Broadcasting Legend Passes

Sports announcers. The men and women who make the games come alive each and every night. They are the soundtrack to the events. For many of us, the call of the play can be just as memorable as the play itself. For people in Western New York, and a handful of hockey fans around the world for that matter, Rick Jeanneret did that like no other. The longtime voice of Buffalo Sabres hockey passed away Thursday night after a long battle with illness. He was 81.

For 51 years, Rick was behind the mic for Buffalo, calling all of their major moments on TV and radio. His one liners became the stuff of legend, not only in Buffalo but around the league as well.

Top Shelf Where Mama Hides The Cookies, Roll The Highlight Film, Oh Brother We Are Not Worthy, La-la-la-la-Fontaine, MAY DAY.

We could go on and on with those.

But its more to it then that. He was behind the mic for almost every game for the team between 1972 when he got hired and 2022 when he finally retired. In 2012, the man known to all as RJ, was given the highest honor somebody in the game could get. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as the winner of the Foster Hewitt award for Broadcasting Excellence. He then was given another huge honor by the Sabres in 2022, having a banner raised to the rafters in Buffalo. He's one of 11 people to be so honored by Buffalo, and only the 3rd non player. The others are the team's founders, brothers Seymour and Northrup Knox. 

Jeanneret provided the soundtrack to winter nights in Western New York. And having spoken to quite a few people in that area when I was in school there, he was the reason that a lot of people wanted to get into the broadcasting industry. He had a way about him being able to call a game that few in the industry had. He was outstanding at being able to paint a beautiful word picture for the action happening on the ice. He did on both TV and Radio, which is a very tough thing to do.

RJ will be greatly missed by hockey fans around the world!