Longtime Canadian sportscaster Bob Cole has died at the age of 90.
Although his long career included calling basketball curling, and Olympic sports, Cole will be best remembered for fifty years of doing play-by-play of NHL games for "Hockey Night In Canada", initially on radio, but for most of his long run, he called the NHL on CBC television.
Included were numerous Stanley Cup finals, NHL All-Star games, and two iconic international hockey events: The 1972 "Summit Series" between an NHL all-star team and the Soviet national team (on CBC radio): and the championship game of the men's hockey tournament 2002' Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (on CBC television).
Although no longer the lead play-by-play man for "Hockey Night In Canada" in the mid and late 2010's, he continued to do some games for "HNIC" through the 2018/2019 regular season.
Unlike some play-by-play hockey announcers (like Foster Hewitt or Dan Kelly) who gained fame on both sides of the Canadian/United States border, Cole didn't gain a lot of fame in the United States (except possibly in areas near the Canadian border within range of CBC television stations), and that's a real shame.
Given that most of Cole's regular season TV work over the years was in Toronto, I expect that the Toronto Maple Leafs will have a pregame tribute and moment of silence prior to Saturday's (April 27th) playoff game against Boston. I would also think that other NHL teams hosting playoff games between tonight (April 25th) and Saturday will likewise have similar tributes.
CBC News story:
Although his long career included calling basketball curling, and Olympic sports, Cole will be best remembered for fifty years of doing play-by-play of NHL games for "Hockey Night In Canada", initially on radio, but for most of his long run, he called the NHL on CBC television.
Included were numerous Stanley Cup finals, NHL All-Star games, and two iconic international hockey events: The 1972 "Summit Series" between an NHL all-star team and the Soviet national team (on CBC radio): and the championship game of the men's hockey tournament 2002' Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (on CBC television).
Although no longer the lead play-by-play man for "Hockey Night In Canada" in the mid and late 2010's, he continued to do some games for "HNIC" through the 2018/2019 regular season.
Unlike some play-by-play hockey announcers (like Foster Hewitt or Dan Kelly) who gained fame on both sides of the Canadian/United States border, Cole didn't gain a lot of fame in the United States (except possibly in areas near the Canadian border within range of CBC television stations), and that's a real shame.
Given that most of Cole's regular season TV work over the years was in Toronto, I expect that the Toronto Maple Leafs will have a pregame tribute and moment of silence prior to Saturday's (April 27th) playoff game against Boston. I would also think that other NHL teams hosting playoff games between tonight (April 25th) and Saturday will likewise have similar tributes.
CBC News story: