Come on, this man was part of the pioneering of Hockey Night in Canada back and he's only being inducted now? Again, this is one of those "I could've sworn this should've happened earlier" things. Actually, now that I think about it, this is a "I could've sworn this should've happened AGES ago" things.
So what's the dilly-o? Why now and not earlier?
2007-11-12 11:59:08 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Hockey
Sorry, HNIC "back then." Missed that.
2007-11-12 11:59:40 · update #1
The Hockey Hall of Fame has an odd group of selectors. It's a small panel, and sometimes personalities come into play. Bill Hewitt was a very solid, veteran announcer in his day, who simply walked away from the business. He always had his father's shadow over him, and since Foster invented hockey announcing that was a pretty big shadow.
The player selections are often more odd, including such players as Gillies and Neely, but I can't disagree with any of the choices this year. Even Jim Gregory is one of the class acts of the business.
2007-11-12 16:21:59 · answer #1 · answered by wdx2bb 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Gee, I'd have thought you were too young to remember Bill. He was on before Bob Cole. And he was much better than Cole IMO.
Bill's father, Foster, was the pioneer of hockey play-by-play and I know you never heard him call a game as the last one I remember was the 1972 Canada Russia series (I was 12).
If you look Foster wasn't even acknowledged until long after he retired despite the fact nearly every guy who does the play-by-play today owes him a debt of gratitude. In fact, it is my humble opinion, the choice to air the Leafs games on the CBC radio network nation wide was perhaps one of the key moments in the history of the sport of hockey. Once those games were on the air, it was every little boy's dream to play in the NHL and win the Stanley Cup.
It seems the HHOF is very slow in the uptake when it comes to broadcasters.
In hockey's defense, no other major league sport is very quick to do it either. I'm pretty sure Phil Rizzuto was retired before he was honored and Vin Scully wasn't honored until his 35th year.
In an era where it is apparent that without the TV exposure most of these sports would not exist, it seems odd they forget to thank the people who had a very big hand in making the sports into the billion dollar entities they are today.
2007-11-12 13:14:45 · answer #2 · answered by PuckDat 7 · 5⤊ 2⤋
You just went down a few notches in my book for actually using the phrase "dilly-o"....
Just kiddin 288, I love ya
2007-11-12 13:46:48 · answer #3 · answered by TBL 6 · 3⤊ 2⤋