Herbie Kuhn was born and raised in the beach district of Toronto. He was an avid sports fan with a love for hockey and rugby. He graduated from Vanier College, Montreal in 1994, earning a degree in language and literature. It was there at Vanier College where he began sports announcing. Herbie Kuhn has been the public address announcer for the Toronto Raptors since the team originated in 1995. Additionally, he is the Raptors co-chaplain as well as the lead chaplain for the Toronto Argonauts. He has won 3 professional championships (2 with the Argonauts, 1 with the Raptors). Kuhn is famous for his many sayings including, “J-J-J-JAM” and “TO-RON-TO RAP-TORS.” We discussed how he worked to get to his position, his role as the team chaplain, aspects of working in sport, along with what is next for Herbie Kuhn.
Kuhn was amongst many people to be considered for the job of public address announcer for the Toronto Raptors. He tells the story of how he went from a student at Vanier College, to the public address announcer for the Toronto Raptors:
“I started announcing at Vanier College with football and basketball as their in-house public address announcer. When I figured out you could get paid money for shouting into a microphone while announcing for a team, I felt that was pretty cool.
Towards the end of my time at Vanier, I learned that Toronto and Hamilton will be co-hosting the FIBA World Championships in August of 1994. This gives an insight to how old I am, I put together a VHS tape with some old highlights of my announcing. I was chosen as one of about a dozen announcers for the World Championships. I prepared very thoroughly and extensively by researching the names of players.
After day 1 of the tournament, one of the announcers got fired and they gave me his games to add to the ones I was originally assigned. I ended up announcing for 13 of the 16 countries by the time the tournament was done. What I did not know at the time was the group that ran those World Championships was John Bitove’s group, the original majority owner of the Toronto Raptors; also announced as coming to Toronto in ‘95. The gentleman who hired me to be one of the dozen announcers during the world championships was the same gentleman who had a say in hiring the public address announcer for the Toronto Raptors. I’ve been doing it for 25 years now and am still enjoying it.”
There is no denying Herbie Kuhn worked hard to get him to where he is now. After receiving the position of public address announcer for the Toronto Raptors, it was now time for Kuhn to show off his talent on a professional level. With the build of the new team, Kuhn touches on what it was like to get started with the NBA’s newest franchise at the time:
“In October I was on the team plane to our first ever preseason game in Nova Scotia. It was really exciting, being able to do that first ever basketball game with Damon Stoudamire in the line up and Isiah Thomas as our general manager. And then that original home opener on November 3rd, 1995 in the SkyDome against the New Jersey Nets, that was an intense experience. The crowd was huge. There were people sitting in seats where they couldn’t see the court. They could only watch the screen above the court. I’ve watched video of my opening introductions and my first time ever going “TO-RON-TO RAP-TORS” and it feels weird. I look back on it fondly.”
Kuhn is not only the voice of the Toronto Raptors, but he is also the team’s co-chaplain and the lead chaplain for the Toronto Argonauts. Being a chaplain allows Kuhn to be able to communicate the word of God, something he cares deeply about.
“I already knew Steve Kearns, the chaplain for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when I was announcing for the Raptors. On November 3rd, 1996, a year after the Raptors first home opener I made the decision to become a Christian. One of our assistant coaches at the time, Jim Thomas talked to me about starting a chaplaincy program with the Raptors. I didn’t know how to get that started but I did know someone. Jim arranged for a credential for Steve and that’s how we got started.
As a chaplain with the Argonauts, we provide weekly bible studies for players and coaches. With the Raptors, we have pre-game chapel before tip-off for every home game. We usually discuss a particular theme or passage and relate the scripture to real life. My goal isn’t necessarily to get them (players) more excited to play, but to get them to be more appreciative and have a better balance in life as a whole.”
Kuhn definitely has many important roles within the organizations. None of these roles can be accomplished without preparation. His positions require himself to be heard by others, and when people are listening you never want to make a mistake. Kuhn makes sure he is prepared for every night, making it key to his success;
“Always be prepared. Success is when preparation meets opportunity. Everybody will have opportunities in their lives, everybody will have opportunities to move forward, but not everybody is prepared when those opportunities present themselves. I was prepared for the World Championships because I did the research and I asked for the rosters ahead of time. I found people who spoke Korean, Spanish, Croatian, Greek and asked how you say certain names; I wouldn’t leave unless I could say those names well. When the opportunity came for me to announce, I was ready for it. You need to be honing your craft, you can’t just settle. The moment you settle someone else is coming from behind you to take your spot. I’m sure there is somebody else who wants to be the public address announcer for the Raptors but I’m not quite ready to relinquish that yet.”
Even though this will be his 25th season with the Toronto Raptors, he still prepares for every game to make sure he is at his absolute best. When working for the Raptors and the Argonauts, you are bound to make connections with the athletes. Kuhn discusses the added values of working in the sports industry:
“The relationships. I mean the people I have gotten to meet, the people who I call friends now. I grew up watching sports on tv and going to the occasional live event. I idolized these athletes. And now, I know these people. I know Norman Powell, Michael “Pinball” Clemons, and Isiah Thomas to name a few. A lot of these people, I have their number in my phone and text with them and keep in touch. Last year when the Raptors won the Eastern Conference Finals, Ray Allen, the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made leader sent me an e-mail congratulating the team and I on making it to the big dance (NBA Finals). And of course, the seat where I sit is a serious bonus as well. Not many people can say they get to sit front row and center for every NBA game in Toronto.
Another bonus is being able to use the gift that God has given to me, this voice. I’m doing my best to honour him by using this gift the best I can. In December I get an NBA championship ring. That will be my 3rd professional championship ring. I have 2 Grey Cup rings and will be getting an NBA Raptors championship ring. Those things are really cool, but at the end of the day it’s those relationships that are really special to me.”
Kuhn understands there is more to life than championship rings and banners. He understands what specific benefits of his job are most important to him. When asking Kuhn about his next goal in his professional career, he touched on once again that he works for more than just a championship:
“Everyone who gets in sports wants to win, nobody goes into it to be mediocre or finish second. I am grateful for my professional level accomplishments, but at the end of the day they are only fulfilling on a temporary basis because once the seasons done, it’s on to the next one. For me, I would like to continue to be faithful to my calling. My greatest legacy would be to be able to say I’ve laid it all out on the line every night I was there. Every single game I want to lay it on the line, I want to be exhausted at the end of every game. If that’s my legacy, regardless of how many championships I do or don’t win, I want people to be able to say Herbie used his God given talent every single time, game in and game out as an announcer and a chaplain. Sharing the message and trying to influence the lives of others, that will be my greatest legacy for me from a professional sports perspective.”
“Sometimes I look back and wonder how did this happen. I’m still enjoying it, I’m still a GTA guy, I still live in Toronto. I have a wonderful wife and a teenage son and life is good.” – Herbie Kuhn
Written By: Alex Kieffer
Twitter – @HerbieKuhn
SPAD Players Tribune 