Dave Hodge

Dave Hodge

Hodge pictured in 2010
Born (1945-01-08) January 8, 1945
Montreal, Quebec
Occupation sports announcer
Employer TSN (1992–present)
CBC (1971–87)
Known for Former host of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada

Dave Hodge (born January 8, 1945) is a Canadian sports announcer who currently works for TSN, and has worked in the past for the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto.

Broadcasting career

Hodge served as play-by-play announcer for the Buffalo Sabres broadcasts in their inaugural season 1970–71, before ceding those duties to current play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret and the late Ted Darling. Joining the CBC the following season, he hosted Hockey Night in Canada from 1971 until 1987, working 15 Stanley Cup Finals. He was often joined in the studio by colourful analysts, such as Howie Meeker and Don Cherry. He also announced the Toronto Argonauts Canadian Football League radio broadcasts from 1974 to 1980.

Dismissal

On March 14, 1987, Hodge was the in-studio host as the CBC carried a game between the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs, which ended early. The network then switched over to a regional game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens for the end of the third period. It ended in a tie just before 11:00 PM Eastern Time, meaning it would require overtime. CBC executives, however, decided that only viewers in Quebec, who had seen the game from the start, would get to continue watching after 11:00, while the rest of the network would cut away. A visibly disgusted Hodge apprised viewers of the situation, concluding his remarks by flipping his pen in the air:[1]

Now, Montreal and the Philadelphia Flyers are currently playing in overtime, and...we are not able to go there. That's the way things go today in sports and this network. And the Flyers and the Canadiens have us in suspense, and we'll remain that way until we can find out somehow who won this game, or who's responsible for the way we do things here. Goodnight for Hockey Night in Canada.

Hodge was replaced the following week by western correspondent Ron MacLean and eventually fired from the network.[2]

After the CBC

Afterward, he was hired by Can-West Global to host their coverage of the 1987 and 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs, which included some games in the finals. Hodge was then the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the CFL-produced Canadian Football Network from 1987 to 1990. He returned to hockey as the lead voice of the Minnesota North Stars television broadcasts in 1991, and later hosted regional television broadcasts for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Global and TSN, and for the Vancouver Canucks on BCTV. During his time on TSN ever since he joined in 1992, he hosted TSN Inside Sports and its spinoff, That's Hockey. He also co-hosted the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Currently, Hodge hosts a Sunday morning show called The Reporters, as well as providing commentary for the network's NHL coverage.

References

  1. ↑ "Kliph Nesteroff's Oral History of Hockey Night in Canada - The Dave Hodge Pen Flip (1986)", Classic Television Showbiz, 8 June 2011. Retrieved on 9 August 2014
  2. ↑ Detroit Free Press, 28 March 1987

External links

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