TORONTO — Joe Bowen is sitting comfy in the press box, looking every bit at home.
The forever voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs is leaning back in his play-by-play perch — six floors high in Scotiabank Arena, eye level with the banners of the greats, bird’s-eye view of the active players — and his blustery Irish timbre fills the call booth.
A cracking laugh. A zippy joke. A softer truth.
After 44 years soundtracking his cherished hockey team’s joys and pains, Bowen is hanging ’em up when this season wraps.
From way up in the booth, he sits down with Sportsnet.ca and explains why he fell in love with this thing, why he’s letting go, and where he’ll be headed when that final buzzer sounds…
SN: Take me back. When did it first occur to you to call hockey?
Joe Bowen: Oh, boy. I have a newspaper article, about December 1967, and I got carved about playing goal for the Sudbury High School Wolves. It’s a pretty funny article. I use it in a lot of my guest speaking. Brian Dickey lost his glasses, and somebody lost a contact lens. But in the end, it was rookie goalie Joe Bowen who had trouble seeing, I think, is the lede.
Ha. Did you save it, this article ripping you?
Oh, yeah. Why? I have no idea. I was crestfallen. I mean, I was going to replace Johnny Bower. That was my dream. All of a sudden, maybe I better find another thing to do. But as kids, when we were outside, we were always doing play-by-play. Kids don't go outside anymore, I don’t think. I don’t even know if anybody does play-by-play. Maybe they do it with the Xbox or something. But after that article, I thought, 'Well, maybe the goalie career is going down the tube, so I better think of something else.' And my dad had passed away, so I really didn't have much. He wanted me to go to university; I went to Windsor instead of Ryerson, which I probably should have. I wanted to get into broadcasting. But Windsor had a communication arts program, and I did student radio — mostly basketball. We had a really good basketball team for the three years I was there, and we made national finals twice. Jack Moore, Dominic Moore’s dad, was on that team. D.J. Smith! His dad, Dennis, was on that team. And the big break I got after that was the fact that my dad’s best friend was Bill Plante, and he owned CKSO radio and TV in Sudbury. I got a job one summer, and he kept a job open for me for a couple of months in the promotion department, until I graduated. Six months after that, the guy who was calling the Sudbury Wolves went to CBC. I walked down the hall and I said, “Mr. Plante, I’d like to audition.” He said, “No, I’ve heard you. Go ahead.” That was 1972. I was 21.
Whose call did you admire?
You know who I loved? Ray Scott, the football announcer. Used to do all the Packers games. But he was so low-key, it was nothing the way I ended up doing it. But I admired him. Foster and Bill Hewitt were big influences. I hated Danny Gallivan’s guts, but I admired him so much — because he did the Montreal Canadiens, right? Then I got to meet him, and he was just the greatest. I’ve always said, all of us who have done this job, Danny is at the top. No one has ever gotten close to him. The rest of us are fighting it out for positions underneath.
What is it about Danny?
Alliteration. The way he carried the play. The way he built crescendo. His use of words. When somebody argued that spin-o-rama wasn't a word, he sent back a letter: “It is now.” I mean, just a wonderful individual. But I did hate his guts. [laughs]
How naturally did this come to you? How long until you felt like, “Oh, I have something here. I have the hang of this”?
Two or three years into junior hockey, I thought I’m doing OK. But I had to learn control enough that I wasn't losing my voice and going over the top. So, you learn by experience. I think Randy Moller is the only former player to have ever done play-by-play. A lot of them sit in the other chair. But you have to ride the bus. You gotta ride the bus. And it takes time to learn how to do it, how to control yourself, how to build your style. You don’t just take the shinpads off and step into that chair and think you can do it. So, you have to ride the bus, as I often say. I’m glad that my son, David, is riding the bus and learning how to do it.
FIRST INTERMISSION: Brought to you by Ontario-born Maple Leaf Steven Lorentz…
“Holy Mackinaw! You hear that almost every single night when the Leafs score. I just have good memories driving to and from practices with my dad when I was younger, listening to him on the radio. It was a different time. You couldn’t watch on your cellphone back then. So, hearing him call the game felt like you could see it clear as day, he was so good at what he does. He’s just got a legendary voice, and it means a lot to myself and my dad. Kinda unfortunate (he’s retiring). Wish we could hear his voice on the radio long after I’m done playing. Wish he could call forever.
“A homegrown guy that kind of has that passion for the team. Grew up a fan. I just know he’s been doing it for a long time, and I know he bleeds blue and white. You get that sense. You can hear it in his voice. He really cares when he’s calling our guys. He’s got that passion. That energy that a little kid has when his favourite team scores a goal.”
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SPORTSNET.CA: How do you take care of your voice?
JOE BOWEN: Crown Royal. You gargle and don’t swallow! I’m probably old time that way. You have to watch yourself a little bit. When I was younger and I had kids playing hockey, I used to lose it a little bit because I was always coaching and hollering for line changes and stuff like that. And my voice penetrates lead. So, it’s been good that way. I haven’t had issues with it a lot.
Toughest conditions in which you’ve had to call a game? A nightmare at the rink?
One of the playoff games in San Jose, we had to do it from the corner of the rink. So, guys were coming at you with a very nice crest, but you couldn’t see numbers. The press box in Edmonton is in another area code, which makes it a little more difficult. I’ve had games where my voice was going, and you’re trying to hang on to it as long as you can, just to get through the game.
