Meeker first appeared on "HNIC" in '68 and was the first analyst to master the telestratorGETTY IMAGES
Former NHL player, coach, GM, TV broadcaster and hockey school owner HOWIE MEEKER passed away at Nanaimo General Hospital yesterday morning at 97, according to Lyndon Little of the Vancouver PROVINCE. Meeker "became known as an innovator" during his time as a broadcaster primarily on CBC's "Hockey Night In Canada," but later on TSN and BCTV. He was the first analyst to "master the telestrator," using it "not only for goal replays but also to educate the viewers on the finer points of the game." Meeker first appeared as color man on "Hockey Night in Canada" in '68 and "rapidly became a familiar face in Canadian homes." He remained with CBC until '90 and continued with TSN until he left broadcasting in '98. In '98, he was inducted into the Hockey HOF broadcasters' section. After retiring as a player, he coached the Maple Leafs for the '56-57 season, compiling a 21-34-15 record. He was promoted to GM in '57 but was fired before the start of the '57-58 campaign (Vancouver PROVINCE, 11/9).
AN ICON FOR GENERATIONS: The CP's Neil Davidson notes Meeker became an "icon as a colourful TV hockey analyst who wore his heart on his sleeve." Davidson: "Different generations had different memories of Meeker, but almost all involved hockey." He "played it, talked about it and taught it." NHL Commissioner GARY BETTMAN said, "Howie Meeker spent his long and remarkable life playing, teaching and broadcasting the game of hockey and serving his country with incredible enthusiasm" (CP, 11/9).
COLORFUL LANGUAGE: In Toronto, Tom Hawthorn writes Meeker "entertained -- or annoyed -- generations of hockey fans." He was a "ubiquitous presence" on Canadian television in the '70s, and on air, his lexicon was "sprinkled with folksy words such as 'dunderhead' and 'malarkey.'" He "used 'goldarn' and 'humpty-dumpty' as adjectives." For three decades as a hockey analyst for CBC and TSN, he "saw himself as an on-air teacher whose blackboard was video replay and whose chalk was a Telestrator" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/9). Also in Toronto, Lance Hornby notes Meeker "became famous for his use of the new telestrator," and "made no apologies for his theatrics on air or his high-pitched descriptions of the action and exclamations such as 'Jiminy Crickets' and 'gee willikers'" (TORONTO SUN, 11/9).
