Jim Hughson

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Jim Hughson bigraphy, stories - Baseball

Jim Hughson : biography

1956 –

Jim Hughson (born 1956) is a Canadian sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play of National Hockey League and Toronto Blue Jays baseball games. Since 2008, he has been the lead play-by-play announcer for Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.

Career

Early career

Hughson worked on Canucks radio broadcasts, working on the pre-game, intermission, and post-game shows in the early 1980s. He also filled in as play-by-play man when Jim Robson had national TV duties. In this role, he broadcast games three and four of the 1982 Stanley Cup Finals between the Canucks and New York Islanders. In 1982, he left to become the television voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, before joining TSN in 1987.

TSN

Hughson worked for TSN from 1987 to 1994, starting mainly as a play-by-play announcer for NHL games, paired with Gary Green. He also worked on Montreal Expos broadcasts for the network, and has hosted the NHL Entry Draft from 1987–1989. In 1991, he called the World Junior Hockey Championship in Saskatchewan, which climaxed with a dramatic game in Saskatoon between Canada and the USSR, in which John Slaney scored the winning goal late in the third period to deliver the gold medal to Canada.

In 1990, Hughson became the regular play-by-play announcer for Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts, alongside Buck Martinez. During that time, Hughson was most famous for calling all three of the games in which the Jays’ clinched first place in the American League East during the 1990s (1991, 1992, and 1993).

During Hughson’s time at TSN, he often enthusiastically proclaimed "That’s hockey!" when describing an exciting play during NHL broadcasts. TSN later adopted the phrase as the name of its popular program That’s Hockey, a talk show covering NHL happenings. In 1994, Hughson left TSN to become the radio voice of the Vancouver Canucks.

CTV Sportsnet/Rogers Sportsnet

In 1998, Hughson returned to national sports broadcasting, joining CTV Sportsnet (now Rogers Sportsnet) as their main NHL play-by-play commentator alongside Craig Simpson. A year later, he left radio and began working on the Canucks regional television broadcasts on Sportsnet Pacific, alongside Ryan Walter. From 2002–03 onwards, former NHL goaltender John Garrett was his partner. He was also the host of Snapshots from 2003 to 2006.

CBC

In 2005, Hughson was hired by CBC as Hockey Night in Canada’s secondary play-by-play announcer. Hughson called the late games of the network’s Saturday night doubleheaders and one series through each of the first three playoff rounds. In 2006, he was the secondary play-by-play announcer for CBC’s coverage of men’s ice hockey at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. On March 11, 2008, he signed an exclusive six-year contract with the CBC, leaving Rogers Sportsnet at the conclusion of the season. The following season, he replaced Bob Cole as the primary play-by-play announcer for HNIC. In addition to calling the regular Saturday night game, Hughson now calls the NHL all-star game, the Winter Classic, and the Stanley Cup Finals. His partner on the top broadcast team is once again Craig Simpson.

Hughson returned to the broadcast booth for the Toronto Blue Jays when CBC picked up a package of Blue Jays games for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The broadcast on June 22, 2007 was the first baseball game he had called in 13 years.

Other appearances

In addition to his Canadian sportscasting work, Hughson has made occasional appearances for ABC and ESPN in the United States, covering both hockey and baseball.

Hughson is familiar to video game enthusiasts as the play-by-play voice of EA Sports award-winning NHL series from 1997 to 2009. He also provided the play-by-play in EA’s Triple Play series for PlayStation and PC from 1997 to 2001, along with his former Blue Jays broadcast partner Buck Martinez.

Hughson has also had small roles in two sports-related family comedies: MVP: Most Valuable Primate (2000) and Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch (2002). He played announcers in both films.

Awards

Hughson has won five Gemini Awards, the most recent in 2004, where he was named the best sports play-by-play or analyst. He is known for his very clear, accessible voice, enthusiastic delivery, and articulate use of the English language.

Personal life

Hughson lives in Crescent Beach, British Columbia with his wife, Denise, and his two children, Matt and Jennifer.