04/21/2025
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On this day in 1985, Foster Hewitt died in Scarborough.
For decades, he was the voice of hockey in Canada as the play-by-play broadcaster on Hockey Night in Canada.
This is the story of the man who became a national icon by yelling "He shoots, he scores!"
Hewitt was born on Nov. 21, 1902 in Toronto. His father was W.A. Hewitt, the sports editor for the Toronto Daily Star who helped establish the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.
As a student at the University of Toronto, Foster Hewitt was a champion boxer.
From an early age, Hewitt was fascinated with radio. This led him to take a job with the Independent Telephone Company, which manufactured radios.
When the Toronto Daily Star started its own radio station, his father got him a job with the new station CFCA.
On Feb. 16, 1923, Hewitt broadcasted his first hockey game from the Toronto Arena Gardens.
He continued to work as a play-by-play broadcaster for the next few years.
When Maple Leaf Gardens was built, a broadcast booth high above the ice was constructed for him.
In 1931, he began working on Hockey Night In Canada, which began as a show on CNR Radio. This began four decades of radio broadcasting on the program that made him a national icon for many Canadians.
From 1952 to 1958, he handled the play-by-play on CBC TV.
On Oct. 11, 1958, he handed over TV broadcasting duties to his son Bill Hewitt.
After this, he provided colour commentary on Saturday night games on TV and continued radio play-by-play broadcasts on weeknights.
After 1963, he only worked in radio broadcasts.
From 1951 to 1981, he owned the radio station CKFH, which broadcast Maple Leafs' games until 1978. It was later renamed CJCL after it was sold.
In 1965, he became a co-owner of the WHL's Vancouver Canucks.
Hewitt retired as a broadcaster in 1968.
In 1965, Hewitt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.
During the 1972 Summit Series, Hewitt came out of retirement to provide play-by-play of the series. He was joined by Brian Conacher, who did the colour commentary.
Also in 1972, Hewitt was awarded the Order of Canada.
In 1975, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1979, his original broadcast booth was demolished on orders of Harold Ballard, and thrown into an incinerator to put private boxes into the arena.
The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1984. The first four winners were Fred Cusick, Foster Hewitt, Danny Gallivan and René Lecavalier.
At Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the media broadcast booth is named for him as well.
In 1989, Hewitt was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
In 1996, he was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
There was once a Canadian-style pub and grill restaurant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan named for him.
I hope you enjoyed that look at the life of Foster Hewitt.
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Glad Klassen - Voice Over Talent
