By Julian McKenzie, Eric Duhatschek and Chris Johnston
Canadian sports announcer and play-by-play man Bob Cole died Wednesday night at the age of 90, his daughter told CBC. Cole died in his hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland, surrounded by his family, according to the CBC.
“Like every hockey fan across the country, we are deeply saddened to hear of Bob Cole’s passing,” CBC executive vice president Barb Williams said in a statement to The Athletic. “For over 50 years his magical voice made even a preseason game come alive with excitement, never mind 28 Stanley Cup finals and the iconic Gold medal game in 2002. What a gift he had. And, what a loss to the entire hockey community. Bob will always hold a special place in our hearts at CBC.”
Cole’s broadcasting career began at VOCM, a local radio station in St. John’s before joining CBC Radio in 1969. In 1972 as a radio broadcaster, Cole called Paul Henderson’s series-winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series pitting Canada against the Soviet Union. The longtime announcer then joined “Hockey Night in Canada’s” television broadcasts in 1973, providing the soundtrack for numerous regular season, playoff and Stanley Cup final games until his last game on April 6, 2019, a regular-season finale featuring the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I don’t know that there’s ever going to be another Bob Cole,” his former broadcast partner Greg Millen said. “There may be, but he had that ability to flow in a game. And stay out of the way and let the players do their thing. That’s a bit of a lost art at times.”
Cole was also a broadcaster for three Olympic Games, including Team Canada’s senior men’s team’s triumph at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City which ended a 50-year goal drought. It was also the site for one of Cole’s most iconic calls of all time — “Jooooooee Sakic!” — on Joe Sakic’s second goal of the game with a little over a minute to play in the gold-medal game.
Cole was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 after receiving the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for broadcasting excellence. Hewitt, a long-time Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster, served as Cole’s inspiration for broadcasting. Cole found Hewitt and had him listen to an audition tape, and Hewitt provided feedback in return.
Not long after word of his death, the hockey world mourned.
“He was someone who touched the game in so many ways,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He’s an icon in our sport and the voice of hockey not just in Toronto, but in our country. A sad day, for sure. Our thoughts with everyone.”
John Shannon, “Hockey Night In Canada’s” long-time producer, first met Cole in 1977 when he was a $10 day runner for the show and when Cole was one of four voices on “Hockey Night In Canada.” The others were Jim Robson in Vancouver, Danny Gallivan in Montreal and Bill Hewitt in Toronto.
A group of us were thrilled to have our picture taken with a hockey icon. It was nice the Stanley Cup was there too.The soundtrack of the game and the country. Love and respect. Godspeed Bob. pic.twitter.com/UBLoZR5udt
— Chris Cuthbert (@CCpxpSN) April 25, 2024
Cole ended up as a beloved national voice for “Hockey Night in Canada,” but when he was first hired, there was an initial pushback from fans, who’d become accustomed to Hewitt and Gallivan’s voices. Generally speaking, listeners like to hear a familiar, reassuring voice, which Cole eventually became. But in the beginning, it took time for audiences to adjust.
“This was a natural progression for a lot of us internally at ‘Hockey Night’ that we needed to have,” said Shannon, “which I would describe as a network voice versus the voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs or the voice of the Montreal Canadiens. So, Bob became that transition guy. There was pushback a little bit in Toronto, you’re right. There was pushback a little in Montreal as well.
“How we approached it at ‘Hockey Night’ was, the bigger the game got, it became important to have someone who did a Montreal game that wasn’t viewed as a Montreal announcer. Similarly, in Toronto, (they weren’t) viewed as a Toronto announcer, but was viewed as ‘Hockey Night’ in Canada’s announcer.
Since then, Cole’s iconic calls on “Hockey Night in Canada,” including his signature “Oh baby!” and “Everything is happening!” have become staples of Canadian hockey lore. His baritone voice, as described by Shannon, was also part of his legend.
“Quite honestly growing up, I think every memory I would have of hockey would be with his voice echoing,” Keefe said. “I think it’s very identifiable. One syllable, and you know it’s Bob Cole. I just know that I have many friends and many people that loved the games that Bob called and how he called them and the passion that he had. With a career like he had, I don’t think there’s one particular moment. I think we would all say that he was there for all of them.”
“The other thing about him was, nobody had a greater sense of anticipation about the game,” Shannon said. “The puck is in the neutral zone and Bob would say, ‘Here they come!’ or ‘Watch out!’ — and you had to pay attention because nine out of 10 times he was right. Something was about to happen. That’s what differentiated him from most of the other guys — his true sense of anticipation.
“He viewed himself as an entertainer. He was theatrical. He knew how to use his voice. I teach guys how to do play-by-play — and Bob Cole is the lead example because a goal in the first period isn’t as important as a goal in the second period or the third period. He could convey that, with his voice intonation and his timber, so that you know, when he said, ‘Scores!’ oh that was an important goal. He was tremendous.”
Millen’s favorite memories are watching Cole games where you’d only hear his voice, taking command of a broadcast. He remembers being “lectured” by Cole before games they’d work together, usually in a cab ride on the way to the rink with Cole sitting in the front seat.
“Let’s not get in the way of the game tonight. Let it go,” Millen recounts. “And it was his way of saying, I’m doing this game. And you come in when I’ll tell you.”
Shannon said that Cole’s passions included the New York Yankees, Frank Sinatra and his four children — Robbie, Meghan, Hillary and Kristen.
“He talked about them as much as he talked about the game,” Shannon said. “He never left St. John’s. Always lived in Newfoundland. But he was always able to maintain that sense of balance between family and work. He was a remarkable guy. To me, he was the soundtrack of hockey for more than a few generations.
“He was passionate about the game. He wanted to do it right. He was demanding. He was hard — but no one had a better sense of the moment. Dan Kelly and Bob Cole. Those two. If he said, ‘and the crowd goes crazy!’ — you knew we weren’t going to hear another word for another 15 seconds because Bob is saying, ‘OK, everybody, we’re going to listen.’ That’s what Bob did. Bob was as good as they got.”
(Photo: Jonathan Kozub / NHLI via Getty Images)
