Remembering Jim Healy

Let’s get right to it.

The first memory comes from over 700 miles away!

“My friend and I were a product of the generation of kids who grew up listening to his daily radio program, via our late fathers,” writes Laurie Betlach of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“I’ve lived in New Mexico for the past 29 years, but every once in a while, some of the soundbites from Jim’s show pop in my head. For instance, the other day while shopping at a Daiso store in Santa Fe, I was looking for crackers, but couldn’t seem to find any. So I thought to myself, “Do the Japanese eat crackers?” Then, immediately, the phrase ‘Did the Japanese sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor before they bombed ‘em?’ came to mind … thanks for the memories.”

Lauren Siefel knew Healy personally. She wrote, “Your column brought a big smile to my face. I was a writer for ‘The Ring’ magazine, the bible of boxing. I spent every Thursday evening at the old Olympic Auditorium sitting next to ‘old Clackety Clack’ …  I knew him quite well and loved his openness and communication. He shared things about his daughter, who was married to a pro golfer, Cory Pavin. What a great guy to know!”

Steve Geary of Corona del Mar also worked with Healey.

“As a young man studying communications at university, I wanted to do a story on local sports reporters and announcers,” he wrote. “After being rebuffed by more than a few, Jim Healy happily agreed — not only to an interview, but to inviting me into his studio to observe a live broadcast.

“While the content of the show was always hilarious, watching him work was a performance of a different stripe altogether. He did everything himself, surrounded by stacks of tapes, grabbing one, firing it off, then tossing it to the floor as he seamlessly cued up the next. It was controlled chaos, and he was the conductor. Honestly, he would have dominated today’s podcast world.”

What was he like personally? Geary says Healy was “unfailingly kind.”

“Years later, he signed a photo that ran in the LA Times — him holding a stack of those very tapes — with an inscription I still treasure: ‘To Steve, my only fan!’”

Of course, his own family would know him best.

“You captured the essence of his show (and his personality),” writes retired NBC4 reporter — and son of Jim — Patrick Healy. “Thanks for remembering.”

I asked Patrick what it was like to grow up with such a well-known and humorous father; turns out, it was quite a ride.

“It really was fun being his son,” he explained, “I’ll never forget the time Sandy Koufax came by the house. Or when a couple of boxers Dad had invited over for a party began going at it in the living room. Or tagging along with him to a clubhouse or the backstretch. I think the best way to summarize his personality is that, when you were with him, his biggest fear was that you would get bored. He was always ‘on,’ always going out of his way to make sure everyone was entertained.”

Reader Lari wrote regarding the “sounders” that Healy used and how well they are remembered by Healy’s fans. “More than once, I have been at an event and somehow his name comes up. Without missing a beat, the phrases would start. Seeing the expressions on people’s faces as they heard and watched us spewing out nonsensical phrases, followed by bursts of laughter, was a sight to behold.

To those who never heard him, Lari concluded, “How could you explain what was so funny about the phrase ‘She is a lovely lady, and my apologies to her.’”

Tom Kaczmarek of Los Alamitos sent along an old print ad featuring Tommy Lasorda, bringing to life the famous Healy sounder, “Who goofed, I’ve got to know.” As explained by Kaczmarek, “Many, many years ago, I saw this ad in the Orange County Register. Being a loyal Healy fan, I faxed it to Jim. Later that day, as I was driving home down the Cajon Pass, he read it just as I had written it. Smiled all the way home.”

The ad featured Tommy Lasorda speaking on behalf of the Mark Cresse School of Baseball; the first copy quoted Lasorda saying, “I’ve been to many camps. The quality of this program is uncomfortable.” Later ads had the correct word “uncomparable.” Which isn’t actually a word, is it?

Dan Rothblum is keeping Healy’s memory alive through his own grandchild. As he explains it, “Healy used to refer to Leonard Tose, the past owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, to say that he lost it when he made a questionable decision. Eventually, he turned into saying that others had ‘gone Leonard’ when they ‘lost it.’

“I have used that phrase for decades, and now my 5-year-old grandson in DC uses it in kindergarten (“Have you gone Leonard?”) and no one knows what he’s talking about!”

True believers know. Yes, we know.

Schedules were made around his daily show. Fred Rinaldi describes his own ritual: ”I planned my drive/dinner so I could listen to it,” he writes, adding, “You forgot to mention his show ran over the 6 o’clock hour many, many times, up to a half hour after. He was one of a kind, for sure.”

As I said, the letters and emails were numerous, far too many to print them all here. I’ll try to run more in the future.