Bingo!: Forty Years in the NBA is the memoir of legendary Los Angeles Clippers and sports broadcaster Ralph Lawler. Bingo! 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 stint 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 narrative. Included among the myriad stories and reflections are 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, coaches, and fellow broadcasters from throughout the NBA.

As Lawler used to memorably 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, including the definitive answer to the burning question all NBA fans want to know: What are the origins of Lawler's Law?

The person in charge of Editorial Content for the NBA has offered to help promote the book across the NBA's media and social media channels, including The NBA Channel, NBA.com, Hoop magazine, and across the NBA's various social media feeds and platforms. They love Ralph Lawler and Bill Walton and are happy to partner with us in promoting the book.

Publicity will be focused on major sports media outlets and Southern California media outlets, including ESPN, TBS Basketball, NBA Radio, FOX Sports, NBA.com, Bleacher Report, SLAM, NBA TV, SB Nation, HOOP, L.A. Times, Orange County Register, KLAC-AM.

There will be a book launch celebration at Staples Center before a Clippers game with a book signing at the Clippers store and interviews with the Clippers broadcasters at halftime.

Ralph Lawler has a significant social media reach, with over 21,000 followers on Twitter and over 6,000 on Instagram.

The book will be promoted on the NBA's social media accounts, which include over 35 million Twitter followers and over 60 million Instagram followers.

The book will be promoted on the Clippers social media accounts, which include nearly 2 million Twitter followers and over 3 million followers on Instagram.

Chris Paul (preface) will help promote the book. He has over 10 million followers on Twitter, and over 8 million followers on Instagram.

Bill Walton (foreword) will help promote the book. He has over 116,000 followers on Twitter, and over 83,000 followers on Instagram.

Doc Rivers (afterword) will help promote the book. He has 60,000 followers on Twitter.

About the Author
Ralph Lawler is best known for his 40-year tenure as the voice of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. However, he is one of a select 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, and 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 Hall of Fame and the California Sports Hall of Fame. Chris Epting is the author of 30 books, including James Dean Died Here (Santa Monica Press), Roadside Baseball (Santa Monica Press), John Oates' memoir Change of Seasons (St. Martin's Press) and the Doobie Brothers' memoir Long Train Runnin' (St. Martin's Press). Bill Walton was NCAA player of the year at UCLA from 1972 to 1974, when UCLA set an NCAA record 88 consecutive-game winning streak. A two-time NBA Champion and the NBA's 1978 MVP, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and was named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team. He has also had a successful award-winning broadcasting career with ABC, ESPN, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, Turner, and Fox, among others. Chris Paul is a 12-time NBA All-Star, a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, was named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2006, and played for the Los Angeles Clippers from 2011-2017. Doc Rivers is a former NBA All-Star, was the NBA Coach of the Year in 2000, won an NBA Championship as the coach of the Boston Celtics in 2008, and was the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers from 2013-2020.

Reviews

"Ralph Lawler-a rare and different dude, and a spiritual force of nature beyond description-is as fine a broadcaster, friend, and human being as has ever lived."-Bill Walton

"Few people can match my love for the game and the NBA's 75-year history, but I met my match in Ralph Lawler. The NBA, the Clippers, and all of us who knew Ralph during his Hall of Fame career miss him as we continue our lives in this great sport."-Chris Paul, NBA player

"There have been very few broadcasters in the history of professional sports who had the impact on their team like Ralph Lawler had on the Clippers. You could make the claim that Ralph was the most important figure in the history of the franchise. For decades, Ralph informed, educated, and entertained generations of Clippers fans. Now he's doing more of the same with this wonderful book. He is truly one of the great voices in NBA broadcasting history, and personally, one of my broadcasting heroes."-Mike Breen, Basketball Hall of Fame broadcaster

"Ralph provided 40-plus years of the most consistent excellence that the Clippers ever mustered . . . and he STILL had endless stories to share. His commentary became synonymous with the franchise-in the grand L.A. tradition of Vin Scully, Chick Hearn, and Bob Miller-and now Ralph's tales will live in one place forever. I loved being able to replay them all in Bingo!"-Marc Stein, Basketball Hall of Fame NBA journalist

"I listened to Ralph Lawler through all the ups and downs . . . for so many years. Now I feel like I'm listening to him all over again. The mark of a terrific book is if it sounds like the author. If you know Ralph, you'll love this book. If you don't . . . you'll love this book. This is an intimate, honest account of a great career and a great life. BINGO!"-Billy Crystal, Clippers fan

"Ralph Lawler was an NBA institution, narrating the ridiculous lows and sudden highs of an NBA franchise with a steady sense of humor and an amazing depth of knowledge. I was lucky to hear so many of these stories in press rooms around the country with Ralph and his sweet Jo and Bingo! captures that energy. With the Clippers, Ralph lived one of the NBA's wildest rides and you'll love traveling it again with him in these pages."-Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times

"The retired Clippers broadcaster has written a book that's rich with basketball history that's both broad and personal."-Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register

"I have known Ralph for at least 45 years dating back to my days coaching the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA. He remains as current today as he was then. This book sees him relating the present-day NBA player and game to what he saw in the 1950s. It is a unique perspective on our great sport. Ralph stands as the unabashed historian of the L.A. Clippers and here he details all the good, bad, and ugly. This is an informative and entertaining read."-Hubie Brown, Basketball Hall of Fame NBA coach and broadcaster

"Wow! Does this rekindle memories. Bingo! is a real basketball story, accurately reported and written. This book is a winner! Ralph, thanks for sharing these stories. What a career, what a great read!"-Al McCoy, the Voice of the Suns

"For those who were fans of Ralph Lawler the broadcaster, and for those who had never heard of Ralph Lawler, Bingo! reveals an interesting man living an interesting life. For those who are fans of the NBA or who love basketball, Bingo! is well-worth the effort. And for those who are fascinated by the vicissitudes of life, there is more than enough to keep you engaged with Bingo! and Ralph Lawler. To use Lawler's famous tag line, 'Oh me, oh my.'"-New York Journal of Books

"As the voice of the Clippers, Lawler's epic calls of 'Bingo!' or 'Oh me, oh my!' ring in the ears of any basketball fan who's watched the team's games over the years. . . . Now retired, his storied life and his well-founded takes on all of the NBA's greatest teams and players ever, is now chronicled in his book Bingo!: Forty Years in the NBA."-Khary Higgins, NBA.com

"A rollicking ride through the blessed life of a hoops junkie who hit the motherlode: broadcasting his favorite team's games for 40 years. It's a sports fan's dream, and the book reads like it."-Paul Teeter, Easy Reader News

Book Information
ISBN 9781595801104
Author Ralph Lawler
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Santa Monica Press
Publisher Santa Monica Press