Chuck Crabb: 'I've Been Blessed to Do a Job I've Loved for 45 Years'
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Right around Chuck Crabb's 70th birthday, he got a not-so-subtle reminder from his wife Madeline, his bride for four-plus decades, that she thought about retirement far more than he did.
"Madeline said to me, 'I know you're not thinking about retirement, but I sure am,' '' said Crabb, the public address announcer for Indiana basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the past 45 years who announced his retirement on Monday. "She was looking for houses in Southwest Florida, in the Venice/Englewood area, and she came by one not 10 minutes from Manasota Key, which is an area we've always loved, and we bought it last year.
"She's been down there since last year, and I spent June there, a few weekends, some time in December. We love it there. So it's not a health issue for me, or a forced issue. It's just simply time.'
Crabb, who's also been Indiana's Associate Athletic Director for Facilities since 1990 — ''my day job that most people really don't know that I have'' — retired effective immediately. It's all very sudden, but he said that his decision to stop now had a lot to do with the events of last weekend following the death of John Harmon, who worked for Crabb at Assembly Hall for 26 years. Harmon passed away suddenly at age 66.
"It all became crystal clear to me last weekend after John Harmon passed away,'' Crabb said Monday during a lengthy interview. "John was 66 years old and had worked for me for 26 years, and his family asked me to be the master of ceremonies of sorts, an officiant if you will, after he had passed.
"I heard so many people, his family and his dear friends, say all weekend long about how much John was looking forward to retirement, and to spending time with his kids and grandkids. That all really got me thinking. It was hard, but I sat down with (athletics director) Scott Dolson and Steve Harper — Indiana's deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer — and we worked out the details of my retirement. I do have a day job, and I've loved that too for 32 years, so there was a lot to tie up. It's just time. I've been blessed to do a job I loved for 45 years, but it's time to go. We talked about the end of the season, but after last weekend, I just feel like it's the right time to make a clean break.''
Crabb graduated from Indiana in 1973 with a journalism degree, and has been working at Assembly Hall since it opened 50 years ago. He worked in the sports information office for a few years, and spent time working at the Bloomington Herald-Telephone newspaper for four years.
But then in 1977, he was hired to replace the great Bert Laws, who had been the voice of IU Athletics since 1936.
"I still pinch myself for the opportunity I got when Bert Laws first called me. He had been the public address announcer since 1936, and I was honored to be the one to replace him,'' Crabb said. "I was an Indiana University journalism school graduate, and in the spirit of Ernie Pyle, I considered that to be a reporting job. A lot of it has turned toward entertainment and a party now, but at heart, I always thought it was my job to report things to the fans.
"That's why I've always kept score, and I take pride in Crabb being the scorekeeper and telling fans who's scored what. I've done more than 850 men's games, and another 400-something women's games, and I used to keep all the scorecards, but they found the recycling bin at some point.''
Chuck Crabb's many jobs
Besides men's and women's basketball games, he's also done track and field events and has been the voice of the Little 500 for 42 years. That was a gift from Bert Laws as well.
"It was funny how I got my start with the Little 500. Bert Laws did that too,'' Crabb said. "On a Thursday night, he called me and said, 'What are you doing on Saturday?' The docs had changed his medicine and he didn't think he could do the race, so he asked me to do it, and I've done every one since. Tom Swafford and Don Weaver, they got me through it. They used those old IBM cards for scoring back then, and they all took me under their wings. I've been fortunate to be a part of so many legacies.
"Replacing Bert was definitely like replacing a legend. He had been doing it since 1936 and he was the university electrician at the time. They hired him to do it because it was so much easier for him to set up all the equipment too. Back then, we had clean seasons; football was over before Thanksgiving and basketball didn't start until after Thanksgiving.''
Chuck Crabb's time with Bob Knight
Bob Knight spent 29 years coaching basketball at Indiana, and Chuck Crabb was there for every bit of it.
"Well, Bob has been a tremendous and very loyal friend to me for many years,'' Crabb said. "He allowed me to be a part of his program, and made me a part of it, made me appreciate what I had. He always told me to be a part of the game, but stay humble with it. He would say it in sharply worded, harsher words perhaps, but I got it. I learned early with Bob that it was always about hearing the message, not how it was presented.''
The early years with Bob Knight were his favorites, he said, and especially the two decades where Knight and Purdue coach Gene Keady did battle.
