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Lon McEachern

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Lon McEachern
Born1956 or 1957 (age 66–67)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (BA)
OccupationSports commentator
Known forCoverage of World Series of Poker
StylePlay by play
TelevisionESPN
Spouse
Carol Czyzewski
​
(m. 1981)​
Children2
RelativesMatthew Wood (nephew)

Lon McEachern (/mɪˈkɛrɪn/; born 1956 or 1957)[1] is an American sports commentator most known for his hand-by-hand commentary of the World Series of Poker on ESPN. He is known as the "voice of poker".[2][3][4]

Early life and education

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McEachern was born in Memphis, Tennessee, one of four children.[5] His family later relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and McEachern was raised in Corte Madera in Marin County until the age of 19.[1][5][6] He attended Redwood High School and played baseball while a student.[6] He was teammates with future MLB shortstop Buddy Biancalana in his senior year and graduated in 1975.[6]

McEachern attended Santa Barbara City College and was a baseball teammate of future-MLB player Jesse Orosco.[7] He later attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated in 1980 with a B.A. in communications.[1][5] While enrolled at UC Santa Barbara, he worked at the campus radio station KCSB-FM.[7]

Career

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Out of college, McEachern worked radio at KTMS, the former home of another UCSB graduate in Jim Rome, before entering the television industry with KCOY-TV.[7] He moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1990s to work at KGO-TV and KPIX-TV.[6] He also freelanced for ESPN, including covering play-by-play of the X Games.[5][6][7] By 2002, McEachern had left the television industry.[1][5]

In 2002, ESPN reached out to McEachern, who was working as a mortgage banker at the time, to cover poker.[1][5][6] He was brought back in 2003 alongside Norman Chad for the 2003 World Series of Poker.[1][5][6] The tournament was won by Chris Moneymaker and led to the Moneymaker effect and a corresponding surge in poker's popularity.[8] McEachern continued as a mortgage banker for nearly five years, doing poker coverage for ESPN on the side.[5] As of 2017, he has covered every World Series of Poker main event since ESPN acquired the broadcasting rights.

McEachern also covered play-by-play of the PBA Tour during the 2012–13 season alongside color analyst Randy Pedersen.

In 2007 McEachern was the commentator for Pride 33 along with fighters Frank Trigg and Josh Barnett.

Personal life

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McEachern married Carol Czyzewski, a fellow UC Santa Barbara alumna, in 1981 and has two children.[9][10] His nephew, Matthew Wood, is a sound engineer for Skywalker Sound and has worked on numerous Star Wars films.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Villano, Matt (December 2, 2010). "Poker not just a game to broadcaster Lon McEachern". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  2. ^ Chozet, Tara (2013). "I Follow: Lon McEachern". ESPN Front Row. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  3. ^ "Legends Classic Series Announces the Addition of Lon McEachern and TJ Cloutier: "45 is the New 50"". PR.com. April 3, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Beauregard, Steve (November 27, 2014). "Lon McEachern – ESPN's WSOP Announcer and The Voice of Poker". Gamboool.com. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Dalla, Nolan (June 20, 2014). "Facing the Firing Squad: Lon McEachern". Nolan Dalla. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Arild, Derek (August 13, 2014). "Redwood grad McEachern stumbled onto poker commentary at right time". Marin Independent Journal. Marin County, California. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d "Q&A with poker announcer Lon McEachern". Ante Up Magazine. April 23, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  8. ^ Caldwell, John (May 23, 2008). "The Moneymaker Effect: Five Years Later". PokerNews. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  9. ^ Nield, Judi (November 2013). "Question & Anwser [sic] With The Voice of Poker Mr. Lon McEachern". 2PairPoker. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  10. ^ "Anne Farrar McEachern obituary". Marin Independent Journal. February 10, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  11. ^ "Lon McEachern Biography". IMDB. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
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