions Arena, and in 2010 the team's media center at the arena was dedicated to Hot Rod.

Randy Rigby, Utah Jazz President, said he considers himself blessed that he was able to see Rod on his last trip to Phoenix, where he said he was able to give the man a hug and express his love.

"Rod was struggling," Rigby said. "He was really fighting and was challenged with this very ugly disease of Alzheimer's,  and it was very hard to see a man that I loved and revered and respected fighting a whole different battle in his life."

Jazz legend Mark Eaton was active for the team during Hot Rod's tenure, and he said Hundley was a "huge part" of Jazz history.

"My rookie year I think we only had 17 games that were shown on television out of 82, so the remaining games, if you were listening as a fan, you were reliant on Hot Rod's description of what was occurring to give you a sense of the game," he said. "And I think that's where Hot Rod developed a lot of the jargon that people had come to know him by. And as players we always hoped he portrayed us in a good light because what he said about us was exactly what fans would think."

Rigby also spoke of Hundley's gift for description.

"I would get, many times, letters from people who were blind and would express how much how Rod Hundley made the game of basketball come alive for them," he said.

Eaton said Hundley's 35-year career is impressive.

"He covered my entire career," he said. "Every game I ever played, he announced. And like you said, he outlasted me and outlasted John [Stockton] and Karl [Malone] and everyone else. A true legend."

Hundley appeared in the 2006 movie Church Ball starring Fred Willard and Clint Howard. He had also been in talks for a movie that would have showcased his early childhood and basketball career.

A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Hundley showed evident talent for the game during his youth. At Charleston High School in West Virginia he averaged 30 points per game, breaking the state's four-year scoring record in just three years. He was offered many scholarships to universities.

Hundley played for WVU from 1954 to 1957. The Mountaineers made their first NCAA appearance and three total appearances between 1955 and 1957. During his junior year, Hundley averaged 26.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. He scored more than 40 points in a game six times, which led to the Mountaineers scoring over 100 points in nine games. The Mountaineers were ranked No. 20 in the nation in 1955 and No. 4 in 1956. Hundley holds a varsity school record with 54 points in a single game against Furman and holds a freshman team record of 62 points against Ohio.

Hundley was the fourth player in NCAA history to score more than 2,000 points during his career—and he did it in three years, because freshman then could not play varsity basketball. He averaged 24.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for three seasons and finished his collegiate career with 2,180 points. He was a two-time, first team All-American and currently holds eight school records. He is one of only two Mountaineers to be drafted first overall in an NBA draft, with Mark Workman going first overall to the Milwaukee Hawks five years earlier in the 1952 NBA draft. Once on a trip back to West Virginia to play in a charity game at the WVU Coliseum, constructed more than 10 years after he left WVU, Rod was said to have told Basketball Hall of Famer and fellow WVU alumnus Jerry West: "I built this building." West retorted, "Yeah but I paid it off.

In 1957, the Cincinnati Royals made Hundley the first pick of the NBA draft and immediately traded his rights to the Minneapolis Lakers. Hundley and Mark Workman, who also attended West Virginia, (1957 NBA draft) are the only No. 1 overall draft picks to come from the same high school.

Hundley played for the Lakers in Minneapolis and Los Angeles from 1957 until 1963, averaging 8.4 points per game and recording over 1,400 assists. He also played in two All Star games. His best season came in the 1959–60 season, when he averaged 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. On February 1, 1960, Hundley recorded a triple-double, a feat even more notable in his era, with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. On February 28, he scored a career high 33 points in a loss against the Philadelphia Warriors. That postseason, Hundley and the Lakers nearly made it back to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, but lost in a tough seven-game series to Bob Pettit and the St. Louis Hawks in the Western Division Finals, where Hundley averaged 10.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. The following year, during the 1960-61 NBA season, Hundley got teamed up with fellow Mountaineer legend Jerry West, as he was drafted in that year's draft.

Hundley finished his six-year professional career at age 28 (in 1963) due to his bad knees. His career totals were 3,625 points, 1,420 rebounds and 1,455 assists in his six seasons.

After his retirement, Hundley moved to the broadcast booth, working four seasons for the Phoenix Suns and four seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the early 1970s, he also teamed with Dick Enberg to call syndicated college basketball for TVS. Hundley was an NBA announcer for five years for CBS, where he called four All-Star Games; he worked two All-Star Games on ABC Radio.

 

Career history

1957–1963            Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers

Career highlights and awards

2× NBA All-Star (1960, 1961)

Consensus first-team All-American (1957)

Consensus second-team All-American (1956)

SoCon Player of the Year (1957)

No. 33 retired by West Virginia Mountaineers