"I really loved the days before they put in the coaching boxes, because Bob would walk up and down the sideline all the time, right there in front of me,'' Crabb said. "The best times, of course, were the Indiana and Purdue games with him and Gene Keady.
"The two of them would both be up and down the sidelines, going either direction. Coach Knight would be right in front of the Purdue bench lots of times, and Coach Keady would do the same. They'd go right by each other the whole game, but it was all done professionally. They had a lot of respect for each other, and they were just doing their jobs.''
He also remembered Knight being a character.
"I remember one time in the Indiana Classic, Don Haskins was here with his UTEP team, and he was prone to wearing these fake ties, the ones that clipped on,'' Crabb said. "One time, Bob walked right by him and pulled his tie off, then reached in his pocket and handed him a couple of peppermint candies with a big smile on his face.
"I spent all 29 years with Bob, and I cherish every minute of it. At first, I was a student, and I worked for Tom Miller and Kit Klingelhoffer in the sports information office, and I was a runner. I watched every game right from the edge of the bench those first few years, and those 1975 and 1976 years especially were moments to cherish. It's kind of beyond believe what I've seen in that 50-year-old building all these years.''
Knight's return in 2020 after 20 years away was a special day for Crabb, too. It sort of put a bow on Knight's career at Indiana
"Obviously, the day in 2020 when Bob came back, well, that was just special for everyone, but it was for me, too,'' Crabb said. "He belongs here. It was a very emotional day for me. It's hard to see him now, it really is. But when I see him on his good days, well, it just means so much to me. We're both Applebee's fans, and Culver's fans, and we're there together a lot. It's still nice when fans come up and ask to say hello, or want to take a picture. He's always so accommodating.''
Chuck Crabb's favorite Assembly Hall moments
In 45 years, Crabb has seen more than a thousand basketball games, and picking favorites isn't easy. But he has a few, including the 1980 season finale when the Hoosiers won the Big Ten in overtime, plus the Christian Watford shot. He also said the recent win over Purdue ranks right up there, as well.
"Well, our head coach this year, Mike Woodson, was part of my favorite moment ever at Assembly Hall. It was 1980, the last game of the season, and Indiana beat Ohio State in overtime. It was a great game, with five NBA first-round picks on the floor, including Mike and Isiah Thomas on our side. I still remember to this day the big two-page spread in Sports Illustrated with Ray Tolbert celebrating.
"There's the Wat-Shot too, of course, an amazing day. I was basically pinned to my seat for a good 40 minutes after the game when everyone stormed the court. It was an amazing day, because it sort of signified what Indiana basketball should and could be. I was very happy for that group of kids to be able to enjoy that. And then, to be honest, that recent win over Purdue, that ranks up there too. It's been a long time, and for Rob (Phinisee) to have that night, and have that ending, it was wonderful. It was good for all those kids to enjoy that, too.
"The Pan Am Games in 1979 was special, with all those players here. I remember Bob Hammel wrote out biographies on every player on 3-by-5 cards, and I bet it took me 30 minutes just to do all the pregame introductions. I had two Olympic experiences too, and those were great fun.''
And now, it's time to go
Crabb turned 71 on Nov. 3, and he and Madeline have been married for 44 years. The time apart is too hard and, especially now, time together sounds much more appealing.
"I spent June there and then I flew down for five days in December after our game with Northern Kentucky on Dec, 22,'' Crabb said. "I was flying back when I found out that our game with UNC Asheville was cancelled, and my first thought to get right back on the plane and go back to Florida. That's what I really wanted to do.''
It won't be the same for all of us, not having Chuck Crabb at the microphone for home games. It won't be the same for Crabb, either. But he gets it.
"I'm sure I'm going to miss it. It's been a wonderful part of my life,'' Crabb said. "I'll be honest, there wasn't much sleep last night after I started to clean out my office. I was just flooded with memories. I had things to do, and, like always, I was sort of in events mode, just checking off what needed to be done.
"But it's time. We have a house to sell here and some things to tie up, but then it's time to go to Florida and be with Madeline. It's time, and I'm ready for that. But I will also take a piece of Indiana University with me in my heart. I love this place, and I love that I've be able to do all that I have here. Those memories, they are never going away.''
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- PRESS RELEASE: Here is the official press release from Indiana on the retirement of Chuck Crabb. CLICK HERE
