https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/b ... story.htmlTo know Chet Coppock was to get swept up in the presence of a literal and figurative giant. The 6-foot-6 sportscasting legend dispensed brash opinions and hilarious anecdotes, all the while guzzling Diet Cokes and showering unmitigated flattery on those in his presence.
His friends returned the favor Monday at a memorial service at St. Pauls United Church of Christ in Lincoln Park.
“He was bigger than life,” ABC-7 sports anchor Mark Giangreco said. “He had more flair than Ric Flair.”
Blackhawks President John McDonough described Coppock as “vulnerable, candid, self-deprecating, caring and an absolute original, a Rembrandt.”
Coppock’s daughter, Lyndsey, captured his essence in these two words: “He lived.”
The New Trier East and Columbia College alumnus would have turned 71 on Tuesday. He worked until the end, hosting Blackhawks events, tag-teaming with college football recruiting guru Tom Lemming on a book project and venturing to South Carolina to do voice-over work on a boxing documentary.
It was outside Hilton Head Island, S.C., where Coppock sustained fatal injuries in an April 6 car accident and died 11 days later. He was a passenger, an unusual role for a man who lived behind the wheel, dictating the action.
“He described himself,” radio executive David Abrams eulogized, “as part pro wrestler, part carnival barker, part hustler and part journalist.”
That combination made him a broadcasting sensation with oft-imitated lines (“Your dime, your dance floor”) and a cheeky style that audiences both loved and loathed. His relationships with industry figures such as Dan McNeil ran hot and cold.
“He was vulnerable and very human — and willing to share that,” McNeil said Monday. “There’s no one who did more to help advance my career. We had our share of battles over the years, and I’m glad it was on the uptick at the end.”
The tie McNeil chose — black with the Rolling Stones tongue-and-lips logo — symbolized their bond and mutual love for the band. Coppock gave it to McNeil as a gift in the 1980s. Decades later, McNeil reconciled their relationship by inviting his mentor to a Stones concert.
“I’ll never forget his reaction to the Bobby Keys sax solo on ‘Brown Sugar,’ ” said McNeil, who co-hosts a show on WSCR-AM 670. “Chet sticks out his arm and says: ‘Dangerous, I’ve seen the boys at least 25 times. Best he’s ever banged it out!’ ”
There was no wishy-washy in Coppock’s world, only absolutes.
“He was a hugely extroverted person,” Rev. Matt Fitzgerald remarked in his homily. “Chet wanted to be seen. He demanded to be seen. Imagine being 6-6 and wearing a raccoon coat that went down to your ankles.”
Coppock had the power and popularity in the ’80s to be a sports-anchor monster. The Ron Burgundy character from “Anchorman” was close enough to Coppock’s persona that Giangreco joked the film was a documentary, not a comedy.
But amid all the “infighting and backstabbing in the industry,” as Giangreco put it, “Chet mentored me and protected me. It was viciously competitive and I was scared to death. He brought in his roller-derby style and ate it up.”
Giangreco joked that when Coppock arrived at Chicago Stadium for a game, he did a lap around the court or rink just so everyone saw him. And Giangreco drew laughs when reminiscing about the time a sportswriter labeled Coppock a “chameleon.”
Coppock looked at Giangreco quizzically and asked, “What’s a chamelon?”
Giangreco got choked up when he concluded: “He might have been a chameleon to some, but he showed his true colors to me. Chet was a Chicago original and I will miss him dearly.”
Coppock’s son, Tyler, and the Score’s Bruce Levine also eulogized him, with Levine saying: “Chet would want you to know that he never matured after his 13th birthday. He’d want you to know that at 7, he knew he wanted to succeed Jack Brickhouse, his idol. He came damn close.”
Hundreds gathered on a cold, soggy Monday morning to recount stories and joke about Coppock’s bleached-blond hair.
The first time he met Bulls announcer Chuck Swirsky, Coppock said: “I have a question for you: How can such a little man have such a big voice?”
Lemming said when he would appear on Coppock’s radio show, the host would introduce him as “one of my dearest friends.”
“At that point,” Lemming said with a laugh, “I’d never met him!”
They developed a friendship, as Coppock did with countless Chicago athletes and executives. Bobby Hull and Denis Savard paid their respects Monday, as did Ronnie “Woo Woo” Wickers in his pinstripe Cubs jersey.
“He’d introduce Hull, (Stan) Mikita, Savard and (Chris) Chelios with absolutely no regard for the facts,” McDonough joked. “He’s the only person I knew who could embellish the careers of guys already in the Hall of Fame.”
In his later years, Coppock felt some allies turned their backs on him. Friends attending Monday’s ceremony agreed he would have relished the spotlight.
“Chet, even you would have been overwhelmed by Chicago’s outpouring the last few weeks,” McDonough said in his eulogy. “However, you would have inflated today’s gathering to be roughly 20,000-plus.
“You’re on a new dance floor. Chet, I love you.”
tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com
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