Foster Hewitt

Hewitt, Foster William

  Foster William Hewitt, broadcaster (b at Toronto 21 Nov 1902; d at Scarborough 21 Apr 1985). He worked briefly as a sportswriter for the Toronto Daily Star before switching to the new radio desk. On 22 Mar 1923, using an upright telephone, he made one of the first radio broadcasts of a HOCKEY game (a Senior League match between Toronto Parkdale and Kitchener). Although this success led him to try his hand at broadcasting a wide variety of sports and public-affairs events, his name is most indelibly associated with hockey. He broadcasted the first game from Maple Leaf Gardens when it opened in 1931 and, from that time, his play-by-play descriptions became familiar to fans from coast to coast. His high-pitched voice would rise to a crescendo with his famous phrase, "He shoots! He scores!" He probably did more to popularize hockey in N America than any other person. In 1933 he participated in Canada's first experiment with TV, and when that medium came of age in the 1950s, he readily adapted to it. He was a TV commentator for 15 years and many people remember him in connection with Hockey Night in Canada.