{"id":186008,"date":"2025-10-02T22:16:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T22:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/186008\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T22:16:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T22:16:16","slug":"legendary-maple-leafs-announcer-to-receive-special-tribute-during-final-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/186008\/","title":{"rendered":"Legendary Maple Leafs announcer to receive special tribute during final season"},"content":{"rendered":"

After more than four decades as the voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>, legendary play-by-play announcer Joe Bowen<\/a> is preparing to call his final season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs will honour the 74-year-old broadcaster with a special tribute game later this year.<\/p>\n

The big celebration will happen on Dec. 16, as the team hosts the Chicago Blackhawks, the same opponent from Bowen\u2019s first broadcast in 1982.<\/p>\n

Bowen announced earlier this summer that the 2025-26 NHL<\/a> season will be his last behind the microphone. The beloved figure known for his enthusiasm and iconic catchphrase, \u201cHoly Mackinaw,\u201d began calling Leafs games in the 1982-83 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has a dream,\u201d Bowen said to Global News. \u201cI knew I wanted to do play-by-play. I\u2019m living proof that sometimes if you have a dream, they come true.\u201d
That dream started with an unexpected twist.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

Bowen recalls what was supposed to be his big break starting with confusion and a few colorful words. \u201cI actually got into a profanity-laced conversation, thinking it was a friend pulling my leg. I later found out it was Jen Branson asking me for an interview.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI apologized profusely. Ten minutes later, he said, \u2018Screw the audition, here\u2019s the job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, Bowen has been behind the mic through every era of the modern Leafs, from the Cliff Fletcher and Doug Gilmour years to the present-day core led by Auston Matthews.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Sports
\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the games that made the job memorable. Bowen says he\u2019ll miss the people the most, especially longtime broadcast partner Jim Ralph.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll miss working with Jim. I know in my heart of hearts, I\u2019ve had the pleasure of sitting beside some truly wonderful people,\u201d Bowen shared.<\/p>\n

Ralph echoed the sentiment in an interview with Global News.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Joe talked about it already, but to go to work and laugh and watch hockey\u2026 what a blessed life we\u2019ve had. I think that\u2019s what I\u2019ll miss the most\u2026the friendship. Although, it will continue regardless,\u201d Ralph said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tTrump\u2019s 51st state jibe \u2018not funny anymore,\u2019 MPs say\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\u2018This was a tragedy\u2019: RCMP say ground search for 6-year-old Alberta boy has been called off\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the release put out by NHL, fans can expect a season-long celebration of Bowen\u2019s incredible time serving the team.<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody represents the passion of Leafs Nation better than Joe Bowen and his signature voice has been the soundtrack for so many iconic moments for the team over the past 44 years,\u201d said Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving in a news release. \u201cWe look forward to celebrating Joe all season but especially making December 16 a very special tribute to the man known as the \u2018voice of the Maple Leafs\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over his storied career<\/a>, he has called more than 3,700 games and is expected to reach game number 3,800 in January 2026 \u2014 more than any broadcaster in franchise history.<\/p>\n

Bowen began calling games on the radio back in 1982, before going on to deliver play-by-play accounts on midweek TV games in 1997, at a time when the Maple Leafs were broadcast on Global TV\u2019s Toronto station.
As he looks ahead to his final season, Bowen shared a heartfelt message with the fanbase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to the loyal group known as Leaf Nation, for allowing me to invade your vehicle, family room, and hearts over these wonderful years. Your support and interaction have been what has made this \u2018job\u2019 so wonderful,\u201d he said in a social media post announcing his leave.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After more than four decades as the voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, legendary play-by-play announcer Joe Bowen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,5239,93469,448,82,746],"class_list":["post-186008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-hockey","tag-joe-bowen","tag-nhl","tag-sports","tag-toronto-maple-leafs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}