pilldoc Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Long time great NHL Hockey announcer Doc Emrick is hanging up the microphone. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/30146520/mike-doc-emrick-retiring-hockey-play-play-broadcaster Longtime NHL announcer Mike "Doc" Emrick is retiring as a broadcaster Monday. "I hope I can handle retirement OK, especially since I've never done it before," Emrick told the New York Post. "But I've just been extremely lucky for 50 years. And NBC has been so good to me, especially since the pandemic, when I was allowed to work from home in a studio NBC created. "Now, into my golden years, this just seemed to be the time that was right." Emrick, 74, has been the preeminent voice for NHL games on NBC and NBC Sports since moving to the network in a full-time role in 2011. Prior to that, he served as the play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Devils for 21 seasons. Emrick's résumé includes calling 22 Stanley Cup Finals. He had stints at ESPN and ABC as well as Fox and CBS and at six Olympic Winter Games. In 2008, Emrick was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame, which awarded him the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to hockey broadcasting. Enjoy retirement.you earned it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 He has been an outstanding broadcaster. I wish him all the best in retirement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 (edited) Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, voice of NHL on NBC, announces retirement By Sean Leahy, Oct 19, 2020, 9:46 AM EDT Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, among the most acclaimed, respected and beloved sportscasters of all time, announced his retirement today following a 47-year career broadcasting professional hockey, including the last 15 as the lead play-by-play voice for NBC Sports’ NHL coverage. Synonymous with hockey in the United States, Emrick rose from calling college and minor league hockey in the 1970s to voicing the most important hockey games of the past three decades, including 22 Stanley Cup Finals, 45 Stanley Cup Playoffs/Final Game 7s, six Olympics, NHL Winter Classics and All-Star Games. In all, Emrick estimates he has called more than 3,750 professional and Olympic hockey games, thrilling viewers with an unmatched style that blended fevered excitement with an endless vocabulary of words to describe the puck’s movement around the rink. Acclaim for his work is unmatched. In 2011, Emrick became the first broadcaster ever inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. In all, he’s a member of seven Halls of Fame. That same year, Emrick won the first of his eight career Sports Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play, which is the most ever in the category, including an unprecedented run of seven consecutive in the years 2014-2020. Although retiring, Emrick will remain a member of the NBC Sports family by occasionally writing and narrating video essays for its NHL coverage in the future. “It was 50 years ago this fall, with pen and pad in hand at old Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, I got my first chance to cover the National Hockey League. Gordie Howe was a Red Wing, Bobby Hull was a Blackhawk, Bobby Orr was a Bruin,” said Emrick. “A time like this makes me recall that we have seen a lot together. The biggest crowd ever, 105,000 at Michigan Stadium. A gold medal game that required overtime between the two North American powers in Vancouver. “Things change over 50 years, but much of what I love is unchanged from then to now and into the years ahead. I still get chills seeing the Stanley Cup. I especially love when the horn sounds, and one team has won and another team hasn’t, all hostility can dissolve into the timeless great display of sportsmanship – the handshake line. I leave you with sincere thanks.” “Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick is a national treasure – simply put, he’s one of the best ever to put on a headset in the history of sports broadcasting,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer and President, Production, NBC and NBCSN. “Doc’s love of the game and his unmatched style produced true artistry, engaged new fans and quickly became the soundtrack of hockey. He lived at the rink on game days, spending countless hours at morning skates to find one more story to seamlessly weave into his frenetic, yet lyrical, call of a game. Doc always found the right words to meet the moment. It’s impossible to put into words the impact Doc has had not only on the game of hockey, but for anyone who has had the distinct pleasure to work with him.” “It has been a privilege and education on hockey’s biggest stage to have sat next to Doc for the last 14 years,” said NBC Sports’ lead NHL analyst Eddie Olczyk, who shared a booth with Doc for the past 14 seasons. “I will miss his stories, his preparation, his play-by-play, his friendship, and our dinners on the