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Prolific PA Announcer Highlights Players As If 'Talking To Their Mother'

 Jeff Lewis, a retired UIC mathematics professor, is a longtime public address announcer for several sports and schools.
Jeff Lewis, a retired UIC mathematics professor, is a longtime public address announcer for several sports and schools.
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DNAinfo/Justin Breen

LITTLE ITALY — Jeff Lewis has a mantra when serving as a public address announcer for games and events around the world.

"I love to highlight the athletes, and I would describe my style as I'm talking to their mother," the 73-year-old resident of Little Italy said. "It doesn't matter whether there are three people in the stands or 5,000. I want to make them feel like a million dollars."

Lewis, a retired University of Illinois at Chicago mathematics professor, has been a PA announcer for more than 35 years — first with youth hockey games in Skokie, then ice shows in the north suburb. He transitioned to UIC hockey games — replacing Ray Clay when Clay went to the Bulls — plus other Flames sports like men's and women's basketball, and volleyball.

He's also announcer for various high school teams, including at St. Ignatius College Prep and Whitney Young, and 90 percent of his assignments are unpaid, he said.

"Jeff is highly regarded for his perseverance, drive and commitment — and everyone at Ignatius knows and deeply appreciates who Jeff Lewis is," St. Ignatius athletic director Paul Ickes said.

Justin Breen says Lewis can be heard at all sorts of events:

Lewis' favorite sports to announce involve disabled athletes. He's traveled the world — again, mostly unpaid — to do PA work at wheelchair basketball tournaments.

On Thursday, he leaves for the June 19-28 Warrior Games — a competition for wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans — at Quantico Base, Virginia. Lewis will be a PA announcer for wheelchair basketball and "sitting volleyball" — which utilizes a lower net and smaller court, and players must have one "cheek" in contact on the floor when hitting the ball.

"Jeff Lewis is a wheelchair basketball junkie, who will — and does — circle the globe to lend his public address announcing skills to the sport," said Larry Labiak, Disability Policy Officer for the Chicago Park District.

Said Lewis: "I've always had interest in people with disabilities and particularly making sure they have access. I'll still walk around campus and test the handicapped doors. If it's not working, I'll write a note right away."

Lewis has lived in Chicago since 1967, when he first started at UIC. His PA responsibilities really ramped up when he retired in 2007, and Lewis estimates he spends at least 100 days a year at games.

The reason why is simple: "It is definitely a passion," he said.

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