Foster Hewitt Memorial Award

This article is about the award presented by the Hockey Hall of Fame. For the discontinued award that was presented by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, see ACTRA Foster Hewitt Award.

Foster Hewitt Memorial Award
Awarded for"to recognize distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting."[1]
LocationHockey Hall of Fame, Toronto, Ontario
CountryCanada
Presented byHockey Hall of Fame
Reward(s)Glass plaque
First awarded1984
Currently held byPierre Houde (2024)

The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award is an annual accolade honoring ice hockey broadcasters in North America.[1] It was named for the Canadian hockey radio broadcaster and newspaper journalist Foster Hewitt,[2] and it has been presented every year at a media luncheon ceremony that occurs late in the year at the Hockey Hall of Fame in BCE Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada since 1984.[3][4] The winner is chosen by a committee of members composed of radio and television figures that make up the NHL Broadcasters' Association.[3][5] It is given "to recognize distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting."[1] Each recipient receives a glass plaque,[6] which is put on display in the Hall of Fame's media section.[4] The ceremony associated with the award is staged separately to the induction of players into the Hockey Hall of Fame because media honorees are not considered full inductees.[7][8]

The first four winners were Fred Cusick, Foster Hewitt, Danny Gallivan and René Lecavalier in 1984. The award was given out twice in two further consecutive years to both Budd Lynch and Doug Smith in 1985 and Wes McKnight and Lloyd Pettit the following year.[9] It has presented posthumously on four occasions, to Smith in 1985, McKnight the following year, Dan Kelly in 1989 and Bill Hewitt in 2007.[9][10] Dave Strader was named the recipient in April 2017 but he died of a rare form of bile duct cancer called cholangiocarcinoma on October 1, 2017 before the ceremony to commemorate his career that was held the following month.[11] His three children accepted the award on his behalf.[12] It has been presented to broadcasters who have been affiliated with the CBC Television sports program Hockey Night in Canada seven times, followed by the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs on six occasions.

Inductees

Key
† Indicates posthumous award
Recipients of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award[9]
Year Image Recipient Affiliation Ref
1984 — Fred Cusick Boston [9]
A black and white photograph of Foster Hewitt sitting on a chair in front of a desk Foster Hewitt Toronto
— Danny Gallivan Montreal
Rene Lecavalier on the right speaking to a colleague to his right on a 1947 radio program René Lecavalier
1985 — Budd Lynch Detroit [13]
— Doug Smith† Montreal [9]
1986 — Wes McKnight† Toronto
— Lloyd Pettit Chicago
1987 — Bob Wilson Boston
1988 — Dick Irvin Jr. Montreal
1989 — Dan Kelly† St. Louis, CBS, Hockey Night in Canada
1990 — Jiggs McDonald Atlanta, New York Islanders, Los Angeles [14]
1991 — Bruce Martyn Detroit [15]
1992 A side view of Jim Robson speaking to a crowd and holding a microphone in his right hand Jim Robson Vancouver, Hockey Night in Canada [16]
1993 — Al Shaver Minnesota [17]
1994 — Ted Darling Buffalo [18]
1995 — Brian McFarlane Hockey Night in Canada [9]
1996 Bob Cole looking at the camera while wearing a black baseball cap on his head and spectacles over his eyes Bob Cole [19]
1997 — Gene Hart Philadelphia [20]
1998 Howie Meeker in Toronto Maple Leafs uniform holding a trophy in his right hand in a black and white photograph Howie Meeker Hockey Night in Canada, TSN [9]
1999 — Richard Garneau Montreal
2000 Bob Miller Bob Miller Los Angeles [21]
2001 Mike Lange at a questions and answers session in 2011 Mike Lange Pittsburgh [22]
2002 Gilles Tremblay in Montreal Canadiens uniform Gilles Tremblay Montreal [9]
2003 Rod Philips wearing black sunglasses talking to a crowd on a podium with a microphone Rod Phillips Edmonton [23]
2004 Chuck Kaiton sitting in the back seat of an open top car with both his arms extended out Chuck Kaiton Hartford/Carolina [24]
2005 — Sal Messina New York Rangers [25]
2006 — Peter Maher Calgary [26]
2007 — Bill Hewitt† Toronto [10]
2008 Mike Emrick smiling while holding a microphone in his right hand Mike Emrick Philadelphia, New Jersey, ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC/NBCSN, Versus [27]
2009 — John Davidson New York Rangers, Hockey Night in Canada, ESPN/ABC, Fox, MSG Network, NBC [28]
2010 — Ron Weber Washington [29]
2011 — Mickey Redmond Detroit [30]
2012 — Rick Jeanneret Buffalo [31]
2013 — Harry Neale Buffalo, Hockey Night in Canada, Toronto [32]
2014 — Pat Foley Chicago [6]
2015 — Nick Nickson Los Angeles [4]
2016 — Sam Rosen New York Rangers, Fox, ESPN [33]
2017 — Dave Strader Detroit, Florida, Phoenix, Dallas, ESPN/ABC, NHL International, NBC/NBCSN [34]
2018 Joe Bowen looking to the right of the camera and speaking into a microphone Joe Bowen Toronto [35]
2019 — Jim Hughson Vancouver, Toronto, Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet, TSN [36]
2020 — Rick Peckham Hartford, Tampa Bay [37]
2022 — Bill Clement Philadelphia, ESPN/ABC, NBC [38]
2023 — Dan Rusanowsky San Jose [39]
2024 — Pierre Houde Montreal, RDS [40]

Statistics

Multiple winners by Affiliation[9]
Name Wins
Hockey Night in Canada 7
Montreal 7
Toronto 6
Detroit 4
Buffalo 3
ESPN/ABC 3
Los Angeles 3
NBC 3
New York Rangers 3
Fox 3
Boston 2
Chicago 2
Hartford 2
TSN 2
Vancouver 2
RDS 1

See also

References

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