Detroit – Mike Emrick, one of the most popular sportscasters of all time, retired Monday, ending a 47-year career broadcasting hockey.
The Marysville, Mich., resident has been the lead play-by-play man the last 15 years for NBC Sports’ NHL coverage.
Emrick combined an unabashed excitement for the game with a long and unique vocabulary of words while describing the action – a characteristic that appealed to hockey and non-hockey fans alike.
“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.