FOSTER HEWITT:
Inducted 1965.
Born 21 November 1902
Toronto, Ontario.
Died 21 April 1985.
The voice of Foster Hewitt was intertwined with most of the major hockey events of the 20th century. His pioneering work on the radio and, later, television brought hockey to homes across North America. Hewitt's insightful and enthusiastic play-by-play was one of the greatest promotional tools at the disposal of the NHL.
The son of respected journalist William Hewitt, Foster was born in Toronto. While attending the University of Toronto, he was the intercollegiate boxing champion and passionate fan of hockey. After graduating, he pursued his career in sports broadcasting and went on to become internationally famous.
His career began in the old Mutual Street Arena in Toronto on February 16, 1923 when he broadcast a game between the Toronto Argonauts and the Kitchener Greenshirts. Through the Depression and World War II the familiar voice of Hewitt linked Canada from coast-to-coast.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs were born in 1927, Hewitt became their radio announcer. He later served as the master of ceremonies when Maple Leaf Gardens opened on November 12, 1931. His voice became as integral a part of Maple Leafs folklore as the "Kid Line," Syl Apps, Turk Broda, and Teeder Kennedy.
On November 1, 1952, Hewitt broadcast the first televised hockey game in Canada between the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs. For most fans this was their first look at the voice that had become such an important part of their lives. Five years later he turned the microphone over to his son Bill, while he picked the three stars and handled the post-game wrap up.
Hewitt retired in 1963 to devote all of his time to his radio station CKFH in Toronto. In 1972 he came out of retirement at the encouragement of CTV's Johnny Esaw to broadcast the historic Summit Series between Canada and the USSR. His description of the winning goal by Paul Henderson became as famous as the original "Hello Hockey Fans" introduction on the radio broadcasts in his heyday. Hewitt was elected to the Canada Sports Hall of Fame, and presented the Order of Canada. In addition to his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Hewitt was honoured when a media award in his name was introduced by the Hall to worthy broadcast recipients. He was himself inducted into the Hall in 1965.
Second Bio:
Pioneer - Member of CAB Hall of Fame
Hewitt, Foster (1904-1985)
"He shoots - he scores!" - four words that became the trademark for Canada's premier play-by-play hockey broadcaster - Foster Hewitt. Foster first started in radio by selling crystal sets, but foumd there was too much competition. Instead, he moved behind the microphone to become a reporter for the Toronto Star where his father was Sports Editor.
In 1922, the Star had established a radio station - CFCA - with studios in The Toronto Star Building, 18 - 20 King Street West. One of Foster's jobs was to read news. On March 22, 1923, with only a few hours notice he was assigned the task of giving a play-by-play account that evening of an intermediate play-off game between Kitchener and Toronto Parkdale teams at the Mutual Street arena in Toronto. He did the broadcast using an ordinary telephone of the era, cramped inside an improvised 4' x 4' glass booth at ice level. The game went into 3 periods of overtime, and the broadcast lasted 3 hours. For a long time, the sports broadcasting facilities were crude and uncomfortable. Foster would help set up the booth - often in an unsafe place to get the best viewpoint.
These facilities were a far cry from the overhead gondola built years later at the Maple Leaf Gardens, from which Foster's description of the NHL games were transmitted over CN-CP telegraph lines, first to stations in Ontario and then to radio stations from coast-to-coast.
The Toronto Star station was short-lived, the paper (along with others) turning-in their license and pulling the plug in 1931, anticipating that the government stations would ultimately replace the pioneering private stations. The General Motors Hockey Broadcasts, produced by the MacLaren Advertising Agency in the early 30s and "starring" Foster Hewitt, were carried by CFRB and ultimately keyed to a coast-to-coast ad hoc network.
In 1934, Imperial Oil took over sponsorship and it was identified as "The Imperial Esso Hockey Broadcast ". In 1936 when the CBC was formed and made its network available to advertisers, MacLaren were obliged to use CBC-affiliated stations, including CBL Toronto. However, for a few years, both CBL and CFRB carried the broadcasts. It was not until the 50's that the broadcast was dubbed "Hockey Night in Canada".
When Hockey broadcasts were introduced to television, Foster was at the microphone for the first broadcast. However, he decided to stay with radio, and in 1957, his son, Bill took over TV.
In 1951, Foster started his own radio station - CKFH at 1430 on the dial. The power in the beginning was only 250 watts. Foster's station was bought by Telemedia and the call letters "CKFH' were retired, In 1997, Fairchild Holdings bought the transmitter site and 1430 became CHTK. However, a few years before CKFH became history, Foster had begun to broadcast the Leaf's mid-week out-of-town games, which put an end to the reconstructed broadcasts on anotherToronto station.
Foster was the recipient of several awards including The Order of Canada, a number of broadcasting industry awards, as well as memberships in the Canada Sports Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Foster Hewitt died April 21, 1985 at 83 years of age. In 1989, he was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame.
