Legendary Canadian sports commentator Bob Cole has died at the age of 90.
Cole’s favorite expression – “Oh, baby!” » – was one of the many he used to describe hockey games, and which won him the love of hockey fans, and even that of players.
“For as long as I can remember, he said it all the time around the house,” his daughter, Megan Cole, recalled in Cole’s 2016 autobiography, ‘Now I’m Catching On . My Life On and Off the Air’.
Cole died Wednesday evening in St. John’s, N.L., surrounded by his loved ones, his daughter Megan told the CBC.
“Thank you for decades of unconditional love for his work, his love for Newfoundland and the game of hockey,” Megan Cole told the CBC on Thursday.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman responded to Cole’s vast contribution to the sport of hockey in Canada.
For over 50 years, Bob Cole’s voice has been the iconic and unmistakable soundtrack of hockey in Canada. Of the countless winter Saturdays of Hockey night through the 1972 Century Series, through multiple Olympic Games and dozens of Stanley Cup Finals, his distinct and infectious style made each game he described a bigger event.
Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner
“In a legendary career that began on local radio in his beloved home province of Newfoundland and inevitably expanded nationally beginning in 1969, Bob transcended generations by sharing his obvious passion for our sport and his astounding talent for conveying the excitement and majesty of hockey with both eloquence and enthusiasm. »
Cole said his father was healthy “until the very end.”
Bob Cole remembers using his famous expression to describe Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mario Lemieux’s puck-handling in Game 2 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final series against the Minnesota North Stars.
“Look at Lemieux. Oh my heavens. What a goal. What a move. The best. Oh baby,” Cole said after Lemieux crossed the ice, before skillfully beating North Stars defenders Shawn Chambers and Neil Wilkinson and deceiving goaltender Jon Casey.
Cole assured in his autobiography that he never planned his flights, that they always came to him spontaneously.
Among the other legendary moments that marked Cole’s career is the one where he said: “Desjardins! And the Canadian wins in overtime! », in the Stanley Cup final in 1993.
“Guys in the locker rooms of NHL teams would come up to me and say: ‘Give us Desjardins’ goal! Come on, Bob!” “, Cole recalled.
The host of Hockey Night in CanadaRon MacLean, described Cole’s style of description as “a smokescreen from a campfire.”
Fellow commentator Greg Millen, a former NHL goaltender, said Cole’s voice “almost sounded like a symphony.”
Cole, whose voice and colorful language marked the English-language broadcast of Saturday night NHL games in Canada, enjoyed a career spanning more than 50 years in the media world. Because his career was not limited to hockey.
He portrayed Bob Beamon’s world long jump record at the 1968 Olympics, competed in the Canadian men’s curling championship (the Brier), hosted a quiz show called “Reach for the Top” and worked in the Newfoundland government.
Cole described his last match for Hockey Night in Canada on April 6, 2019, during the last regular season game between the Canadian and the Toronto Maple Leafs, in Montreal.
Cole was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, after winning the Foster Hewitt Memorial Trophy, which is awarded for his extraordinary contributions as a hockey commentator. In 2016, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.