"No happy time is really gone if it leaves a special memory." ---Unknown

John Radcliffe, Pepperdine class of 1962, was a man of integrity, inspiration and loyalty. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, educator, coach and friend who passed away on September 22, 2009, after a long battle with heart disease. He was 73.

John was born May 28, 1936, in Orange, California, and lived in Los Angeles during his days as a youth. He graduated from Manual Arts High School in 1953 and joined the Navy where he was stationed in New Jersey. After serving his country, he enrolled at Pepperdine College at the old Vermont Ave. campus in Los Angeles where he developed some of the greatest memories in life. It was there where he met his future wife, Carolyn Christopher (class of 1963).

One of his fondest memories at Pepperdine was playing baseball for legendary head coach, John Scolinos, who referred to John as "Wheels" for his speed around the base paths. His knowledge and passion for the game of baseball built the foundation for his future coaching years at Torrance High School.

He graduated from Pepperdine with a Bachelor of Science degree and began teaching and coaching in Compton. In 1968, John was named varsity baseball coach at Torrance High School, now known as "South" Torrance. Two years later, John married Carolyn, his Pepperdine sweetheart, and the two of them enjoyed 39 years of a fulfilling life together. They had a daughter, Suzanne, and son, Kris.

His educational teaching and coaching career covered more than 35 years at Willowbrook Junior High, Compton High School, Dominguez High School and Torrance High School. It was at Torrance where John found his niche and spent over 30 years serving in different coaching capacities such as baseball, track, football, volleyball and softball. It is interesting to note that John won a CIF championship in girls' volleyball in his only season as head coach. In addition, he worked on the administrative level as well as the schools athletics and activities director.

For the past 48 years, John worked for the Los Angeles Lakers as the teams' official scorekeeper. It is believed to be that John was not only the longest-tenured official scorer/employee for the Lakers but was in fact the longest-tenured official scorer in NBA history.

In an interview a couple years back with Pepperdine's alumni magazine, The Promenade, John explained to Jon Washington, class of 1963, his good fortunes of working for the Lakers.

"I was very fortunate," said John. "I was running the scorer's table for men's basketball (also did football) at Pepperdine and Pep's sports information guy, Warren Turnbull, liked how I worked, I guess. He took a job with the new-in-town L.A. Lakers and called me about a part-time job doing statistics for the Lakers for $2.50 an hour."

Former Pepperdine athletic director and basketball coach Duck Dowell realized he had someone special in the athletic department and even gave John the chance to share his insight after working a WCAC men's basketball tournament in San Francisco in 1960.

"Duck came to me with his all-tournament ballot and asked me to fill it out," John stated. "He said, 'You observed more players than I did.'"

Not only did John see more players at the WCAC tournament, he saw more Laker games in person than anyone in Laker lore. From a frugal amount of money made in 1961 to receiving his first Lakers championship ring in 2000, John was living the dream.

"I actually was hired to help Chick Hearn get stats more quickly for use on the radio. Turnbull told me Chick was really in the popcorn machine, screaming for statistics," John said laughing. "As time went on, at the start of every new season, Chick would stop me and say, 'How many years, Johnny?' (the only person who called him that), fully knowing he had been there only one year longer than me."

Former Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke got the ball rolling by purchasing the Lakers in 1965 for $5 million from Bob Short. Under Cooke's ownership the Lakers moved from the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to The Forum and changed their colors from royal and light blue to the current purple (referred to as "Forum Blue" by Chick Hearn) and gold. Jerry Buss bought the Lakers (along with The Forum and the Los Angeles Kings) from Cooke in 1979 for $67.5 million and the franchise was recently valued at $607 million today.

John witnessed the Lakers early years at the Sports Arena, moving to the Fabulous Forum in 1967 while seeing six world championships, five of those in the "Showtime" era, and ultimately on to Staples Center where he got to observe four more world titles, including the most recent in 2009.

He had seen the greatest Lakers players ever to don the purple and gold: Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and now Kobe Bryant. Coaches Bill Sharman, Paul Westhead, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson paced the sidelines as John worked a few feet away.

"He saw the whole Laker legacy develop in person," said Lakers public address announcer, Lawrence Tanter. "Almost a half-a-century worth."

