‘THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR GAME’
Longtime play-by-play man Cole retiring after 50 years as voice of hockey in Canada
Bob Cole was never going to go out quietly. That wouldn’t be his way.
But as the clock was ticking down on his 50 years as the voice of hockey in Canada, he thought the end was coming a week from Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
But then Scott Moore was pushed out as boss of Rogers Sportsnet and Cole’s farewell tour, orchestrated by his employers, was suddenly extended by six games, with the perfect ending for the brilliant broadcaster being the last Saturday of the regular season, Hockey Night In Canada, Toronto at Montreal.
What could be better than that?
“Whenever it ends, it ends,” Cole said. “We had it finalized, then it wasn’t finalized.
“I never wanted to make a big deal of any of this. I never wanted a (farewell tour) of any kind. All this attention is kind of crazy to me. It’s not me . ... I just liked what I did and I loved the games.
“I still love them and love doing them. I never thought about how long I would do this job or when retirement was coming or counted the days to retirement. But I’ve been humbled the last while, the way people have reacted all across Canada.”
It’s been a remarkable 50 years of national broadcasting for the iconic and melodic voice of hockey in Canada. The voice of our game.
“He’s the greatest voice in the history of the game,” said Chris Cuthbert, one of Canada’s finest play-by-play men. “I think the voice will be his legacy more than anything.
“He’s the soundtrack of our game.”
Cuthbert compares Cole to one of the 85-year-old Newfoundland native’s heroes: Frank Sinatra.
“He’s our version of Sinatra ... a special voice, with special timing and longevity and tone, and he just has this kind of aura about him.
“A funny story about Bob: He did get to meet Sinatra, his idol, at the Montreal Forum years ago. He got one ticket for the show on the floor. And Sinatra walked by and was shaking hands with some of the people around him. He went by Colie and it may have the been the first time in Bob’s life he was lost for words. My understanding is, he just stood there, kind of frozen and said nothing.”
The hockey Sinatra freezing in front of the real one. One voice of a lifetime silent beside the other.
At age 23, while working in Newfoundland, Cole made his way to Toronto with friends, bought a car and drove to New York to see his beloved Yankees play. On the trip he made it a point to meet his broadcast hero, the legendary voice of the Yankees, Mel Allen.
He made such an impression that Allen arranged media passes for Cole and his friends the next day. It was there he took a picture with the great Mickey Mantle, well on his way to the Triple Crown in 1956.
As he and his friends drove back to Toronto, Cole decided if he was in the big city, he might as well try to take advantage of it. He stopped at CKFH Radio — the FH standing for Foster Hewitt, originator of hockey broadcasting — to drop off a demo reel for Foster.
“My friends waited in the car and I went up to leave this tape at reception,” Cole said.
The receptionist, after asking if he had an appointment, felt compelled to contact Hewitt, who invited him to his office. They talked and then went into a studio to listen to the tape; the kind of personal contact that would never happen today.
“My knees were knocking,” he said. “I asked for some advice and I think we spent two hours talking . ... And when he said ‘I like your voice,’ I couldn’t believe it.”
When NHL expansion came in 1967, Cole applied for jobs everywhere. Only one team, the California Golden Seals, offered him a job. He declined.
Two years later, he worked his first Stanley Cup playoff game.
“Jean Beliveau scored in the second overtime period, the only overtime goal of his career,” said Cole.
“Pretty good to be able to start out that way.”
There have been so many monumental moments after that one, including the radio version of the famed Canada-Russia series of 1972. But he certainly won’t forget the famous game in January 1976, with the roughhouse Philadelphia Flyers playing the Moscow Red Army.
It was on that afternoon that the physical style of the Flyers so intimidated the Red Army, they pulled their team from the ice and Cole made his famous call: “They’re going home, they’re going home.”
Last weekend, doing what he believes was his last broadcast in Edmonton, the Oilers chose to honour Cole.
He’s been walking on air since the ceremony, which included tributes from Connor McDavid and Wayne Gretzky, who referred to him as Mr. Cole. He received a framed jersey with Cole and the number 50 on the back.
All weekend he signed autographs, posed for more photographs than he has his entire life, took in all the adulation.
“I almost lost it (emotionally) a couple of times, it was kind of touching. It’s humbling to get this kind of reaction, because all I did was go to work. Imagine having a job like this one. But only lately it’s been hitting me, when people come up to you and say they’ve been listening to you their whole lives, and how much you’ve meant to them. I never realized that people thought this way. Again, I was just doing my job.”
He’s almost at the finish line now, eight games to go in a career. Seven Saturday nights.
He doesn’t want any goodbye parties. In fact, he wishes he wasn’t going anywhere at all.
“All I do is go to work and I’ve enjoyed every day of it,” Cole said. “If I had my way I’d just keep on working.”
Only lately it’s been hitting me, when people come up to you and say they’ve been listening to you their whole lives, and how much you’ve meant to them.