Mike "Doc" Emrick | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Emrick in November 2014 | |
| Born | (1946-08-01)August 1, 1946 (age 79) La Fontaine, Indiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Manchester University Miami University Bowling Green State University |
| Years active | 1973–2020 |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport(s) | Ice hockey,American football,baseball |
Michael "Doc"Emrick (born August 1, 1946) is an American former network televisionplay-by-play sportscaster and commentator noted mostly for his work inice hockey. He was the lead announcer forNational Hockey League national telecasts on bothNBC and NBCSN. Among the many awards Emrick has received is the NHL'sLester Patrick Award in 2004, making him the first of only six to have received the award for media work, and theFoster Hewitt Memorial Award by theHockey Hall of Fame in 2008.[1] He has also won nine nationalEmmy Awards for excellence in sports broadcasting, the only hockey broadcaster to be honored with even one. On December 12, 2011, Emrick became the first member of the media to be inducted into theUnited States Hockey Hall of Fame.[2] In 2017,Sports Illustrated listed Emrick as the sportscaster of the year.[3]
Emrick had his sights set on being a baseball announcer before attending his first hockey game on December 10, 1960, atFort Wayne'sAllen County War Memorial Coliseum, when theFort Wayne Komets hosted theMuskegon Zephyrs. He soon began to call Komets games into a tape recorder, and was mentored by longtime broadcasterBob Chase.[4] Emrick graduated fromSouthwood Junior-Senior High School in Wabash, Indiana, in 1964. He earned aB.Sc. inspeech fromManchester University in 1968 and aM.A. in radio/television fromMiami University in 1969. He then received aPh.D. in communications (radio/television/film) fromBowling Green State University in 1976, hence his nickname, "Doc".
Emrick taught speech and broadcasting atGeneva College inBeaver Falls, Pennsylvania from 1969 to 1971 and got his first experience of the NHL covering thePittsburgh Penguins as an unpaid correspondent forThe Beaver County Times newspaper.
Emrick began sportscasting professionally in 1973 when he was hired byPort Huron Flags' GM Morris Snider to doplay-by-play onWHLS radio and public relations for theIHL team. In 1977, he took on the same two roles with the first yearAHLMaine Mariners for three seasons (broadcasting that club'sCalder Cup championships in both 1978 and 1979). Emrick then served as theNew Jersey Devils' first voice after moving to the state,arriving for the1982–83 NHL season, and stayed there until1986.
Emrick wore several hats in the 1980s working for thePhiladelphia Flyers. He was a spot announcer for Flyers home broadcasts from1983 to1986, then was an in-studio analyst between 1986-88 when not covering national games. Emrick was promoted to the lead play-by-play slot for both local TV and cable for the team in1988, remaining with the Flyers until the end of the1992–93 season. He was paired with former NHLer and national hockey broadcasterBill Clement for four years.
In 1993, he returned to the Devils to replaceGary Thorne and continued to be the Devils' voice until July 2011.[5] He announced the Devils'1995 Stanley Cup victory alongsidecolor commentatorJohn Davidson for the national United States broadcast onFox.
Emrick has also done play-by-play forCBS,NBC (and its cable network subsidiaryNBC Sports Network, formerly OLN and Versus),ABC,TNT,ESPN,Fox,CSTV,SportsChannel America,SportsChannel Philadelphia,PRISM,Fox Sports Net, and others.
He was the lead play-by-play announcer forThe NHL on ESPN from1986 to1988 alongside lead color commentatorBill Clement.[6] His first nationalover-the-air television work came in 1992 doing ice hockey at theXVI Winter Olympic Games atAlbertville, France, forCBS. Emrick became the lead play-by-play announcer for theNHL on Fox, calling regular-season games andStanley Cup Finals from1995 to1999. AfterFox relinquished theNHL broadcast rights to ABC, he became a regional announcer forNHL on ABC from2000 to2004. He only called select playoff games at the time, but he did file reports for ABC Sports and ESPN'sStanley Cup Finals coverage.