Tanter, who began his current work with the Lakers in 1982, credits John for the success he has had behind the microphone. They worked 26 seasons together.

"I owe a lot of my craft and tenure to John. He taught me a lot about being the public address announcer," Tanter said. "The cadence, the timing."

Players and coaches came and went, some even retired. But the one constant was John doing his job at the scorer's table.

"John Radcliffe was the consummate professional," Tanter said. "Always prepared. He developed a rhythm over the years. And he was a good friend. A real gentleman. We discussed sports, politics and life. It was a privilege to be working with him all those years."

One game that will be synonymous with John was Kobe Bryant's 81-point outburst vs. the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006. While many of us were celebrating each point scored, John had the difficult task of recording each basket and point that the typical scorebook doesn't have room for.

It was the second-greatest performance in NBA history to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points. Kobe's masterpiece was recorded point by point by the meticulous hand of John Radcliffe. For the record, Kobe made 28-46 FGs, 7-13 3FGs and 18-20 FTs. And John was the author of a famous score sheet that may never see as many numbers recorded again.

"It was tough for John," Tanter recollected. "He had to be so precise to keep score. Cognizant of space and making it all fit. But he did. Then he made a copy for all of us and for Kobe to remember."

Tanter was one of three members of the Lakers scorer's table who had the privilege to work and know John. Robin Mahkorn has been responsible for the official clock and scoreboard for the past 27 years and Gary Herman has spent the last 30 years working the 24-second shot clock.

Mahkorn remembers what John said to them shortly after Kobe's 81 points.

"He said, 'We will never see this again. I will make sure you get a copy.' Always thinking of us."

Tanter, Mahkorn and Herman formed a special bond with John and their memories will last a lifetime.

"The four of us had the 'Roundtable' in the press room before each game," Mahkorn said. "We would express our opinions and just talk. A lot of people had respect for John when he spoke."

When it was game time at the scorer's table, look no further than to John Radcliffe to keep the continuity and concentration at hand.

"He was professional and kept everyone in line at the table," Mahkorn said. "He reminded us to stay focused. At the same time, he had a good sense of humor."

Mahkorn spent time with John away from work either at dinner with him and Carolyn or on the golf course.

"What I will miss are his stories and his jokes," Mahkorn added. "But what I will miss the most is seeing Carolyn. I'm real happy they did the ring ceremony for her."

Six weeks after John's passing, Carolyn and Suzanne were invited for a special ceremony with the Los Angeles Lakers in honor of John at his home away from home. It was a tribute for a man who deserved to be recognized for his dedication, commitment and professionalism to an organization he loved, to his peers whom he admired and to the job he cherished.

During a first-quarter timeout vs. the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers community recognized John for his commitment and devotion to the job he developed into a work of art. Carolyn and Suzanne received a 2009 championship ring in John's honor. To remember his legacy, the Lakers put a replica of John's signature on the scorer's table and officially named it the "John Radcliffe Scorer's Table".

"He was phenomenal," Herman said. "We always worked as a team. He was such a fixture here.  He was the face of the table."

Not only did John work Lakers games, he had also enjoyed working the Los Angeles Sparks games in the same capacity. Herman had the tough and emotional task of doing the scorebook for a Sparks playoff game the week after John died. Filling in for a legend but more importantly a friend was an honor for Herman.

"He was one in a million. He had a heart the size of the universe," Herman said.

John Radcliffe made a lasting impression on many. His memory will never be forgotten. Nor will his spirit and grace. One thing we know for sure is that John is sitting side by side again with Chick Hearn somewhere special keeping track of scores and stats of probably the greatest games one could ever dream of.

Imagine the conversation between those two special men.

"How many years, Johnny?" Chick asks that all too familiar question.

"73 years, Chick," responded John.

"Boy Johnny, you had a wonderful and blessed life," says Chick. "Now let's go catch a game high above the heavenly sideline."

"My pleasure, Chick. Hopefully Wilt won't go for a 100 tonight," John said with a chuckle. "81 was hard enough."

John is survived by his wife Carolyn, daughter Suzanne Hannemann and her husband Nick, son Kris and his wife Eden, granddaughters Victoria and Courtney, grandson Hunter, sister Susan Radcliffe and her husband Lee Zitko, and many nieces and nephews.

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting." ---Mother Teresa