Hockey Broadcaster Bob Cole, Known for “Oh Baby” Call, Dies at 90

Bob Cole, renowned broadcaster closely associated with hockey, passed away at the age of 90 recently. Known primarily for his work on “Hockey Night in Canada”, Cole called Toronto Maple Leafs games from 1980 until last year. He also announced several Olympic Games, World Cup of Hockey tournaments and numerous Stanley Cup Finals throughout his career. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the network for which he worked, confirmed his death on Thursday, adding that Cole’s daughter Megan said her father had been healthy “up until the very end”. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche centre and Nova Scotia native remembered the broadcaster fondly, mentioning how at charity golf tournaments in Halifax he would show up to support Atlantic Canadians. Cole was widely admired for his signature call of ‘Oh baby’ as well as a unique combination of words “goal” and “score”, which resulted in him shouting out the term “gore” after Joe Sakic scored for Team Canada during the 2002 Olympics. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stated that Cole had an ability to make every game he called sound more significant, transcending generations by sharing his obvious passion for hockey and conveying its excitement and grandeur with both eloquence and enthusiasm. In April 1969, Cole announced his first match on the radio between Boston and Montreal before moving over to television in 1973. He called his final game on April 6th of last year – a regular-season finale featuring Toronto Maple Leafs against Canadiens. Over the years he earned prestigious honours including being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster in 1996. Winnipeg Jets coach Rick Bowness said, “The hockey world has lost an icon”. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper compared Cole to Wayne Gretzky – the greatest player of all time. He added that he would miss this superstar in sports and called him a true professional who could be trusted with anything. The Associated Press contributed reporting for this article as well.