The Final Call

There are voices that we legitimately associate with certain events: Vin Scully and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Howard Cosell and boxing, and Pat Summerall for NFL football. One man whose voice can be added to the likes of Foster Hewitt and Danny Gallivan in Canada is Bob Cole who announced yesterday that he will return to the CBC-Sportsnet collaboration of Hockey Night in Canada for one last season this year. For a guy like me who grew up knowing that Bob Cole was the voice of hockey on Saturday night, it seems surreal that his voice will no longer be heard on hockey broadcasts, but it seems Cole has more than earned himself a little time off after committing to his 50th season on the nation's public broadcaster.

"Hockey has been my passion for as long as I can remember," Cole stated in a release. "It's been an honour and a privilege serving Canadian hockey fans across the country and being part of the Hockey Night in Canada institution. "I'm looking forward to getting to the rinks for this last season, seeing familiar faces and getting out there to do what I love most in the world."

Sportsnet said all of Cole's games would be over the first half of the season, adding that further details of a tribute in his honour will be announced at a later date. It seems entirely suitable that they have Bob Cole honoured in Toronto where he made some of his most memorable calls, but his work in hockey has allowed him to travel across this continent, across the world, to Olympic Games, and has been part of the CBC's hockey broadcasts for half a century. While others have worked the games out west and developed into amazing broadcasters themselves - Jim Hughson, Chris Cuthbert, and Mark lee come to mind - it's hard to replicate what Bob Cole has done as the voice of Hockey Night in Canada for a few generations.

Because I'll never be able to give Bob Cole all the credit he's due for his amazing body of work over the years, Sportsnet has put together a small video of some of his best calls. Seeing some of these highlights again brought back the memories of watching them in my younger days, so here's Bob Cole and some of his best work from an amazing career.

We get one more season of "Oh Baby!" before Cole hangs up his microphone for good. It might be a good time to settle in with an old friend on October 6 when Montreal hosts Pittsburgh because there may not be a ton of opportunities outside of YouTube to hear Bob Cole call a game. Just hearing his voice reminds of hockey. That's the sound of an iconic voice that deserves to live on in perpetuity.

One more season. OH BABY!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!