Fergie Olver

Last updated

Fergie Olver
Born (1947-07-05) July 5, 1947 (age 78)
Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada
Occupations Game show host, sportscaster
Years active1965–1996
Spouse Catherine Swing (divorced)

Fergus Gerald "Fergie" Olver is a Canadian former sportscaster and game show host who was a reporter and play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays and co-host of the 1980s children's game show Just Like Mom .

Contents

Baseball

Olver was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan and spent most of his youth in Moose Jaw, where he was an all-star high school baseball player and a member of the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. [1] [2] [3]

When Olver was 18, his family moved to Anaheim, California, where he was a standout for the Western High School baseball team. [1] In August 1961, he signed a professional contract with the Chicago White Sox. [2] In 1962, he played 45 games for the White Sox's Class D affiliate, the Harlan Smokies, and batted .283 with 2 home runs, 21 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. The following season he played 13 games for the Class A Sarasota Sun Sox, getting 8 hits in 45 at-bats (.178). [4] He was released by the team in May and joined the Saskatoon franchise of the Western Canadian Baseball League. [5] [6]

Broadcasting

Olver began his television career as a cameraman at CFCN-TV in Calgary. After a four month stint in Lloydminster, he moved to CHAB radio and CHAB-TV in Moose Jaw. After five years, he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan. [1] He joined CFCF-TV in Montreal in 1969, but left after four months for CFTO-TV in Toronto, where he remained until 1984. [7] He also served as a national broadcaster for CTV Television Network, calling the Wrigley National Midget Tournament, hosting the Kentucky Derby and Queen's Plate horse races, and serving as a dugout reporter during Toronto Blue Jays games. [8] [9] [10] [11] He also co-hosted the children's television game show Just Like Mom (1980–1985), with his wife Catherine Swing, who was also the show's creator. [12] From 1984 to 1989, he was the play-by-play announcer for Blue Jays games on TSN . He was known for his homerism and the catchphrase "how about those Blue Jays". [13] He continued as a reporter for Jays games on CTV and later Baton Broadcasting System until Baton lost its broadcasting rights after the 1996 season. [14] In 2004, he was nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award. [15]

Horse racing

Olver owned a harness racing stable of about 20 horses in the early 1970s. He later formed a large stable with two business partners and by 1984 owned 60 to 70 horses. [7] Olver sold his stable by 1986. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Brunt, Stephen (April 26, 1986). "Broadcaster Olver is fan with mission". The Globe and Mail.
  2. 1 2 "Olver signs pro contract". The Leader-Post. August 30, 1961. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "Fergie Olver". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "Gerald Olver". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Jones Will Miss Opener". The Leader-Post. May 14, 1963. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "Saskatoon Bats Produce 17-Hit Attack". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. June 23, 1963. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 Jennings, Cec (July 14, 1984). "Fergie Olver gets his evenings free". The Globe and Mail.
  8. ↑ "CTV Covers Midget Hockey". Victoria Daily Times. January 24, 1975. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "Queen's Plate on CTV". The Phoenix. June 16, 1972. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  10. ↑ "The Kentucky Derby on CTV". The Val d'Or Star. April 23, 1975. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Elliott, Bob (August 23, 1983). "Dave and Duke best combination". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  12. ↑ Harder, Greg. "Fergie Olver was a 1980s TV fixture as sportscaster and game-show host". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  13. ↑ "Olver gonged from TSN games". The Vancouver Sun. December 4, 1989.
  14. ↑ Hutchinson, Cam (March 22, 1997). "Sask. a world leader in curling exports". The Star - Phoenix.
  15. ↑ "2004 Ford Frick Award nominees". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.