Your favorite voices on tv and radio who brought/bring you the game!

[Fenway]

I don't know this guy (Bob Wilson), but he has a great voice.

In his perch in the press box in Montreal, Bob Wilson, the longtime radio voice of the Bruins, led listeners through his pregame setup. It was a potential series clincher for the Habs. With almost a stand-up comic's refined delivery, The Voice fired off the names of Montreal's hot scorers. Based on Wilson's frustrated tone and, the French names rolling from his tongue in near perfect accent, another end was upon his beloved B's.

"That rounds out the Montreal attack," boomed Wilson, segueing directly out of the roll call of Canadiens scorers. "And who do the Bruins counter with, but Lyndon Byers . . . who couldn't put the puck in the ocean if he was standing at the end of the dock!"

 

[jj cale]

Danny Gallivan is certainly my all-time favourite. Great voice, great language. "Lafleur skating rather gingerly down the right side".

LOL, I know, that was just classic Gallivan wasn't it?

My god, he was just the best, perfect tempo, perfect hockey voice, perfect and totally unique word usage, he was as perfect a HOCKEY play by play guy as there was or ever will be.

I still remember like yesterday as a little boy my Dad taking me and my brothers up to my grandparents house on saturday night and me and my brothers and uncles/aunts/grandparents would sit around watching the Habs games and after the horn would sound after another satisfying night of watching Montreal win with Dannys sweet game calling taking us the whole way through in such style and comfort.

Then we would all retire to our rooms at the old homestead to get our nights sleep and my uncle would start in with the old waltons bedtime chirp..................'goodnight Momma!!, and then all of us would start going back and forth................"goodnight ben!!, goodnight Elizabeth!!goodnight daddy!! goodnight Jim Bob!!"

At the end of it we would all be cracking up, especially my grandfather and grandmother, they just loved it. Ah.......................the memories, no dollar figure could ever replace it.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Ya I envied you guys in Montreal.... Class of the League with Danny Gallivan & Rene' Lecavalier.... I wasnt big on Bill Hewitt in Toronto though in his defence, big shoes to fill..... A little off topic as he wasnt a television or radio announcer, an announcer (PA at Maple Leaf Gardens) none the less... and that would be Paul Morris who worked the Gardens & games from 1961-1999; absolutely terrific. Great voice, very even, "just the facts M'am" type delivery, a bit deadpan like Sgt Joe Friday... Morris having a very warm & likable lilt, strength in his timbre.

Good call on this Killion! The PA announcer at MLG did have a distinct voice/tenor that I can remember as a younging (while still a "arms-length" hockey fan). Paul Morris was his name huh? Good stuff!

 

[Jim MacDonald]

I know Dan Kelly has been mentioned a few times associated with the Blues.....I don't think it's him I'm thinking of.....but similar to the Fred gentleman I associated with the Cam Neely highlights, there's a Blues announcer I've heard several times on Hull tributes and other Blue's players scoring goals....I want to say a big catch phrase of his was "ohhhhhh baby!" It's not Dan Kelly though I don't believe? He had like a high pitch I'd say with some gruffness.

 

[Staniowski]

In his perch in the press box in Montreal, Bob Wilson, the longtime radio voice of the Bruins, led listeners through his pregame setup. It was a potential series clincher for the Habs. With almost a stand-up comic's refined delivery, The Voice fired off the names of Montreal's hot scorers. Based on Wilson's frustrated tone and, the French names rolling from his tongue in near perfect accent, another end was upon his beloved B's.

"That rounds out the Montreal attack," boomed Wilson, segueing directly out of the roll call of Canadiens scorers. "And who do the Bruins counter with, but Lyndon Byers . . . who couldn't put the puck in the ocean if he was standing at the end of the dock!"

It's fascinating to think that when I was growing up in the Maritimes, listening to the great Danny Gallivan announce all those great Habs/Bruins games, Bob Wilson was informing radio audiences in the New England States of the very same games. I'm sure his listeners remember him as fondly as I do Gallivan.

Wilson sounds like he would have had a good voice for baseball too.

 

[Killion]

Good call on this Killion! The PA announcer at MLG did have a distinct voice/tenor that I can remember as a younging (while still a "arms-length" hockey fan). Paul Morris was his name huh? Good stuff!

... ya rather interesting story, career. His father worked full time as an Electrician at Maple Leaf Gardens since its construction & opening in 1931. Paul joined the Gardens around 1958 doing odd-jobs, electrical & sound... in 1961 full time PA - sound & electric, he along with another guy designing & installing, maintaining & operating the big square scoreboard that hung over center between 1966 & 1982. Announced over 1500 consecutive games during his 38yrs at the Gardens so obviously a witness to much history, the Good, the Bad & the Ugly.

