Los Angeles Kings Might Have Won the Stanley Cup, But Their Announcer Ended Up Losing His Shirt … by Larry Stewart

You’ve heard the phrase, “He’d give you the shirt off his back.” That’s what Bob Miller, the Hall of Fall television announcer for the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, did for a La Verne charity.

Miller got naked to the waist in front of some 150 people attending a fundraiser.

His strip-tease act raised $3,000 for Sowing Seeds for Life, the regional food bank based at DPI Labs, an aerospace company located at 1350 Arrow Highway in La Verne. The non-profit feeds and offers services to come 6,000 needy people per month in the East San Gabriel.

Miller’s eye-popping performance took place Monday night at Glendora Country Club, site of the fourth annual Sowing Seeds for Life Celebrity Golf Tournament for Charity.

Miller, who doesn’t play golf, donated the entire day and night to the tournament. He first signed autographs and posed for pictures for more than an hour before play began. Then he and Vicki Brown, the CEO and founder of Sowing Seeds for Life, greeted golfers out on the Glendora CC course.

But the most amazing thing, the topper of all toppers, was what he did during the live auction following the dinner portion of the event.

During a slight break in the fast-paced auction, Don Dirian of San Dimas walked up to Miller and offered him $3,000 for the Stanley Cup shirt he was wearing. Dirian, who is approximately Miller’s size, suggested, “Let’s trade shirts.”

Miller, not quite believing what he was hearing, asked: “You’ll donate $3,000 to trade shirts?”

Dirian said yes, and Miller, in front of a crowd of some 150 people, was suddenly shirtless. Wayne Gretzky was known as “The Great One.” Maybe Miller will now be known as “The Shirtless One,” or simply “Shirtless” Bob.

Miller put on Dirian’s shirt, and it fit nicely.

Only one problem remained, and that involved his wife.

“When I get home,” he said, “how do I explain to Judy why I’m wearing a different shirt than I was wearing when I left this morning?”

When Miller got to his home in the West San Fernando Valley, Judy asked, “Where did you get that shirt?” He tried to explain, then Judy retorted: “And are those your pants?” retorted his wife.

Miller, the next day, said, “We had a pretty good laugh over the whole thing.”

And so had everyone at the Sowing Seeds golf tournament and dinner.

But the laughs were far from over.

Following the auction highlighted by Miller’s performance, there was a sensational-hour performance by award-winning sportscaster and world-renowned entertainer Roy Firestone.

Firestone, as he has done at some 2,000 corporate events worldwide over the years, sang, told jokes, did impersonations, showed sports bloopers and told a few heartwarming stories.

There were plenty of laughs, plus a few poignant moments. One involved Firestone’s first significant interview back in 1975, when he was working in South Florida. That was two years before coming to Los Angeles to go to work for KCBS Channel 2.

“Ali went over to him and asked, ‘Do you know who I am?’ No answer. He repeated the question several times, still no answer. But when Ali started to walk away, the man turned toward him and said, ‘I know who you are. You’re the champ. You’re the greatest fighter who ever lived. I’ve dreamed my whole life that someday I would meet the great Joe Louis, and now I have.’

“There were several handlers with Ali and they started to go over to correct the man. But Ali stopped them. He told them, ‘You don’t take a man’s dignity away from him. He thinks he just met Joe Louis. Let him enjoy it.’ ”

Speaking of enjoying moments, the Sowing Seeds for Life tournament was full of them.

Other celebrities there were Jim Harrick, who coached UCLA to its 11th national basketball championship in 1995, UCLA announcer Chris Roberts of Glendora, former Monrovia High, USC and Buffalo Bills football star Chris Hale, and Bill Dwyre of San Dimas, former sports editor of the Los Angeles Times and current sports columnist.