Hockey Hall of Fame media voting
Just a bit of background:
Five or six years ago, when I was living in Toronto, I got a small bee in my bonnet about the Foster Hewitt Award. I had e-mailed a letter to Doc Emrick and/or Chuck Kaiton recommending Ron MacLean for the award, and wondered how that no-brainer had never been fulfilled.
After he didn’t get it, I thought, “oh, maybe Ron and Don Cherry transcend the media award and should/could be actual Honoured Members/inductees in the builders category. Probably not, but just a thought.
Anyway, here’s the past and present language for qualification:
“to recognize distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting.”
There is nothing specific about play-by-play persons or anything that omits anyone in the industry. A tradition may have been established since the award is named after a great play-by-play man, but it was more about habit and potentially unintended cronyism.
I brought that up in phone calls to both Doc and Chuck, the president of the broadcaster’s association at the time, and asked why there weren’t more non-play-by-play guys earning the award.
Chuck, who I enjoyed seeing again at the Hall of Fame media luncheon last month, agreed with me.
Doc was a bit irked, that I was stirring the pot, but we talked it out.
Doc and I had always been on very friendly terms. I worked as a researcher with NBC for him and the other broadcasters at the Torino Games, he’d been in-studio on my radio show, and when our family’s dog passed away, he sent my son a condolences card. Great guy obviously and the best in the biz. It was a mildly uncomfortable turned productive chat.
But it was an adjustment. Not long after, Bill Clement, host and colour man, earned the award in 2022. Daryl Reaugh, colour man with a sprinkle of play-by-play, picked up the honour just last month.
By the way, this isn’t without precedent. Former Habs winger turned analyst Gilles Tremblay in 2002, former Rangers radio and TV sidekick Sal “Red Light” Messina in 2005 and my pal and everyone’s pal, commentator Mickey Redmond of the Red Wings in 2011. All non-play-by-play.
It just became a habit.
So great, now there’s a new push on. Let’s open the door a bit wider and break the habit.
That said, there’s no reason to add more than one per year. The pool will dry up quicker than you think, unless of course, it just becomes even more cronyism, or maybe politics, nepotism, or favouritism down the road.
The language also doesn’t preclude broadcasting giants who were mostly, or always, off the mic. Paul Graham, “PG”, an amazing patriarchal producer recently retired from TSN, and my old boss John Shannon both come to mind.
One other important note: The Hockey Hall of Fame has a plaque area dedicated to the media awards. They’re tolerant of the media folks, especially in having to remind everyone on occasion that media award winners are not “inductees”; they’re not Honoured Members of the Hall. They’re media award winners.
So that’s that. Yes, let’s kick the door open. Not just the door to eligible broadcasters, but also to the nomination and voting process. If the electors are gonna have their hands full moving forward, they’re gonna need help, and of course, we all deserve some reasonable level of transparency.
Of interest from the Kraken:
— Kraken Frustration Builds; Wild Prevail 4-1