When the Leafs moved in to the ACC he wasnt offered a f/t position, instead offered $300 per game to be a p/t PA Announcer which I believe he did briefly for awhile before retiring. Not sure about that, how many games or whatever as I wasnt living in Toronto then, sort of thing whereby you do have to have been there to know about. Maybe a Torontonian can fill us in further.... I do know that Morris was only 60 or 61 in 1999 when the Leafs moved to the ACC, something they seriously bungled IMHO, the whole transition from MLG to the ACC as ham handed and as amateur an affair as it gets. Really quite hollow. As cookie cutter, soulless, plastic & vacuous as that new building they now call home.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

What a shameful, distasteful transition!!! How would Morris "automatically" not just become the PA announcer at Air Canada Centre by default??!! Man did the organization drop the ball on that!!

 

[Killion]

What a shameful, distasteful transition!!! How would Morris "automatically" not just become the PA announcer at Air Canada Centre by default??!! Man did the organization drop the ball on that!!

They did indeed however with the hideous development of full "Game Presentations" that had begun during the latter years of his tenure at Maple Leaf Gardens.... the Who/AC DC live concert decibel levels music, seizure inducing light shows, the Jumbotrons ordering paying customers to Clap, Wave, Cheer.... the audio assault of goal horns that I'm sure have left more than a few patrons with life long tinnitus, ringing in the ears 24/7-365 that wont ever go away.... well, maybe time for Paul Morris to retire huh? Who needs that?... Sort of melancholic about it all myself. One of the last living links to the Gardens & the Leafs' of yore, two generations, father & son from construction in 1931 to closing in 1999. Class act really. Time to go. And perhaps in deciding not to take them up on their offer at the ACC, a sort of silent form of protest. A statement of displeasure with what game presentations had become, wanted no part of it. I like to think that regardless of whether true or not.

 

[JMCx4]

I know Dan Kelly has been mentioned a few times associated with the Blues.....I don't think it's him I'm thinking of.....there's a Blues announcer I've heard several times on Hull tributes and other Blue's players scoring goals....I want to say a big catch phrase of his was "ohhhhhh baby!" ...

That would've been Ken Wilson.

 

[frisco]

Gallivan and Dick Irvin are the voices of my youth although they had a bit of a Hab bias. Love Mike Lange, too. Does anyone know why he doesn't do Pens TV anymore just radio?

My Best-Carey

 

[Jim MacDonald]

That would've been Ken Wilson.

Yes! This is the guy JMC! Is Wilson radio or tv? Thanks!

 

[JMCx4]

Yes! This is the guy JMC! Is Wilson radio or tv? Thanks!

Ken Wilson was the Blues' primary radio play-by-play guy on TV from 1984 to 2004. He has also been an owner of a few independent minor league baseball clubs over the years, and was president of a couple of collegiate summertime baseball leagues out west. Perhaps his most famous (or notorious) accomplishment in U.S. sports: He founded the Portland Pickles.

 

[double5son10]

Most of my favorites, Gallivan/Irvin, Fred Cusick, Dan Kelly, Cole/Neale, Cuthbert, have been mentioned. I always thought Clement/Thorne was a good pair.

The one legend I haven't seen mentioned is Bob Miller of the Kings. Always liked Bob.

 

[Big Phil]

Just to add something about Bob Cole, the legend -- I can pinpoint the exact moment he somewhat "jumped the shark". Now, I'm not judging Coley because he was the best and is a legend in his own time; I love the guy to pieces. But the moment he suddenly passed his prime?

It happened back in the spring of 1999... shortly before Cole turned 69 years old (yes, folks, Cole was 69 almost twenty years ago! He old.) Remember Brett Hull's overtime goal in Buffalo? Of course you do. But do you remember Cole's call? It's the moment he lost it, which I think is symbolic of the fact that the NHL was becoming a bit of a snoozefest gong-show at the time. Here's what Cole said:
"Score!! Mike Modano... with Dennis Hu- with... Brett Hull... and the Stanley Cup has been won..."

On his third try, he got the goal-scorer right, and it was the first time Cole's call made a huge moment sound less exciting than it actually was.

I looked it up, you are close, Cole was turning 66 after the 1999 Cup final. He was born in 1933.

That being said, yes, that was a time he started to get some criticism. I always liked him either way. No one has topped him since. He has an elegance about his voice that also epitomizes so many different eras of hockey. Life is good when I hear Cole's voice. I know he has had the odd mix up with names but I'll tell you, no one can dictate the tempo of a game quite like him. He could make Darts sound interesting.

 

[Crosstraffic]

Most of my favorites, Gallivan/Irvin, Fred Cusick, Dan Kelly, Cole/Neale, Cuthbert, have been mentioned. I always thought Clement/Thorne was a good pair.

