Gene Honda

Gene Honda
Honda at the Allstate Arena in 2010

Eugene "Gene" Honda is a public address announcer for the Chicago White Sox (starting in 1985, full-time since 1991),^[1] Chicago Blackhawks (succeeding Harvey Wittenberg since the 2001–02 season),^[2] DePaul Blue Demons basketball, Big Ten tournament, Illinois Fighting Illini football (since 2012),^[3] and the NCAA Final Four (since 2010).^[4] He is also a constant voice on Chicago's PBS station WTTW Channel 11, the Big Ten Network, and the Chicago Marathon. He formerly worked for radio station WLAK (now WLIT) in Chicago.^[5] Honda was the PA announcer for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic on January 1 at Wrigley Field. Additionally, he was the PA announcer for the 2012 Frozen Four at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.^[6]

Honda is the only person to have announced at the MLB World Series, MLB All Star Game, NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, NCAA Final Four, and NCAA Frozen Four.^[7]

Honda was born and raised on Chicago's north side to Japanese American parents.^[7] He attended Senn High School and graduated in 1972.^[7] He later attended University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he studied engineering, finance, and broadcasting.^[8] Honda spent the next 18 years working at the University of Illinois' radio station, WPGU.^[8] Honda's interest in broadcasting was sparked by his father, who wanted his son to improve his public speaking skills.^[7]^[8]

Honda appeared briefly in the 1990 film Opportunity Knocks as Mr. Nimoku.^[9]

Honda also is a teacher for the After School Matters (ASM) Sports Broadcasting program at Curie High School.^[8]

On October 11, 2008, Honda was inducted into the Illini Media Alumni Hall of Fame.^[10]

References

^ Gregor, Scot (2014-06-22). "P.A announcer Gene Honda the busiest man in Chicago sports". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
^ Content, Contributed (2001-09-08). "Honda in, Wittenberg out as Hawks' announcer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
^ "FIGHTINGILLINI.COM - Illini Nation: We Heard You!". www.fightingillini.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-25.
^ "P.A announcer Gene Honda the busiest man in Chicago sports". 22 June 2014.
^ "City of Chicago: Gene Honda". City of Chicago.org. Archived from the original on 2010-07-12. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
^ "The Voice: The man behind the mic". USCHO. Retrieved 2012-04-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Halligan, Shannon (May 19, 2023). "Gene Honda: One of the only Asian American PA announcers in professional sports". WGN-TV. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Carroll, Charlotte (December 6, 2016). "Behind the voice: Gene Honda looks back to the start". The Daily Illini. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
^ "DigiGuide Library: Gene Honda". Digi Guide.com. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
^ Donahue, Kit (July 15, 2008). "2008 Hall of Fame class announced". Illini Media. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved May 20, 2023.

v t e Chicago Blackhawks
Founded in 1926 Based in Chicago, Illinois
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season
History	Original Six Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Danny Wirtz General manager Kyle Davidson Head coach Luke Richardson Team captain Nick Foligno Current roster
Arenas	Chicago Coliseum Chicago Stadium United Center
Rivalries	Detroit Red Wings St. Louis Blues Minnesota Wild
Affiliates	AHL Rockford IceHogs ECHL Indy Fuel
Media	TV Chicago Sports Network Radio WGN Radio
Culture and lore	Name and logo controversy Ashland Green/Pink Line station "Chelsea Dagger" Curse of Muldoon Eddie Olczyk Gene Honda "Here Come the Hawks" "Holiday Road" "Sweet Home Chicago" Jim Cornelison The "Madhouse on Madison" Nancy Faust Pat Foley Sudden Death Wayne Messmer 86th Infantry Division The Dilemma 2010 sexual abuse scandal 17 seconds 2009 NHL Winter Classic 2014 NHL Stadium Series 2015 NHL Winter Classic 2016 NHL Stadium Series 2017 NHL Winter Classic 2019 NHL Winter Classic Wayne's World Klondike Kat
Category

Chicago White Sox

Established in 1900
Based in Chicago, Illinois

Franchise

Ballparks

Culture

Lore

Rivalries

Key personnel

Chairman: Jerry Reinsdorf
General Manager: Chris Getz
Special Assistant to the GM: Jim Thome
Manager: Will Venable

World Series
championships (3)

American League
championships (6)

Division championships (6)

West: 1983
1993
Central: 2000
2005
2008
2021

Wild Card berths (1)

2020

Minor league
affiliates

Charlotte Knights (Triple-A)
Birmingham Barons (Double-A)
Winston-Salem Dash (High-A)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Single-A)
ACL White Sox (Rookie)
DSL White Sox (Rookie)

Media

Seasons (125)
1900s	1900 · 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

v t e Illinois Fighting Illini football
Venues	Illinois Field (1890–1922) Memorial Stadium (1923–present) Soldier Field (1994–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana Michigan Missouri Northwestern Ohio State: Battle for Illibuck Purdue
Culture & lore	Illinois Loyalty "Oskee Wow-Wow" Marching Illini Gene Honda Fighting Illini Sports Network Chief Illiniwek 1960s slush fund scandal 2021 Penn State game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball
Venues	University Auditorium (1923–1956) Alumni Hall (1956–1980) Allstate Arena (1980–2017) Wintrust Arena (2017–present) McGrath-Phillips Arena (practice/alternate 2000–2017)
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics