Chet W. Coppock (April 30, 1948 – April 17, 2019) was an American radio broadcaster, television broadcaster,

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

personality and author based in Chicago. His fifth book “Chet Coppock: In Pursuit of Chet Coppock” was released in July 2018. Coppock hosted the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Heritage Series, and emceed corporate sponsorship events for the Blackhawks featuring former NHL stars such as Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito and Denis Savard. He was an occasional contributor to the ''Rant and Rave'' segment on FOX 32 Chicago (

WFLD WFLD (channel 32) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Gary, Indiana–licensed MyNetworkTV ...

) with Lou Canellis. In 2013, Coppock was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and honored with the Jack Brickhouse Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, Coppock had served as state chairman of Indiana Easter Seals and Indiana March of Dimes, a national spokesman for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation (BAF), and had worked with other charities and foundations to help raise awareness, generate support, and increase research funding. Coppock was also a spokesperson for American Taxi and had done commercial work in the past for clients including McDonald's, Wheaties (National TV spots), Chevrolet and P.F. Chang’s — appearing with Chicago sports legends Michael Jordan and Walter Payton. Coppock also participated as a ring announcer for Wrestlemania 2 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Ill

Biography

Broadcasting career

In 1966, at age 17, Coppock broadcast football and basketball on WNTH radio, the school radio station at

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in Northfield, Illinoi ...

Winnetka, IL Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...

. In 1970–1971, Coppock was hired to produce the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

radio network. Coppock hosted Sport Rap, a nightly Chicago TV talk show on

WSNS WSNS-TV (channel 44) is a television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the Spanish-language Telemundo network. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station ...

TV, before eventually becoming a staff announcer with

TV in Chicago. While at WFLD, Coppock developed a friendship with promoter Gerry Seltzer. The association soon led Coppock into a role as the national TV voice of the

Roller Derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...

, a position he occupied for several years. In the mid-1970s, Coppock held a six-year tenure as sports director at then CBS-affiliate

WISH-TV WISH-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is locally owned by Circle City Broadcasting alongside Marion-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV (channel 23) and low-power, C ...

(now a CW affiliate) in Indianapolis. His anchor desk partners included

Jane Pauley Margaret Jane Pauley (born October 31, 1950) is an American television host, and author, active in news reporting since 1972. Pauley first became widely known as Barbara Walters's successor on the NBC morning show ''Today'', beginning at the age ...

. In 1981, Coppock returned to Chicago and joined

WMAQ-TV WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo outlet WSNS-TV (chan ...

for three years. In 1981, he was awarded a UPI Award in the category of Illinois Broadcasting and Best Sports. In 1984, while working as sports director at WMAQ radio, Coppock approached the station about creating an in-depth, interview-driven radio sports talk show. The move led to the creation of Coppock on Sports, a show in which Coppock spoke with athletes, coaches, GMs and media members in a longer, un-cut magazine format. In 1986, Coppock served as ring announcer during the Chicago portion of

WrestleMania 2 WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event took place on April 7, 1986 (a Monday), making ...

. Coppock's other appearances for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

include his role as commentator alongside

Gorilla Monsoon Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyw ...

for RadioWWF at

WrestleMania X WrestleMania X was the 10th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on March 20, 1994, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The central ...

. He also promoted wrestling events featuring such competitors as

Verne Gagne Laverne Clarence Gagne (February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, football player, wrestling trainer, and wrestling promoter. He was the owner and promoter of the Minneapolis-based American Wrestling ...

Baron von Raschke James Donald Raschke (born July 30, 1940) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Baron von Raschke. Early life Raschke was a three-year letterman with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Cornhuskers wrest ...

, and

Dick the Bruiser William Fritz Afflis (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and former NFL player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with the Green Bay Pac ...

. Some of these shows were held at Chicago's

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

. In 1988, Coppock moved to WLUP in Chicago to continue ''Coppock on Sports'' and also host the pre-game, half-time and post-game shows for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

radio network. Coppock hosted '' Back Table'', an interview show that was carried by SportsChannel/Fox Sports Net. He also co-hosted ''The

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...

