How was CBC's coverage in the 80s?

MS

1%er
Mar 18, 2002
53,211
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Vancouver, BC
I’m amazed at people claiming HNIC wasn’t Leaf-centric in the 1980s.

My lifelong hatred of the Leafs comes from having their garbage team shoved down my throat 30 times/year on Saturdays growing up as compared to maybe seeing 5 Canuck games/season (usually when they played Toronto or Montreal, with Toronto homers calling the game).
 

Hoser

Registered User
Aug 7, 2005
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403
I’m amazed at people claiming HNIC wasn’t Leaf-centric in the 1980s.

My lifelong hatred of the Leafs comes from having their garbage team shoved down my throat 30 times/year on Saturdays growing up as compared to maybe seeing 5 Canuck games/season (usually when they played Toronto or Montreal, with Toronto homers calling the game).

Hear, hear!

The genesis of my hatred for the Maple Leafs was the exact same. To this day I actively cheer against them whenever I'm subjected to them on TV/radio, doesn't matter who they're playing.
 

crobro

Registered User
Aug 8, 2008
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When I lived in Europe back in the day the only way to get the previous night's NHL scores before they'd be printed in the Misc. section of the newspaper's sports section a day later was via the teletext service. Teletext was a news service you could access on your TV via a button on your remote control. It looked like this:

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It typically featured the programming of the specific channel, the weather forecast, world and local news and finally sports results. In that sense it was a bit like a news channel's website, except very clunky to use via your remote control and rather limited to the basics.

Every morning the NHL results would be updated on the public TV channel's teletext at around 7:14 am (It was the only channel to include NHL scores in their service). The late West Coast games usually finished around 6.40 ish local time. Every morning I'd sit there waiting for the update just before having to leave for school.

when I vacationed in communist Yugoslavia in the summers in the 80’s baseball scores and trades were only available on cbc international shortwave

and voice of America
 

Uncle Rotter

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May 11, 2010
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Kelowna, B.C.
I found the 1980/81 schedule of national games on HNIC (Edmonton Journal, Sept 16, 1980). Followed by the number of regional games:
Montreal (13) (5)
Toronto (9) (10)
Edmonton (3) (6)
Calgary (1) (4)
Winnipeg (2) (3)
Vancouver (2) (4)
Quebec (1) (1)
 

Staniowski

Registered User
Jan 13, 2018
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The Maritimes
I found the 1980/81 schedule of national games on HNIC (Edmonton Journal, Sept 16, 1980). Followed by the number of regional games:
Montreal (13) (5)
Toronto (9) (10)
Edmonton (3) (6)
Calgary (1) (4)
Winnipeg (2) (3)
Vancouver (2) (4)
Quebec (1) (1)
So, for example:

Boston at Montreal (Quebec and Atlantic)
Edmonton at Calgary (Alberta)
Philadelphia at Toronto (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, B.C., Yukon, N.W.T.)

In this situation, they would call the Leafs game national, and the other two games regional?
 
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Iapyi

Registered User
Apr 19, 2017
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Canadian Prairies
Its weird, cause this seems to be the consensus from pretty much anyone whos ever met him, but he seems like such a cool guy when hes on air. My top list for hockey colour men goes Neale-Irvin and after that its a long drop to third place.

Funny enough and conversely, I have never met the man and thus can't comment on what he's like in person. For all I know he is a cool guy. His on-air persona is what I found completely unbearable. His flagrant bias for a certain team was deplorable and nauseating.
 

buffalowing88

Registered User
Aug 11, 2008
4,265
1,707
Charlotte, NC
Weird question, but I'm foreign to how this all worked back in the day even though I oddly enough work in tv programming now. When I was a young kid, like early 90s, I remember being able to see a lot of HNIC games and CBC in general. I lived in Buffalo. I never check the stations much whenever I go back up there but back then was HNIC readily available to our upstate American networks as well? Or was someone in my family bootlegging it, haha?
 

