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Jim Robson | |
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 Robson speaking before the 2014 Heritage Classic | |
| Born | January 17, 1935 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | former broadcaster |
| Years active | 1952–1999 |
| Spouse | Bea |
| Children | 4 |
Jim Robson OBC (born January 17, 1935) is a former radio and television broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer of the Vancouver Canucks' games from 1970 to 1999. [1]
Robson started his career at the age of 17 covering senior men's basketball for CJAV radio station in Port Alberni. In 1955, Robson started working for CHUB radio in Nanaimo, where he covered the Mann Cup lacrosse finals.
By 1956, Robson found himself in Vancouver covering the BC Lions football team, the Vancouver Mounties baseball team and the then WHL Vancouver Canucks hockey team on CKWX.
When the Vancouver Canucks became an NHL expansion team in 1970, Robson moved to CKNW to announce the team's games; he was popularly known as the "Voice of the Canucks" for nearly three decades. For the first seven years, he usually worked alone. For road games, he broadcast the game without a colour commentator and provided the pre-game, intermission, and post-game shows. In 1977–78, he was joined by former BC Lions player and broadcaster Tom Larscheid. From 1983–84 to 1987–88, his broadcasting partner was ex-Canuck Garry Monahan before Larscheid rejoined him in 1988–89.
He also covered the Vancouver Canucks on television broadcasts on BCTV, CHEK-TV and VTV from 1985–86 through 1998–99. From 1987–88 to 1993–94, Robson provided both radio and television play-by-play for the Canucks on simulcasts, alongside colour commentators Monahan and Larschei, and Howie Meeker joined him on both TV and radio in 1985–86. [2]
Robson stepped down as the radio announcer for the Canucks in 1994 and moved to television full-time. His last radio broadcast was game seven of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals between the Canucks and the New York Rangers. Robson served as the Canucks' TV announcer for five more seasons, working alongside colour commentators Darcy Rota (1994–95 to 1995–96) and Ryan Walter (1996–97 to 1998–99). His replacement on radio was Jim Hughson, who later moved to Rogers Sportsnet, and then to CBC's Hockey Night in Canada . In his final year, Robson split television play-by-play duties with rookie John Shorthouse, who is now the announcer for the Canucks on TV and radio. [3] [4]
Jim Robson also worked for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada , mostly covering games in western Canada. It was for HNIC that he broadcast the Canucks' first NHL game, a 3–1 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings on October 9, 1970. His reputation as one of the top broadcasters in the business earned him assignments to cover the Stanley Cup Finals in 1975, 1980, 1982 (in which the Canucks faced the New York Islanders), and 1983. [5] [6]
He also covered the NHL All-Star Games in 1977 (Vancouver), 1981 (Los Angeles), and 1983 (Long Island). He left HNIC after the 1984–85 season, but had a couple of national TV assignments afterward; for CBC in the 1987 playoffs and CanWest Global for the 1988 Smythe Division Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.
Nationally, Jim Robson is probably best remembered for his call of Bob Nystrom's Cup-winning overtime goal for the Islanders in 1980. [7] [8] Locally, his voice is linked to every significant Canucks moment in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, particularly the 1982 and 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs. [9] [10] [11]
Robson was also well known for taking time to say "a special hello to all the hospital patients and shut-ins, those of you who can't make it out to the game", during each of his broadcasts, both on radio and TV. On Hockey Night in Canada, he also used to make a statement prior to the opening face-off regarding team uniform colors, for example, "tonight it's the Vancouver Canucks at the Calgary Flames, the Flames in home jerseys- trimmed in gold & white; the Canucks in road jerseys- trimmed in black & yellow". The notion of 'trimmed' was Robson's unique quote among HNIC play-by-play announcers. [4]
Off-the-air, Jim was involved in the community being in-demand as a guest speaker for numerous fund-raising dinners and banquets throughout the province of British Columbia. He served as a Director of the BC Benevolent Hockey Association and the Canucks Alumni.
Jim was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, and was inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. [12]
In 2002, at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual meeting in Vancouver, Jim Robson was inducted to the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame. [13]
The broadcast booth at Rogers Arena is named after him.
The pass, right on the stick of Tonelli. Coming in with Nystrom, Tonelli to Nystrom, HE SCORES! Bob Nystrom scores the goal! The Islanders win the Stanley Cup!
Babych, long shot. Potvin has trouble with it. Adams shoots, SCORES! Greg Adams! Greg Adams! Adams gets the winner fourteen seconds into the second overtime! The Vancouver Canucks are going to the Stanley Cup Final!
