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Ted Darling | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edgar Lee Darling (1935-06-09)June 9, 1935[1] Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | December 19, 1996(1996-12-19) (aged 61) Lockport, New York, U.S. |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team | Buffalo Sabres |
| Genre | play-by-play |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
Edgar Lee "Ted" Darling (June 9, 1935 – December 19, 1996) was a Canadian-American sports announcer. He is best known as the original "Voice of theBuffalo Sabres"ice hockey team for twenty-two seasons, calling the team's games on television from the team's inaugural season in 1970 to 1991. The title was originally bestowed by Sabres defencemanJim Schoenfeld.[2]
Before his work with the Sabres, he hostedHockey Night in Canada telecasts fromMontreal.[3] Darling won the Sabres play-by-play job after submitting an audition tape of him calling a fictitious Sabres broadcast.[2]
Darling was close friends withRick Jeanneret, with whom he rotated television and radio play-by-play duties from 1971 onward. For games that were not televised, Darling and Jeanneret would often work as a tandem, though neither had playing experience typical of mostcolor commentators.[2][4]
In October 1991, Darling was diagnosed withPick's disease, an Alzheimer's-like degenerative illness, and thus, was on medical leave from October 16 to November 20.[5] He returned to call 6 more games before being relieved of his duties by theexecutive producer of Sabres broadcasts, Paul Wieland, on December 12, 1991.[6][7] Darling called a total of 11 games during the 1991–92 season. He was brought back, however, as a studio analyst for games onWUTV in the 1992–93 season before announcing his retirement.[8] The illness took a significant toll on his health and after a five-year battle with the illness, he died on December 19, 1996, at the age of 61.[4][9][10]
Darling's son, Joel Darling, is an executive producer withHockey Night in Canada, having begun his broadcast career as a gofer under his father and Jeanneret.[2]
When theGreat Lakes Blizzard of 1977 hit the city ofBuffalo, Darling called a game between theSabres andMontreal Canadiens at theMontreal Forum from his apartment—phoning in his commentary while watching the action on his television.[12]
| Preceded by | Stanley Cup FinalsAmerican network television play-by-play announcer 1976 (withMarv Albert; Darling called Game 2) | Succeeded by |