Moose Head

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Mar 12, 2002
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Toronto
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Dave Hodge was a great straight-shooting CBC broadcaster who lost his job at the network for daring to criticize on air (and win public sympathy from millions who shared his frustration) the network's decision to cut away from an important game.

I recall it vividly and have respected Hodge for it ever since.

So much better than bootlick MacLean
 

FerrisRox

"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
Sep 17, 2003
20,239
12,848
Toronto, Ontario
That's a load of crap, the Leafs were a non entity in the 80's. Even in Toronto no one wore Leaf jerseys

This is pure fiction. Rick Vaive jerseys were everywhere and Mike Palmateer jerseys were extremely popular as well. In the 80's, there was no shortage of Leaf love in the city of Toronto.

You either weren't around in the 80's or weren't in Toronto in the 80's because this is just flat out wrong.
 
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Tarantula

Hanging around the web
Aug 31, 2017
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GTA
This is pure fiction. Rick Vaive jerseys were everywhere and Mike Palmateer jerseys were extremely popular as well. In the 80's, there was no shortage of Leaf love in the city of Toronto.

You either weren't around in the 80's or weren't in Toronto in the 80's because this is just flat out wrong.

Yeah, Leaf jerseys were everywhere. I worked nights and took public transit a lot, and I didn't care about the Leafs. I sure knew if they had a game that night as the subway would be packed and Leaf jerseys everywhere. Granted, I am talking about the last half of the 80's.
 

danderson400

Registered User
May 21, 2015
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So, for example:

Boston at Montreal (Quebec and Atlantic)
Edmonton at Calgary (Alberta)
Philadelphia at Toronto (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, B.C., Yukon, N.W.T.)

In this situation, they would call the Leafs game national, and the other two games regional?

Wouldn't BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Yukon get the Flames-OIlers too?
 

FerrisRox

"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
Sep 17, 2003
20,239
12,848
Toronto, Ontario
Yeah, Leaf jerseys were everywhere. I worked nights and took public transit a lot, and I didn't care about the Leafs. I sure knew if they had a game that night as the subway would be packed and Leaf jerseys everywhere. Granted, I am talking about the last half of the 80's.

One thing that was odd... you rarely saw Borje Salming jersey's despite him being a long term high profile Maple Leaf.

When I think of Leaf jerseys in the 80s, I'm reminded of a funny story...

In 1985-86, the Maple Leafs signed Marian Stastny and I remember being down at Maple Leaf Gardens, very early in that season, at a Marlies Game, which was your best opportunity to really explore that building, walk around check out the different seats, etc, and me and my bumped into a guy with his kids, and the father was wearing a Maple Leafs jersey was #26, which that season belonged to Chris Kotstopolous, and P. Stastny on the back. My buddy says, "Is that a Peter Stastny jersey?" and the guy said "Yeah, the Leafs are about to complete a trade to bring in Peter and Anton." My buddy said "Isn't Kostopolous #26?" and the guy said "Yeah, he's part of the package going to Quebec.

I think he had literally *just* got the sweater from the store that was attached to Maple Leafs Gardens. I seem to recall him saying it was brand new and that he was "the first person to get a Peter Stastny Leaf jersey."

Shockingly the trade never happened and Peter instead scored 122 points for Quebec that year.
 

tinyzombies

Registered User
Dec 24, 2002
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Montreal, QC, Canada
I remember them not televising home games for the Habs in the 80s up until a certain year. Had to listen on radio. The Nordiques might have helped change that because Molson started losing the beer wars.
 

JianYang

Registered User
Sep 29, 2017
17,684
15,971
It wasn't until a few years ago that you actually got to see all the games live. Without Centre Ice you only got the national games (usually the leafs) and one of the double header games after the leaf game.

They started showing multiple games at the same time available nationally only recently. in the 90's it was leafs or canadians.

The double headers started right after the 94 lockout on CBC, I think.

Before that, I think CBC showed one game on Saturdays with an 8PM ET start time.

And like you said, it would usually be leafs or canadiens on the English side for the most part.

On the French side, it was usually Montreal, but the odd time, you would get a nordiques game instead.