road. But most of all, I will miss his trust. My family and I wish him, Joyce, the pups and horses lots of love down the road.” Emrick’s career started during the 1970-71 NHL season, when he covered the Pittsburgh Penguins as a freelance reporter for the Beaver County Times. Emrick is affectionately known as ‘Doc’ because he received his Ph.D. in broadcast communications from Bowling Green State University in 1976. He called college hockey (Bowling Green, 1971-73) and minor league hockey (IHL’s Port Huron Flags, 1973-77; AHL’s Maine Mariners, 1977-80) before moving to the NHL, where he called games for three NHL teams, including roughly 20 seasons with the New Jersey Devils, as well as three broadcast networks over the past four decades. *** Doc ‘By the Numbers’ 3,750 – Professional and Olympic hockey games 100+ – Different verbs used to describe a shot or pass 50 – Seasons covering hockey1970-71: NHLWA reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins1971-73: Bowling Green State University (play-by-play)1974-2020: IHL, AHL, NHL 47 – Seasons broadcasting professional hockey1973-1977: Port Huron Flags (IHL)1977-80: Maine Mariners (AHL)1980-83, 88-93: Philadelphia Flyers1983-86, 93-2011: New Jersey Devils1986-88: New York Rangers (radio)1986-88, 2000-04: ESPN/ABC1995-99: FOX Sports2006-2020: NBC Sports (exclusive since 2011) 45 – Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7s 22 – Stanley Cup Finals • Most-watched NHL game on record (8.9 million viewers); Blues-Bruins Game 7 (2019) • Most-watched Final on record (5.753 million viewers; 6 games); Blackhawks-Bruins (2013) 19 – NHL Winter Classic and Stadium Series games • First-ever NHL Winter Classic; Penguins-Sabres (2008) • Most-watched NHL regular-season game on record (4.53 million viewers); Capitals-Penguins (2011 NHL Winter Classic) 14 – NHL All-Star Games 8 – Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sports Personality – Play-by-Play • Most ever in the category • Unprecedented seven consecutive from 2014-2020 7 – Halls of Fame1997: Port Huron, Mich., Sports Hall of Fame2008: Foster Hewitt Award presented by the Hockey Hall of Fame2010: Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame2011: U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame2019: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame2019: National Sports Media Hall of Fame2020: Fort Wayne Komets Hall of Fame 6 – Olympic Winter Games • Most-watched hockey game in 40 years (27.6 million); Vancouver 2010 USA-Canada Gold Medal Game Edited October 19, 2020 by Brewin Flames 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FD19372 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 He was always most loquacious and professional. I hope he enjoys retirement, sashaying back in his recliner. He always brought a high level of energy to his broadcasts. I wish him all the best in retirement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickp Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Doc Emrick and Gary Thorne will always be the two best NHL play by play voices in my mind 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkscrewy Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 still love hearing his call on the last Flyers-Pens Stadium series. I might have to watch/listen again right now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Couldn't stand listening to him. Enjoy your retirement...I will. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Just now, flyercanuck said: Couldn't stand listening to him. Enjoy your retirement...I will. I agree. Now bring Gary Thorne back... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachX Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Smells like somethin' died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyer4ever Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 On 10/19/2020 at 3:35 PM, flyercanuck said: Couldn't stand listening to him. Enjoy your retirement...I will. If you grew up in Canada in the 60's and onward, you heard all the legends, Foster and Bill Hewitt, Danny Gallivan, Dan Kelly, Don Whitman and others. On this scale, Emrick doesn't measure up. Won't have to mute the NBC broadcasts anymore. Happy retirement Doc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyercanuck Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 11 hours ago, AJgoal said: See the difference between this call and where he eventually went is it actually sounds like he's talking about hockey here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJgoal Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 2 hours ago, flyercanuck said: See the difference between this call and where he eventually went is it actually sounds like he's talking about hockey here. Yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo1917 Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 (edited) * Edited October 22, 2020 by mojo1917 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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