On what would’ve been Les Grobstein’s 70th birthday, the city of Chicago is honoring one of its legendary broadcasters on Friday. Mayor Lori Lightfoot officially proclaimed March 11 “Les Grobstein Day in Chicago.”
The celebration is “in recognition of his indelible contributions to Chicago sports and encourages all residents to join in honoring the life of a man whose legacy will live on in the hearts and lives of all those who knew and loved him,” wrote Mayor Lightfoot.
Danny Parkins, Grobstein’s colleague at 670 The Score, shared the official proclamation from Mayor Lightfoot on Twitter, which included several tributes to the longtime overnight host’s 50-year radio career in the city. Among them, his previous stints at WLS (890-AM) and WMVP (1000-AM), calling play-by-play for UIC hockey, and his 1983 recording of the infamous tirade by Chicago Cubs manager Lee Elia (which Chicago White Sox slugger Paul Konerko compared to the Zapruder film).
“Les Grobstein was known as a walking sports encyclopedia,” Lightfoot added, “who had an ironclad memory of even the smallest details and who equally loved all Chicago sports from high school, college, professional and everything in between.”
Grobstein, who passed away in January, was a Chicago native who started his broadcasting career calling Northwestern basketball games. After the aforementioned stints at WLS and WMVP, he joined 670 The Score, where he hosted the overnight show for 13 years and built a loyal following.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is also releasing a commemorative bobblehead in Grobstein’s honor. The figure depicts a smiling “Grobber” with a press pass around his neck, a microphone in his right hand, and his iconic tape recorder in his left hand. The base is decorated with a 670 The Score logo and a button that plays sound clips from Grobstein.
Grobstein’s bobblehead is only available through the museum’s online store at a retail price of $30. The figures are expected to ship in July. The bobblehead is being produced by the museum with Grobstein’s family and AUTOGRAPH1.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