As a habs fan in Western Canada, Saturdays used to be the most exciting day. Not only because it was the weekend, but it was typically the only day I would get to see the habs on TV.
 

danderson400

Registered User
May 21, 2015
166
8
I remember them not televising home games for the Habs in the 80s up until a certain year. Had to listen on radio. The Nordiques might have helped change that because Molson started losing the beer wars.

I don't remember it happened too often either.

What i *do* remember was them bumping The National to show Kings games at the old Great Western Forum if it was against a Canadian team. One of those games was against the Canucks in 1991. It ended as a tie game. Linden and Gretzy both had hat tricks that night.
Interestingly enough, when i was watching the 6th Jets-OIlers game from 90, when they promoted the 6th game from LA between the Flames and the Kings, it mentioned that the entire game would be seen in Calgary(and southern Alberta). I'm guessing the Jets game started at 8:00 and the Flames-Kings game started at 7:30 local(10:30 EST)
 
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Howie Hodge

Zombie Woof
Sep 16, 2017
4,418
4,023
Buffalo, NY
I was a huge fan. Not quite the 70's , but still damn fine!

My user name is a tribute to Howie Meeker and Dave Hodge, so it is what it is!

Ah yes, years before that squealing, annoying beetch Coc Emrich......
 

voyageur

Hockey fanatic
Jul 10, 2011
9,467
8,157
I forgot to mention, CBC for the most part was terrible in the 80's. TSN forced CBC to up their game in many ways. TSN's playoff coverage was unmatched, for the games they could show. TSN stayed on the air and switched to another game (if they owned the rights).

TSN was great in the playoffs.

You can thank TSN for Saturday double headers, which had a lot to do with Gretzky being on the West Coast.

Yeah I think TSN improved the NHL by a country mile. They started the double headers. They couldn't broadcast the Canadian teams in the playoffs, but they kept the coverage going of each game they did. l had forgotten how far into the 90s it was before the double header started on HNIC. In Manitoba, in the 80s when the Jets weren't playing it was exclusively the Habs or Leafs that aired on Saturday Night. The Leafs were less prominent on HNIC than they are now, as the Habs still had an allure. But in the 80s you could always watch the Habs on la Soirée du Hockey Molson, which i often did. Growing up in a French town, we were lucky that we got to see Nordiques weekday games on whichever channel they were on, through our cable package. And the Jets were occasionally available on CKND, locally.
I followed hockey on radio as much as TV as a kid, because we were able to pick up all the Jets games, and stations in Minnesota, St. Louis and Chicago. Occasionally Detroit too.

I remembered watching hockey on CTV at one point, and it must have been 1982, but I had no idea why.
 

ozzie

Registered User
Aug 3, 2005
1,695
489
Australia
TSN had alot to do with improving CBC's coverage. During the playoffs, TSN would stay with their game and then cross over to other games, sometimes until none were left to show. It was very refreshing. Dave Hodge called CBC out, that was amazing and CBC in a nutshell. The actually in game coverage on CBC was great though.
 

danderson400

Registered User
May 21, 2015
166
8
I forgot to mention, CBC for the most part was terrible in the 80's. TSN forced CBC to up their game in many ways. TSN's playoff coverage was unmatched, for the games they could show. TSN stayed on the air and switched to another game (if they owned the rights).

TSN was great in the playoffs.

You can thank TSN for Saturday double headers, which had a lot to do with Gretzky being on the West Coast.

TSN basically forced CBC's hand terms of doubleheaders. But the TSN deal in 2002 was more or less a concession by CBC to Mansbridge and CBC News, they argued that if you're going to play havoc with the schedule, you should at least make sure that The National is aired as soon as possible. So TSN carried more games. But it also meant that CBC lost games to TSN. I remember the furor over TSN airing *2* US based playoff games- Dallas-Anaheim in the West and New Jersey-Tampa in the East, that would have never happened these days. But it was a concession by CBC to Mansbridge and CBC News, otherwise CBC would have had one of the games.
 

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