Before the2005–06 NHL season, he was named the lead play-by-play announcer for theNHL on Versus (previouslyThe NHL on OLN) and theNHL on NBC, and since 2008, has served as an overall host of the telecast. He called the top Conference Final, and the entire Stanley Cup Finals for both networks. He has called games in 22 Stanley Cup Finals on TV (for NBC, ESPN, Fox, Versus and OLN), more than any other American broadcaster.[7][8] He has also called 14NHL All-Star Games for NBC, Fox, OLN, VERSUS, and ESPN.[8] Therefore, he is considered a hockey wizard.[9]
Emrick called the1996 World Cup of Hockey for thePrime Network and the2004 World Cup of Hockey for ESPN.
Emrick has worked fiveOlympic Games forNBC. He has also worked during the Olympics, twice forCBS and once forTNT. For NBC, he calledwater polo in the2004 and2012 Summer Olympics, and men's and women's ice hockey at the2006,2010 and the2014 Winter Olympics alongsideEddie Olczyk and "Inside-the-Glass" reporterPierre McGuire.[10][11]
With CBS, he called someNational Football League and men'sNCAA basketball tournament games. One notable assignment for Emrick was the first game forBrett Favre as a member of theGreen Bay Packers, including the first pass Favre ever threw as a Packer, which ended up being to himself. Emrick also called theNational Lacrosse League All-Star Game and Championship Game while at NBC.
On July 21, 2011, Emrick announced that he was leaving theNew Jersey Devils to work exclusively forNBC Sports.[12][13] Starting in the2011–12 season,Steve Cangialosi replaced him for play-by-play duties for the Devils.[14]
On May 5, 2014,EA Sports announced that Emrick would provide play-by-play commentary forNHL 15 along color commentatorEddie Olczyk and "Inside-the-Glass" reporterRay Ferraro.[15][16][17] The trio provided commentary for five years untilJames Cybulski replaced him inNHL 20.[18] From2018 to2020, "Inside-the-Glass" reporterBrian Boucher joined the lead duo for national games.[19][20]
On October 19, 2020, following a playoff run calling hockey games remotely from his home in Michigan due to restrictions imposed by the national outbreak ofcoronavirus disease, Emrick announced his retirement from broadcasting.[21] At the time of his retirement, Emrick released a video essay in which he declared:
Things change over 50 years, but much of what I love is unchanged from then to now and into the years ahead. I still get chills seeing the Stanley Cup. I especially love when the horn sounds, and one team has won and another team hasn't, all hostility can dissolve into the timeless great display of sportsmanship – the handshake line.... I leave you with sincere thanks.[21]
Kenny Albert succeeded Emrick for what would ultimately become NBC's finalseason broadcasting the NHL before the American national television rights moved over toABC/ESPN andTurner Sports.[22] On February 21, NBC Sports presented a documentary about him.[23][24] NBC's final NHL telecast was Game 5 of the2021 Stanley Cup Finals on July 7. Following the end of the subsequent postgame coverage onNBCSN, the network aired a 13-minute video montage, narrated by Emrick (who had taken the role as a contributor in the finalNHL on NBC season), discussing various innovations that NBC had brought to their NHL coverage over the past 15 seasons as well as highlights and human interest stories that had occurred along the way as well. At the end of the video, Emrick signed off for NBC's coverage with the following:
Handshake lines close off anyStanley Cup year. We haveshown you 16 of these, and 16 teams clustered together for one last picture. Teams, exhausted but victorious. Teams. Perhaps in your own life you have been on a team of people for some time, and then seen it come to an end. If so, you will understand how it is with us as we close our time with theNHL on NBC. One of God's greatest gifts is that of memory. One of mankind's greatest gifts is video. As we have watched this last video with you and now carry away our own memories, we are sad for ourselves, but grateful for your loyalty to this wonderful sport. And also grateful as we say to for this final time – "thank you". Thank you for watching theStanley Cup playoffs on NBC.
