Western Hockey League, that their games be televised and that he should call them. A skeptical Allen agreed, if Schonely could find sponsors. Schonely enlisted friends including a funeral home director, optometrist and restaurateur to sponsor, and KOMO-TV broadcast Totems games on Sunday nights. Schonely called Totems games for 11 years on television and radio, and the team became popular in Seattle for a time. In one incident during a game against the San Francisco Seals at the Cow Palace, an obnoxious fan would hit a siren every time the Seals made a good play, and eventually held the siren up to Schonely's ear. Going to a commercial, Schonely announced: "By the time I get back on the air, this guy is going to have a knuckle sandwich." Schonely put his headset down, turned around and slugged him. Security took the man away, and Schonely returned to the air, saying: "He got his knuckle sandwich, folks." Schonely moved to KAYO radio in 1959, and the Totems came with him. However, the station switched to a country and western format, and Schonely left the station. Schonely worked as public relations director for Longacres Race Track before returning to broadcasting as sports director for KVI. Schonely brought the Totems to the station, called games for the Washington Huskies and baseball games for the Pacific Coast League Seattle Angels. At that time, the PCL stretched from Hawaii to Little Rock, and the station could not cover all games. Instead, Schonely would receive updates from a reporter at the game via teletype, play sound effects to simulate crowd noise, and call the game as if he were actually present. In 1967, Schonely did West Coast National Hockey League coverage for CBS. Schonely also called major league Seattle Pilots games for the one year they played before moving to Milwaukee. In 1967, Schonely nearly became the radio voice for the Seattle SuperSonics, newly created by NBA expansion. Dick Vertlieb, the team's first general manager, offered the job to Schonely, who was not an avid NBA fan then. Schonely accepted, but was pushed aside at the behest of Union Oil of California, a key sponsor who wanted Bob Blackburn, who was the Sonics' radio voice until the early 1990s. Portland Trail Blazers Early years In April 1970, Schonely was approached by Blazers co-founder Harry Glickman, whom Schonely knew as a founder of the Portland Buckaroos. Schonely