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Foster William Hewitt, OC (November 21, 1902 – April 21, 1985) was a Canadian radio pioneer.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, he started as a sportswriter for the Toronto Daily Star newspaper (edited by his father, W.A.Hewitt), but soon turned to radio. On February 16 (not March 22) 1923, using a telephone, he made one of the earliest ice hockey broadcasts in the world, from Toronto's Mutual Street Arena on the newspaper's then-radio station CFCA. (Please see the discussion link above for much more information.) For the next sixty years, he would be Canada's premier hockey play-by-play broadcaster. He coined the phrase "he shoots, he scores!" and was also well known for his sign-on at the beginning of each broadcast, "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland." (Newfoundland was a separate Dominion until 1949)
Hewitt had offers to go over to television to continue the broadcasts that he initiated, but he decided to stay with radio, handing over the television broadcasts to his son, Bill Hewitt. Meanwhile, he started his own radio station in Toronto, with the call letters, C.K.F.H. (now CJCL-The Fan 590) in 1951. In 1981, the station was sold to Telemedia, and in 2002, joined the Rogers Communications empire.
Hewitt retired in 1963, but came out of retirement to broadcast the 1972 Summit Series (with colour commentator Brian Conacher). Hewitt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a founder in 1965. In 1972 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He attended Upper Canada College as a youth. The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for hockey broadcasters inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is named after him.
Foster Hewitt is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
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1902 births | 1985 deaths | Torontonians | radio pioneers | Canadian radio personalities | Canadian sports announcers | Hockey Hall of Fame | Officers of the Order of Canada | National Hockey League broadcasters | Toronto Maple Leafs
"Foster Hewitt"