The one legend I haven't seen mentioned is Bob Miller of the Kings. Always liked Bob.

Bob's partner during that era was Rich Marotta, more well known for being a boxing broadcaster later on. (He used to do color on boxing broadcasts from the Forum with Chick Hearn calling pbp.)


Highlights of a 88-89 game with Bob Miller and Nick Nickson. As Bob says "Bet the over!" LA 11 QUE 3.

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Ken Wilson was the Blues' primary radio play-by-play guy on TV from 1984 to 2004. He has also been an owner of a few independent minor league baseball clubs over the years, and was president of a couple of collegiate summertime baseball leagues out west. Perhaps his most famous (or notorious) accomplishment in U.S. sports: He founded the Portland Pickles.

That is so friggin cool! Thanks for the info!

 

[Jim MacDonald]

With Mike Haynes in Colorado....I know he did "Super Joooooeee!" for Sakic goals etc. Did he have other signature calls for players?

 

[Jim MacDonald]

Also, and I don't know if this person had a significant tenure with the Canucks and became beloved....but there was a gentleman that did the famous "he'll play" repetition call of Game 6 in the 94 finals after Trevor Linden got hurt? Anyone know this gentleman and if he was radio or tv?

 

[Boxscore]

Growing up in Philadelphia, Gene Hart was God to me. Some of the greatest memories in my life involve me listening to him on the radio as a little kid (when I couldn't afford cable TV - PRISM), listening to him call a game on local TV, or meeting him in person at the Flyers Wives Carnival.

It's hard to describe how brilliant Gene Hart was. The way he called a hockey game, to me, was akin to the way Mario Lemieux played hockey - with great finesse and artistry...

 

[Howie Hodge]

Ted Darling on the radio was an artist in Buffalo; calling the game in details so as to allow the listener to image the game in their minds. I would listen to Ted and I could visualize the action quite well. While Rick Jeanneret is iconic on TV, he was not nearly as adept at radio as was Ted, and I was not a big fan. Of course I love Rick on TV over the years, where detail isn't crucial.

Sad times when Ted's health forced him off the air in the early 90's.

I have to say though; HNIC's crews were always top rate to me, and they have been described nicely already. I still have to put a plug in for Bob Goldham as an analyst with The Leafs, midweek on CHCH. Someone once called Bob a "former back line beauty", and I still laugh at that almost 50 years later...

You only had to take one look at Bob to know he'd played hockey, especially as he got older...

 

[Sdevils42]

Gary Thorne and Bill Clement were my child hood announcers. As a Devils fan I was privy to early Doc Emerick, not the biggest fan. Bob Cole had that voice too, great announcer in his heyday.

 

[whcanuck]

I really liked Don Wittman, he had a great voice. Very versatile too, good in Canadian Football, Curling, Olympic track and field.

 

[Staniowski]

There is only one, I repeat, one.........................Danny Gallivan.

Little Cape Breton Island has made a big contribution to hockey: Danny Gallivan. Al MacInnis. And both of Ron MacLean's parents hail from there too.

 

[DJ Man]

I'll second Lloyd Pettit. I grew up in Chicago, hearing him first on televised road games and then the home games on radio. When the networks began to do weekend games, I thought the guys they hired were poor in comparison.

That's a great video presentation on Pettit. Interesting is that he has Lou Boudreau doing interviews for him down by the rink.

Lou Boudreau was a great ballplayer, a Hall-of-Fame shortstop for some fine Cleveland teams. So far so good. However,he only got to manage the Chicago Cubs during their terrible years, where his great baseball mind could accomplish nothing. He ended up as a color man on baseball.

I thought that Boudreau was pretty stiff on the baseball games, and really had no business doing hockey. WGN radio also had Bob Elson help out on Pettit's broadcasts. Elson had been a great baseball announcer, and may have done hockey in his versatile past, but he was over the hill by now. One wonders what the WGN executives were thinking about!

But Lloyd Pettit didn't need any help!


[Edited to add: Lou Boudreau was no dummy: he was a player-manager for many of his years at Cleveland. He invented the infield shift for Ted Williams. He also got in trouble for pitching the occasional exhibition game himself so as not to tire out one of his real pitchers (the Commissioner didn't like this).]

 

[Chili]

Great topic, the voices that describe the games.

Good to see Rene Lecavalier getting mentioned here, my favorite announcing voice of any sport.

Danny Gallivan, Mike Lange two other favorites, true originals.

Like Paul Morris at MLG, Claude Mouton carved out his niche at the ole Forum. Can still hear his `John Bocc-a-bella' call from his Expos PA days.

Enjoy Matt Loughlin among others these days.