As previously mentioned, Emrick called a handful of NFL games forCBS in1992 and1993. Emrick was paired on commentary withMatt Millen in 1992 andHank Stram in 1993 and Week 5 of the 1992 season. Notably, Emrick was the announcer forBrett Favre's first NFL start in 1992 (Packers/Buccaneers), wherein Favre's first completed pass was deflected to himself.[7][25]
| Year | Week | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Week 1 | Vikings/Packers |
| Week 2 | Packers/Buccaneers | |
| Week 5 | Saints/Lions | |
| Week 10 | Vikings/Buccaneers | |
| 1993 | Week 1 | Vikings/Raiders |
| Week 2 | Saints/Falcons | |
| Week 3 | Buccaneers/Packers |
The Devils' broadcasting pair of Emrick andcolor commentatorGlenn "Chico" Resch were noted for their ability to break the tension of a hockey game through various types of humor, many times improvised and unintentional. For example, in a game during the2008–09 NHL season, Resch was discussing a rebound that came off Devils netminderScott Clemmensen:
Resch: "...and Scotty [Clemmensen] was tellin' me this morning that he likes his new pads like that...the puck should rebound almost like a quarter off a balloon, Doc.
Emrick: ...But you don't spendtoo much free time throwing quarters at balloons, Mr. Resch, do you?
Other recurring comedic bits arise during games. After Emrick or Resch analyzes the play of agoaltender, if Emrick feels that Resch is sympathizing towards the goalie due to his former play at the same position, Emrick will add a sarcastic comment which talks about the glory of goaltending and how they are "by far" the most important players in the game. Another comedic bit that is shared between Emrick and Resch is when Emrick will ask Resch where a particular town or city in Canada is located when they talk about a player's home town. In the event of an odd play or bounce of the puck, Emrick has cited "the unseen hand", as the culprit, which always gets a laugh from Resch. However, Emrick's most famous and unique saying is "my goodness" usually being said when there is a remarkable save by a goaltender or when there is a sequence of plays having high amounts of "energy" on the ice.
Emrick's knowledge of the game of hockey has been deemed "encyclopedic",[34] and he is known for his eloquent vocabulary. He employs an unusual vocabulary to describe play-by-play action, referring to a goaltender's equipment as "paraphernalia", for instance. Often, during line changes or zone clearings, Emrick will discuss interesting facts about a player's personal life, hockey records, or contributions to sports. In addition, sportswriterPeter King has praised Emrick by saying "Doc Emrick is one hell of a hockey announcer. If hockey were big in this country, he'd be whatJack Buck used to be."
Emrick is a founding member, and still president, of the NHL Pronunciation Guide, which is used as a guide for all NHL broadcasters for some of hockey's most difficult names.[35][36] He is Vice President of the NHL Broadcaster's Association, and he is also a member of theHockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. Emrick also hosted a weekly podcast oniTunes called "Emrick's Angle" which offers his current thoughts on the NHL.
Emrick is an avidPittsburgh Pirates fan.[37] He grew up listening toBob Prince onKDKA Radio. He attended a game in whichGarrett Jones became the first Pirates player to hit ahome run into theAllegheny River on the fly.[38] On June 11, 2014, he was interviewed onNPR'sAll Things Considered byMelissa Block discussing his career and style.[39] In 2016, Emrick attended Pirates spring training in Bradenton, Florida and called a few innings of one game on television and radio with Pirates broadcastersGreg Brown andJohn Wehner. On July 8, 2016, Emrick called his first MLB regular-season game atPNC Park, when thePirates hosted theChicago Cubs forMLB Network. The Pirates won the game, 8–4, with Emrick calling some of the action withBob Costas.[40]
When his NBC broadcast schedule permitted, Emrick travelled toHershey, Pennsylvania, each year to announce theHershey Bears' Hall of Fame inductees.[41] He has also voiced the narration for the American Hockey League Hall of Fame's induction videos,[42] and returned to Hershey in 2011 to serve as TV play-by-play voice for the AHL All-Star Game.[43]
Emrick's autobiographyOff Mike: How a Kid from Basketball-Crazy Indiana Became America's NHL Voice was released the day after his retirement announcement in October 2020.[44]
Doc lives inSt. Clair, Michigan with his wife Joyce. They have no children, but they spend time with their dogs and six horses. Emrick is aChristian.[45]
Emrick is acancer survivor, having been diagnosed withprostate cancer in 1991.[46][47]
| Preceded by Marv Albert (in1994) | Lead play-by-play announcer,NHL on NBC 2006–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | American network television play-by-play announcer 1987–1988 1995–1999 (with Gary Thorne onESPN) 2006–2020 | Succeeded by |
