Dick Hammer was a Los Angeles County Fire Captain hired to portray the Captain of LA County Fire Station 51 during the first season of the series Emergency! He was a former Starting Guard for the University of Southern California basketball team for 1953/1954, and a member of the US Olympic Volleyball team at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games. Before taking and passing the Fire Fighter's exam in 1959, he was employed as the Director of Recreation for his home town of Long Beach.Both before and during his career as a Firefighter, Hammer did film and commercial work , including over 100 commercials. He was personally invited to audition for Emergency! by the show's producer, Robert A. Cinader, and was cast in the role of the Captain of Station 51. However, the shooting schedule for the show interfered with his work as a Firefighter, and he left the show after ten episodes.Hammer died in Long Beach, California on October 20, 1999.