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Robert "Bob" Cecil Cole, (born 1933 in St. John's, Newfoundland) is a Canadian television announcer.
Cole has been the primary play-by-play announcer for Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) on CBC, usually for Toronto Maple Leafs games, since 1980, when he took over from Bill Hewitt. Aside from Leafs games, he is also a staple for the CBC during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He has broadcast at least one game in every Stanley Cup Finals since 1980 and has broadcast every single Stanley Cup Finals game since 1989. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 as the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for broadcasting excellence.
Cole received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's in 2002.
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Curling
Cole is also a former curler, playing in the 1971 and 1975 Briers as the skip for the Newfoundland team. He also played in the 1973 Canadian mixed championships.
Broadcasting
Cole began broadcasting hockey on CBC Radio in 1969 and moved to television in 1973 when HNIC expanded its coverage.
Catch phrases
Some of his more famous phrases include "Oh baby!" and "Scores!" He is known particularly for colourful old fashioned 'Colisms' (such as "Heavens to Betsy!", "Oh Nelly!", and the trademark "What a dandy!" used to describe a great game) as well as for slowly emphasizing each word when an exciting play has happened ("Can he do it again? Scores! Pec–a– does– it– a–gain!"). Other common phrases made by Cole are: "He's a goalie, yes sir, and a good one at that!" after a great save and "He was nailed" after a great hit.
Other notable stylistic traits of Cole's calls include both a trademark cadence that trots and gallops independent of the pace of play, as well as a general ambiguity towards puck location and its possessors: "They. are. doing it folks. they. are. doing it now!" "He. tried to. GO IN THERE!" "There's a drive. ANOTHER ONE!" Bob also has a proclivity for referring to the game itself as "this baby." "Pittsburgh better get a quick one here. or this baby's gonna be Over!" or "Scores! And this baby is tied."
Notable games and calls
HNIC
He called a 1976 game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Soviet club CSKA Moscow. In the first period, the Soviets, unhappy with the officiating, left the ice. "They're going home! They're going home!" exclaimed a disbelieving Cole. Another classic was his description of a goal by Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, when the "Magnificent One" walked through the entire Minnesota North Stars team to score a big goal: "What a move! What a goal! Lemieux! Whooooa baby!"
A more recent call from a Toronto Maple Leaf's broadcast included the instant classic, "Antropov takes a soft dump in the corner!" as well as his proclamation during a Vancouver Canucks/Toronto Maple Leafs game that Vancouver was "Killing their own penalty!" to only have them score three seconds later, when he would immediately change his opinion to it being a "dominant powerplay."citation needed
Also memorable is the call made 10 seconds before the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993:
| “ | And now a 24th Stanley Cup banner will hang from the rafters of the famous Forum in Montreal! THE CANADIENS WIN THE STANLEY CUP! | †|
Cole's most memorable HNIC call came the following year during the New York Rangers' Stanley Cup victory in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. At the final horn, Cole had already become the first NHL commentator to announce it and his was the most memorable call. It was the CBC's most-watched sports show until the Canadian ice hockey team won the gold medal at the Salt Lake City Olympics1. His call, which was heard by nearly five million viewers across Canada1, came at the final faceoff, with 1.6 seconds to go:
| “ | The New York Rangers have DONE IT HERE ON A HOT JUNE NIGHT IN NEW YORK! THE RANGERS ARE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS! | †|
Olympics
Cole's work during CBC's broadcasts of the Olympic games have also become memorable among legions of Canadians. His call on the final shot of the shootout in the semi-final game of the 1998 Olympics at Nagano between Canada and the Czech Republic represented Canada's failure at the games and haunted fans for years. With Canada scoreless in the shootout and Brendan Shanahan representing their last chance, Cole said in a panicked voice as Shanahan skated in towards Czech goalie Dominik Hasek, "He's gotta score, that's all!" But Shanahan was stopped by Hasek, prompting Cole to dejectedly say "No."
His animated call of Joe Sakic's second goal of the gold medal game of the 2002 Olympics is also one of his more memorable moments. Also, on the fourth Canada goal of the 2002 Olympic Gold Medal game, Cole was so excited when the goal was scored, he yelled out "GORE!" (a hybrid of "goal" and "score") He proceeded to call out, "Goal! Goal, Canada!" His most memorable call came at the end of that game when Canada defeated the United States 5-2 to win the gold medal, ending a half-century gold medal drought. As the final seconds ticked away, Cole said:
| “ | Now, after 50 years, it's time for Canada to stand up and cheer! STAND UP AND CHEER EVERYBODY! THE OLYMPICS SALT LAKE CITY 2002 MEN'S ICE HOCKEY GOLD MEDAL: CANADA! | †|
Colour commentators
Cole's long time colour commentator on HNIC was Harry Neale. They were first teamed up in the 1986-87 season. From 1987 to 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, they broadcasted 20 Stanley Cup Finals together. He is now usually paired with Greg Millen, but still occasionally works with Neale. Prior to that, his usual partners included Gary Dornhoefer, Mickey Redmond, or John Davidson. Dick Irvin, Jr. also often joined his broadcast team as a third man in the booth for big games.
References
- ^ a b . "News Release" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved on 2008-10-26.