Radio Show'' as well as talk shows featuring NBA coaches

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

and Doug Collins. In 1990–1991 Coppock served as the studio host for the NBA radio network. In 1992, he received a Chicago/Midwest Area Emmy Award for his work on '' Chicago Bears Weekly''. In 1994, Coppock hosted '' NewSportTalk'' on

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

in New York and was one of sixty notable Chicagoans featured in the book ''Great Chicago Stories: Portraits and Stories'' by Sam Landers. In the late 90s, Coppock was heard on

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

Chicago and WMAQ 670 AM Chicago. In 1999, Coppock received the Peter Lisagor Award for Journalistic Excellence. From August 2000 to February 2006, ''Coppock on Sports'' made a return to the airwaves on

Sporting News Radio SportsMap is a sports radio Radio network, network that is distributed by Gow Media. The SportsMap Radio Network supplies its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its h ...

. Between 2006 and 2015, Coppock hosted Notre Dame football and basketball pregame and postgame shows on WLS Radio. In 2009, Coppock launched the ''Coppock On Sports'' podcast, featured in the podcast section of Apple's

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

store. The podcast features regular appearances from ESPN Legal Analyst

Lester Munson Lester is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname and given name. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name * Lester Bangs (1948–1982), American music critic * Lester W. Bentley (1908–1972), American artist from Wiscon ...

, and former MLB 31-game winner Denny McClain. In 2009, Coppock penned the ''Coppock on Sports'' blog, covering Chicago sports for www.ChicagoNow.com. Also in 2009, Coppock published his first book titled, ''Fat Guys Shouldn't be Dancin' at Halftime'', published by Triumph Books. Coppock hosted ''The Winning Edge'' on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

. In 2011, Coppock appeared as a featured content contributor for the ''Heritage Series'' on the

website, and continues to occasionally emcee Blackhawks events. In 2011, Coppock launched DailyCoppock.com with business partner Michael Romano. DailyCoppock.com features Coppock's video blogs, Coppock's magazine-style video interviews with sports headliners, and Coppock's written blogs on sports and culture. In 2013, Coppock was named the recipient of the "Jack Brickhouse Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame. Coppock is an occasional contributor to the "Rant and Rave" segment on FOX 32 Chicago (

) with anchor Lou Canellis. In 2014, Coppock published his second book titled, ''Chet Coppock: Laying it on the Line'', self-published. In 2015, Coppock published his third book titled ''Buffone: Monster of the Midway: My 50 Years with the Chicago Bears,'' published by Triumph Books.

Movie career

In 2007, Coppock served as a football consultant and had an on camera role in the motion picture " The Express: The Ernie Davis Story" starring

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...

and Rob Brown. The film was released in October 2008.

Personal life

On February 14, 2007, Coppock was attacked in the parking lot following a

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

basketball game in

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

. Jaime A. Waldron of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

was found guilty of battery after pleading not guilty, and he was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and ordered to pay court costs. Coppock was involved in a car accident in

Okatie, South Carolina Okatie (pronounced "OH-kuh-tee") is an unincorporated suburban community west of Hilton Head Island, located in Beaufort and Jasper counties, in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Okatie takes its name from the nearby Okatee River, an estuary of t ...

, on April 6, 2019. He was taken to Memorial University Medical Center in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, where he died from injuries sustained in the accident on April 17.

Books

Coppock published five books: ''"If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Chicago Bears Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box with Otis Wilson"'' (Triumph Books, 2017), ''"Fat Guys shouldn't be Dancin' at Half Time"'' (Triumph Books, 2009), ''"Chet Coppock: Laying it On the Line"'' (Self Published, 2014), ''"Buffone: Monster of the Midway: My 50 Years with the Chicago Bears"'' (Triumph Books, 2015). and Your Dime, My Dance Floor (Eckhartz Press, 2018).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coppock, Chet 1948 births 2019 deaths People from Winnetka, Illinois Writers from Illinois Television anchors from Indianapolis American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers Professional wrestling announcers National Basketball Association broadcasters National Football League announcers Dallas Cowboys announcers Milwaukee Bucks announcers Chicago Blackhawks announcers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football announcers Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) commentators Road incident deaths in South Carolina