Johnny "Red" Kerr

Johnny 'Red' Kerr once played in a record 844 straight NBA games and as the Bulls' TV analyst, the lifelong Chicagoan is STILL AN IRONMAN

By K.C. Johnson Tribune staff reporter Published January 16, 2005

Johnny "Red" Kerr turned 72 last July, one month after an operation on his artificial left hip, five months after having a toe amputated and one year and some change after having a stent placed in his heart to correct an irregularity.

Kerr is confident his health will be better in 2005, which marks 55 years since he starred at Tilden Tech and his 37th year of association with the Bulls, for whom he served as their first coach. Given his age and what he has endured, which includes the death of his wife of 46 years, Betsy, in October 2000, will Kerr ever retire from his 31-season run as television analyst?

Perhaps a better question is: Will Kerr ever stop singing karaoke? "I karaoke up at the Village Pub in North Riverside," Kerr says, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "One of my granddaughters recently said she admires me not for basketball, but because I can karaoke and moonwalk." Let's see Michael Jackson try that with an artificial hip.

Love him, hate him or tolerate him, Kerr has become part of the Chicago broadcasting landscape. As a player-turned-broadcaster, he doesn't have the play-by-play chops of Harry Caray, Jack Brickhouse or Lloyd Pettit. But his longevity as a color analyst has left him as identifiable as any of those broadcasting giants and one of the undisputed faces on the Bulls' Mt. Rushmore.

"He's one of the youngest old people I know," says Jim Angio, a director for Comcast SportsNet who has worked with Kerr for 22 years. "We'll both have our iPods out and he'll say, `Hey, Ange, I got Blink 182!' What 72-year-old listens to Blink 182?" Like most age-defying aspects of Kerr, the answer is not many. Kerr is as unique and energetic as Dennis Rodman, which is why his health problems bothered him more than he let on, say those who know him best.

This is, after all, one of the main ringleaders for social activities on the road and a busy man at home, where he burns CDs, surfs the Internet and takes visits from his five children, 10 grandchildren and girlfriend. Colleagues say it's not uncommon for Kerr to take over the loudspeaker on the team bus and start crooning. Or close down a bar after a road game and then send e-mails six hours later, perhaps with a to-do list for that off day. "I have to keep the concierge busy," Kerr says. That's why his long stays inside his hotel rooms on this season's annual extended November "circus" trip were so noticeable. Colleagues finally coaxed him out for an expensive dinner at a Salt Lake City steakhouse. "The check came, Johnny looked at me and he said, `Now I know why you jerks wanted me to go out with you,'" says Tom Dore, his television partner of 14 years.

That's Kerr, quick with a quip and typically the life of the party. "If he didn't have this job, I don't know if we'd be lucky to have Johnny Kerr on this Earth," Angio says. "He lives for this job. It doesn't define him, but he lives for it. The anticipation of seeing another game keeps him going." Adds Dore: "What this guy has done as far as being true to his job and to his passion has been unbelievable. If people knew how tough it was for him just to get to the arena, much less do everything he had to do when he got there, they'd be shocked."

Kerr began this season using a cane to offset the limp he still had after his hip surgery, in which maintenance was needed to clean out his artificial hip. His closest colleagues--Angio, Dore, Wayne Larrivee, Neil Funk, Bill Wennington, producer Bob Albrecht - would help carry his bags and walk slowly with him as the frantic pace inherent in heavy travel continued. Kerr even fell off a chair before the Nov. 21 Lakers game in Los Angeles, which, of course, is good fodder for his cohorts in a sports world where nothing is sacred. "We call it the controlled fall," Angio says, laughing. When the Bulls returned home at 2:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day after the 10-day circus trip, a solid sheet of ice greeted those departing the charter jet. Kerr had to be helped to a nearby van. Six hours later, he was sending e-mails. One week later, Kerr ditched the cane. "That speaks to his independence," Albrecht says. Kerr says he is still a bit gimpy, but he is feeling better and coping with the pain. "Getting old isn't for sissies," he says.

Kerr isn't in that category. A 6-foot-9-inch center, he once had the record for most consecutive NBA games played at 844, still the third-longest streak in league history.

"I don't know if him feeling better coincides with the Bulls playing better," Funk says. "But given his love for them, I wouldn't be surprised." That love hasn't wavered as the dynasty days moved to the rebuilding woes. "I still really enjoy doing the games," Kerr says. "Hanging around with these young kids makes you younger. I'm not hanging with 72-year-olds all the time. I think you stay sharper."

Kerr remains the Bulls' biggest cheerleader, which has drawn him some fire. Just like Caray, Kerr has his share of detractors, who say he has slipped as a broadcaster and is retained merely for his familiarity with viewers. A recent caller to a local sports radio show said he keeps a tally of how many times per game Kerr says something wrong. Others say he is too much of a "homer." His colleagues, obviously, defend him. Angio and Albrecht point to how his pregame "keys to the game" are typically prescient. "If he gets a guy's name wrong or mispronounces something, I don't care because what he's giving you is a coach's perspective on the floor," Dore says. "He knows the game plan. Even [Scott] Skiles calls him `Coach.'" Kerr says he once had a three-year contract and now just gets a note from Steve Schanwald, the Bulls' executive vice president of business operations, matter-of-factly stating that his one-year option is being renewed.

"I hope that's the way it stays," Kerr says. "[Bulls Chairman] Jerry Reinsdorf has been a great boss, as has Steve. If you have a problem, they take care of it and want you back as soon as possible." Kerr has peers around the league. In Boston, Tommy Heinsohn is still providing color commentary. Indiana has Bob "Slick" Leonard, an opponent from college all-star games when Kerr starred for the University of Illinois. Utah considers Rodney "Hot Rod" Hundley part of the local landscape.

Funk theorizes that their longevity is possibly part of the motivation for Kerr to keep broadcasting. But Funk knows the main reason. "Having been their first coach, I've never seen a guy who has hung in through the bad times as much as Red," Funk says. "He loves being around the game and the young players. I've been here 14 years. I don't ever remember Johnny Kerr saying, `I have a cold or a sore throat or I don't feel well.' You can see why he played 844 straight games, which is unbelievable. His constitution has allowed him to be around the game for this long."

Funk teamed with current general manager John Paxson for seven seasons on radio broadcasts and now has Wennington as a partner. He is close to both men. "But if I lost Red, I'd be in my hotel room all day," Funk says. "He's the one who has always got an activity planned."

So how much longer will Kerr be planning activities and analyzing games? The mischievous twinkle returns to Kerr's eye when he is asked this question directly. "Last year, my hip was bothering me and I was thinking to myself, `Do I really want to do this again?'" Kerr says. "But then after I got the hip done, I said, `Why not?' So I'm here. And I love it again. I don't know if this is the last hurrah or not." If it is, bus rides and local watering holes around the country won't be the same. With the games and the travel and the close camaraderie, there is a unique rhythm to any basketball season. Kerr has savored singing every note.

(Sidenote - Johnny "Red" Kerr was a member of my fraternity at University of Illinois and his son's family attends our old parish St. Alexander's in Villa Park - He is one of the reason's I enjoy watching the Bulls.)