Hockey Night in Canada

By Bill Kelly

There Probably aren't many people who remember the days when radio was a novelty, when television did not exist and when satellite dishes and cable were not even on the drawing board. What I remember most about those days were radio programs like Lux Radio Theatre, Amos and Andy, Jim Hunter's newscasts, Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allan, and the king of them all.. Hockey Night in Canada.

The most unlikely people would arrive on our living room sofa to listen to Lux Radio Theatre, which consisted of the latest Hollywood production with the current great movie stars. Even skating or local hockey games seemed to end in time for us to catch all or part of the Theatre's presentation.

But is was Saturday night that the "king" from Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto was broadcast. That night was never the loneliest night in the week at our house. In the early days, very few people had radios, and father had a snappy looking console radio and listened to certain programs religiously. Nothing but the sounds of Foster Hewitt and Maple Leaf Gardens echoed through the walls of our home on Saturday night. Some time before each broadcast, men would start to arrive at our house, sometimes to talk about problems ( my father was Reeve of McLean Township for many years), sometimes to talk about work ( father seemed to be able to find a job for men who had families and needed money), but always to stay and listen to hockey night in Canada.

As children, I remember being regaled with stories of early Baysville, with hunting adventures, and with general Baysville gossip, as men "dropped in" early after supper. As father sat in his chair smoking his pipe, facing the console radio, one by one the men would state their problem or deliver whatever message they came to convey. But when the music started and Hewitt announced it was hockey night in Canada, silence prevailed.

It was the days of the Conacher brothers, Lionel " the Big Train" Conacher and his brother Charlie, Syl Apps, and goalie Turk Broda. Foster Hewitt thrilled the radio audience when he exclaimed " He shoots. He scores." Father's favorite games were when the Montreal Canadians played the Toronto Maple Leafs. No one dared to interrupt those broadcasts.

The tradition to visit our home, particularly on Saturday nights continued into the television era, when father bought one of the first TV's in the village, along with an aerial which soared into the sky, and brought the "snowy" picture into our living room. Many of the favorite radio programs swung over to television, with Hockey Night in Canada being the favorite. The visiting audience was so big sometimes, especially during playoffs that extra chairs had to be carried from the dining room to provide seats.

In a way television brought home the cold reality of sports. On radio, if Foster Hewitt was late in making a call, it didn't matter. "The picture" of the game was in each individual's mind and each person imagined what was happening. With television, you saw the play and some of the excitement of a goal was lost. Often the announcer was talking AFTER the action, and I remember thinking they should get a new announcer who could keep up with the game. The television got the name of "idiot box" mainly because you didn't have to think when it was on. It was a total escape from using your brain, whereas radio made you imagine the action, and connected you to the thrill of the audience.

Alas television will remain with us, despite the increasing low quality of the programming, as television producers try to shock viewers with extended sexual innuendo and violence. If you really want a relaxing evening, buy some of the old radio tapes of that early programming and revive your imagination. It's a worthwhile journey into the past.

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