Looking back at some of Bob Cole's most famous calls
The legendary hockey broadcaster passed away on Wednesday at the age of 90.
Legendary Canadian hockey broadcaster Bob Cole passed away in his hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on Wednesday, fifty-five years to the day of his first NHL play-by-play assignment for CBC Radio on April 24, 1969.
Cole moved to television with CBC in 1973, and was the voice of Hockey Night in Canada and a lot of international hockey for decades before his 50-year career came to an end in April 2019. Cole was the narrator of the sport for generations of fans, and told the story of many of hockey’s most iconic moments.
He had an ability to describe what was playing out in front of him without making himself the focus of the broadcast, inspired by his idol, another great broadcaster, Foster Hewitt. Cole was loved by the listeners, but also by the players and coaches — many of whom were the reason for his trademark “Oh, baby!” line.
As Stephen Brunt said on Thursday, Cole “made even the dullest game worth watching.” He was also a successful curler, skipping the Newfoundland team at the 1971 and 1975 Briers.
Below are some of my personal favourite calls from Cole’s career. Share any of your favourites in the comments as well.
Rest in peace, Bob Cole, and thank you.
“Henderson has got to be the hero of an entire nation now!”
One of the most iconic moments in Canadian hockey history is Paul Henderson’s goal with 34 seconds left in the final match of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.
Played during the Cold War, where nationalism and a prevalent “us versus them” attitude spilled from politics to hockey and many aspects of daily life around the world, the moment was hugely significant at the time for both sporting and cultural reasons. The series was tied 3-3 going into the final match after Canada won two of the first three games in Moscow, following the Soviets winning two of the four games in Canada — with one in Canada ending in a tie.
The eighth game was a chance for one of the teams to leave as the winners, and up stepped a hero.
The video below is the television feed of the famous last-minute goal, with Bob Cole’s radio commentary over it. The original television commentary was done by Foster Hewitt, who briefly came out of retirement for the Summit Series, and who inspired Cole to take up broadcasting in the first place many years prior.
“They’re going home!”
A few years after Henderson’s goal, on January 11, 1976, Cole was on the mic again for another famous game involving the Soviet Union, this time a game between the Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers and HC CSKA Moscow — also known as the Red Army Team.
As part of their North American tour in late 1975 and early 1976, the Red Army Team found themselves up against the physical, relentless Flyers. In the first period, Ed Van Impe laid out Valeri Kharlamov with a big hit, knocking out the Soviet forward. The referees judged it to be a clean hit not worthy of a penalty, which Soviet coach Konstantin Loktev took exception to.
Loktev pulled his team off the ice and back into the dressing room, leading to one of Cole’s most iconic calls — “They’re going home!”
The Soviet team was eventually persuaded to come back out and finish the game, but would lose 4-1 to the Flyers.
“And now a 24th Stanley Cup banner will hang from the rafters of the famous Forum in Montreal!”
It’s no secret that the Stanley Cup drought for Canadian teams has now been going on for over 30 years.
While four Canadian teams — the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks — still have a chance at lifting Lord Stanley in 2024, you have to go all the way back to 1993 for the time a team north of the border won it — the Montreal Canadiens.
After beating the Quebec Nordiques in the first round, the Canadiens swept the Buffalo Sabres in the division finals. They beat the New York Islanders 4-1 in the conference final, before matching that result against Wayne Gretzky and the LA Kings in the Stanley Cup final.
The last line in the video below is iconic to Habs fans, with many of them sharing it on social media on Thursday after news of Cole’s death spread throughout the hockey world. He officially declares Montreal the Stanley Cup champions, in a way that perfectly encapsulates the moment.
“Now after 50 years, it's time for Canada to stand up and cheer.”
Heading into the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Canada had not won a men’s Olympic gold medal in hockey in 50 years.
A talented Canadian team with several future Hockey Hall of Famers in the lineup finally broke that streak on February 24, 2002, beating the hosts and bitter rivals the United States 5-2 on their home ice in the gold medal game.
The video below is Joe Sakic’s late goal to put a potential American comeback out of reach, and the clock winding down at the end of a thrilling final. Cole, as he often did, wrapped it up perfectly.
“And that... Is all she wrote.”
After a career that spanned five decades, the time eventually came for Bob Cole’s final National Hockey League broadcast. He was assigned a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens on April 6, 2019 — fitting that a historic commentator’s final match was between the sport’s two most historic clubs.
In his first NHL game, Canadiens forward Ryan Poehling scored a hat trick and a shootout goal as part of a 6-5 victory for the Habs. As the game went to overtime, and then a shootout, it seemed as if Cole’s final game would never end.
Before long, however, it was time for him to say goodbye at the Bell Centre.
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An exquisite aesthetic of unparalleled originality defined Bob's voice and style. A personal favorite memory of mine was from one of the Stanley Cup Finals of the early 1980s with the Islanders. In this case, is wasn't so much what he said- but how he said it. I was about 11 or 12 when remembering "this call": "Here's Bossy, deke-ing.... score-ing; Boss-Y." I think it was an overtime goal but could be wrong of course! Does anybody have any inkling of the occasion I'm referring to here? Cheers Mr. Cole. God Bless, and deepest condolences to his family and friends. RIP Sir.