Tell me about the first time you said, “Holy Mackinaw!”
I was in Chicago, five years into my work. At the old stadium. And Felix Potvin made a great save. Never used it before. Never thought about it. My dad used to say it when I was a kid, and that's where I got it. But out of the recesses of my mind, I blurted that out: “Holy Mackinaw! What a save by Felix!” I looked over and (colour analyst) Bill Watters was falling off his chair, he was laughing so hard. So, I thought, well, maybe I’ll use it again.
How old were you when you your dad passed?
Fourteen. He was a general surgeon in Sudbury. Played goal for the University of Western Mustangs. Three thousand successful Sudburians delivered by my dad. Two mistakes: Paul Rimsted, you might not remember, but he was a columnist for the Toronto Sun who was completely nuts, and his running mate, Edward Shack, who was certifiably nuts! So, the two of those fools, my dad always said, “Those are the only two mistakes I ever made.”
That Eddie Shack connection is wild. So, what would your dad think of all you’ve done in this booth?
Oh, I’m sure he'd be very proud. Because I have four boys. And I’m absolutely over-the-top thrilled and proud of them. And I know he’d be so proud of his grandsons he never got to meet. Yeah, he would probably wrap my knuckles for not going to medical school or something important. I know my mom was alive when I got the job here, and she was pretty damn proud.
SECOND INTERMISSION: Brought to you by Toronto-born Maple Leaf John Tavares…
“There’s a certain intensity and energy that he has to him. It makes him unique, whatever way it rolls off the tongue. Probably his heritage plays into that a little. I know he’s very proud of it. Like any broadcaster who puts himself in unique territory, whether it’s Jim Nantz at the Masters or hearing Al Michaels at the Olympics, it’s just amazing how well someone can connect you to the game, to the sport, and he’s certainly done that here with Leafs.
“Growing up and hearing Joe’s voice, his name becomes synonymous with the Leafs. Now playing for the club, I’ve heard him call my name and some of my goals. That's pretty cool. So, it's really special for myself to be a part of it. When you grew up cheering for the team, people like Joe, especially, are the ones that build that type of connection to the team and the fan base. And now I get to be on the ice, in the play, and get to know him as a person. So, it's been really cool that way. He’s had a hell of a run. And for many other reasons, along with his, it'd be great to finish it the right way. Some special calls that he's overdue for.”
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SPORTSNET.CA: Do you have a favourite call?
JOE BOWEN: Not yet. (big grin)
So, I spoke with John Tavares about you this morning, and he said, Joe gives us one more reason why we need to do it this year.
Well, that’d be nice. I’m not putting any more pressure on them. I’ve got a T-shirt that they presented at the roast for me, and it’s an Irish term. It’s used in everyday conversation. Everybody uses it — males, females, kids. And it just simply says: “Win one before I’m fackin’ done.”
Why now? Why end it?
I know I’m not as good as I was. I know.
Why would you say that?
Because I’m my own worst critic, maybe. I know I’m misidentifying people sometimes. I know it. And I don’t want someone to come up and tap me on the shoulder and say, “OK, that’s enough.” I’d like to be involved with the alumni more. I won the Foster Hewitt Award, but it pales by comparison to being voted in as an associate member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Alumni. Apparently, I’ve got about 700 names of Leaf players that I’ve called in the 44 years. It’s that high. Called Henry Thrun’s first game the other night. So, that’s kind of neat. And I’m gonna do some traveling.
Where do you want to travel?
I’m a huge history buff. Got a great trip planned already — and paid for. A Band of Brothers World War II trip through England and Normandy and Battle of the Bulge and Bastogne and into Germany. Really looking forward to that. I’m a huge American Civil War buff. I think I’ve been to every battlefield. I’ll probably drop in and see more of them on my own. I go by myself.
Why?
Because I don’t want somebody saying, “Oh, let’s go shopping.” No. I get up at six o’clock in the morning, I’m going to the battlefield. I may stare at a cannon for 10 minutes. I’m doing it on my own time.
How would you describe your relationship with the Toronto Maple Leafs?
It certainly has evolved and changed. It was interesting with Harold Ballard. It was outstanding when Cliff Fletcher and Pat Quinn were running it. We were very much a tight group. And the corporate kind of thing that has gone on now… it’s not strained, but we know our place. We’re not nearly as close and not traveling with the players. You really got to know them, sitting on an airplane or sitting in a hotel lobby, where you could talk about anything but hockey and enjoy. So, it’s more businesslike now than maybe what it was.
Do you have a favourite relationship that you built with a player over the years?
Mike Foligno I’ve known 50 years. He was on the bus with me in Sudbury. Really hoping (Mike’s son and Chicago Blackhawks captain) Nick can be healthy enough to come and take the faceoff on Tuesday, but I know he’s got a wrist injury. All kinds of them. Ricky Vaive and Stumpy and all those guys. I don't know if I could pick one. Wendel. Dougie Gilmour.
How would you like to be remembered?
You know what? Every time I listened to Joe, it was like sitting beside him at the bar at the Unionville Arms, and we were watching a hockey game, and he knew everything, and he knew all the players’ names, and we had a hell of a lot of fun watching the game.
Thanks, Joe. What a run.
It has been.
(This interview was lightly edited for brevity and clarity.)
