Earlier this week, Rick Jeanneret was honored by his induction into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. This November, he’ll be honored all over again, this time by the hockey community at large.
Jeanneret was named as this year’s recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster, an award which comes with a bust in Toronto.
Buffalo Sabres fans obviously need no introduction to Jeanneret, having been with the organization since 1971 as both the radio and television play-by-play announcer. His list of legendary goal and fight calls – from “LalalalalalalaFontaine!” to “Top shelf, where momma hides the cookies!” – is long enough that he has his own SportsCentre Top 10 list, and has only grown since.
A few quotes from The Buffalo News:
“I’m excited, there’s no doubt about that whatsoever,” Jeanneret said by phone this afternoon. “You can try and act blase and try and say, ‘Well, it’s just another day in RJ’s life,’ but it’s not.”
“It’s a chance to be among some pretty exotic company,” Jeanneret said. “I’m not only talking about the people I’ve worked with like Ted Darling, but somebody that I admired when I was growing up and that was Danny Gallivan.”
Jeanneret recently announced that he would return for his 41st year with the Sabres next season. Congratulations to the man who will always be the voice of hockey to many here in Buffalo.