Bob Cole was a Hall of Fame hockey commentator who was a mainstay on Canadian NHL broadcasts for 50 years.
- Died: April 24, 2024 (Who else died on April 24?)
- Details of death: Died in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador at the age of 90.
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Bob Cole’s legacy
Cole was an athlete when he was young, but a knee injury cut short any professional aspirations he may have had. Still loving sports, he instead set his sights on the broadcast booth. He landed his first job calling hockey games on VOCM radio in Canada, then moved to CBC Radio. He was on the airwaves from 1969 to 1973, when he moved to television.
Cole spent the next five decades calling games for CBC, usually for the Toronto Maple Leafs. During the Stanley Cup playoffs, he was also a mainstay on “Hockey Night in Canada” and broadcast at least one annual finals game for almost 30 straight years. Cole called his final play-by-play in 2019, 50 years after his first. He also called several major Olympic moments, including Canada’s dramatic 2002 win over the United States to earn its first gold medal in five decades.
Cole is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, and won a Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his broadcasting work. He is also a Gemini Award winner.
Notable quote:
“Oh, Baby!” — many, many NHL broadcasts
Tributes to Bob Cole
Full obituary: The Canadian Press