— The double overtime goal that advanced his team, the Vancouver Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. [11]
He'll play, you know he'll play. He'll play on crutches. He will play, and he'll play on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden; the game is over!
— The call as the final seconds ticked off the clock of Game 6 in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. He was referring to Trevor Linden, who was very bloody after taking a high stick, which led to the one of the most famous photos in Vancouver Canucks history, of Linden hugging Canucks goaltender Kirk McLean, with blood on Linden's jersey. [11] [14]
CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the Hockey Night in Canada brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its history in various platforms.
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Rick Tocchet is the head coach, Jim Rutherford serves as the president of hockey operations, and Patrik Allvin serves as the general manager.
Robert Cecil Cole is a Canadian former sports television announcer who has worked for CBC and Sportsnet and former competitive curler. He is known primarily for his work on Hockey Night in Canada.
Trevor John Linden is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former president of hockey operations and alternate governor of the Vancouver Canucks. He spent 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing centre and right wing with four teams: the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. Before joining the NHL in 1988, Linden helped the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) win consecutive Memorial Cup championships. In addition to appearing in two NHL All-Star Games, Linden was a member of the 1998 Canadian Olympic team and participated in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Stanley Philip Smyl is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He was selected 40th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft and went on to play his entire NHL career with the team until his retirement in 1991. He featured in the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals with the Canucks.
Jim Hughson is a retired Canadian sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play of the National Hockey League. He was the lead play-by-play commentator for the NHL on Sportsnet from 2014 to 2021 and Hockey Night in Canada from 2008 to 2021. His career spanned 42 years.
The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.
The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers, and Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL, bringing the total to 21 teams. The other two WHA teams were paid to fold.
Dave Hodge is a Canadian sports announcer. Hodge worked for TSN, the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto.
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John Shorthouse is a Canadian sports broadcaster based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the lead play-by-play commentator for the Vancouver Canucks on Sportsnet Pacific television. He also calls select nationally-televised games on Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada.
The 1994 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks were making the club's second Finals appearance, their first coming during their Cinderella run of 1982, and the Rangers were making their tenth appearance, their first since 1979. The Rangers ended their then record 54-year championship drought with a victory in game seven to claim the long-awaited Stanley Cup. It was the fourth championship in franchise history. The CBC broadcast of the deciding game seven attracted an average Canadian audience of 4.957 million viewers, making it the most watched CBC Sports program in history to that time. This was the last Stanley Cup Final with games played in Canada until 2004, and the last to go the full seven games until 2001.
Tom Larscheid is a former Vancouver-based radio sports broadcaster and football player. After a career playing college and CFL football, he was the colour commentator for the CFL's BC Lions and the NHL's Vancouver Canucks for many years. After 45 years in broadcasting and covering the Canucks for 27 seasons, he did his last game on October 9, 2010 for the 2010-11 season opener.
The 1982 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1981–82 season, and the culmination of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was played between the Campbell Conference champion Vancouver Canucks in their first Finals appearance and the Wales Conference and defending Cup champion New York Islanders, in their third Finals appearance. The Islanders won the best-of-seven series, four games to none, to win their third consecutive and overall Stanley Cup championship. This was the first time that a U.S.-based team won three straight Stanley Cups. The Canucks are also currently the first Stanley Cup finalist team without any Hall of Famers on their roster.
The 1980 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1979–80 season, and the culmination of the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the New York Islanders in their first-ever Finals appearance and the Philadelphia Flyers, in their fourth Finals appearance, and first since 1976. The Islanders would win the best-of-seven series, four games to two, to win their first Stanley Cup championship and the third for a post-1967 expansion team after Philadelphia's Cup wins in 1974 and 1975.
The 1988–89 Vancouver Canucks season saw the Canucks finish in fourth place in the Smythe Division with a record of 33 wins, 39 losses, and 8 ties for 74 points. They met the first-place Calgary Flames in the Division Semi-finals and extended the series to a decisive seventh game. However, the Flames took the game and the series on a Joel Otto goal in overtime en route to a Stanley Cup championship.
The history of the Vancouver Canucks begins when the team joined the National Hockey League (NHL). Founded as an expansion team in 1970 along with the Buffalo Sabres, the Vancouver Canucks were the first NHL team to be based in Vancouver. They adopted the name of the minor professional hockey team that had existed in Vancouver since 1945.
Rick Ball is a Canadian sportscaster who currently works as a hockey play-by-play announcer on Sportsnet's regional Calgary Flames broadcasts as well as Hockey Night In Canada and NHL on Sportsnet.
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