Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick announces retirement as hockey play-by-play broadcaster

Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick announces retirement as hockey broadcaster originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

After a 47-year broadcasting career, Mike “Doc” Emrick is officially hanging up the headset.

The 74-year-old broadcaster has been the NHL’s lead play-by-play announcer for NBC since 2008 and became the first member of the media to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011. He has called hockey for three decades, including 22 Stanley Cup Finals, 19 Winter Classic and Stadium Series games, 14 NHL All-Star Games and six Olympics.

“It was 50 years ago this fall, with pen and pad in hand at old Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, I got my first chance to cover the National Hockey League. Gordie Howe was a Red Wing, Bobby Hull was a Blackhawk, Bobby Orr was a Bruin,” Emrick said in a statement through NBC Sports. “A time like this makes me recall that we have seen a lot together. The biggest crowd ever, 105,000 at Michigan Stadium. A gold medal game that required overtime between the two North American powers in Vancouver.

“Things change over 50 years, but much of what I love is unchanged from then to now and into the years ahead. I still get chills seeing the Stanley Cup. I especially love when the horn sounds, and one team has won and another team hasn’t, all hostility can dissolve into the timeless great display of sportsmanship – the handshake line. I leave you with sincere thanks.”

Emrick has won a record-setting seven consecutive Sports Emmy Awards for best play-by-play and is a member of seven Hall of Fames. He will remain a member of the NBC Sports family “by occasionally writing and narrating video essays for its NHL coverage in the future.”

“Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick is a national treasure,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer and President, Production, NBC and NBCSN. “Simply put, he’s one of the best ever to put on a headset in the history of sports broadcasting.”