Last call as Tigers play-by-play voice in for Ridley

Iconic broadcaster retires after 52 seasons, 4,022 games

The Tigers retirement tweet for Bob Ridley.

Bob Ridley has bid his audience “a very pleasant good night” for the final time.

On Tuesday, the iconic play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers announced his retirement. The announcement brings an end to a career that started with the inaugural campaign of the modern version of the Tigers in 1970-71 and would go on to last 52 seasons and 4,022 games.

Ridley’s 4,022 games called as the Tigers play-by-play voice is a record for most games called as the play-by-play voice of one hockey team, and he is the only hockey play-by-play voice to have hit the 4,000 games plateau. The total includes 3,590 regular season games, one standings tiebreaker game, 411 games in the WHL playoffs and 20 contests in the Memorial Cup tournament.

If someone called 80 games a season for 50 seasons, they would come up 22 contests short of Ridley’s total as the Tigers play-by-play voice.

Ridley, who is a product of Vulcan, Alta., was on the call for the Tigers five WHL championship wins in 1973, 1987, 1988, 2004 and 2007. He was there to call the Tigers two Memorial Cup title victories in 1987 and 1988 to become champions of the CHL.

During the Tigers first 51 seasons, Ridley missed calling just one game. In 1972, Ridley was assigned by the CHAT radio and television outlet in Medicine Hat to go to Saskatoon to cover the national women’s curling championships.

A Medicine Hat rink was the Alberta champion representative, and that squad was skipped by Polly Beaton. The foursome had a lead named Terry Kope, who was the wife of the station’s general manager.

Bob Ridley calls a Tigers playoff game in March of 2019.

Due to that connection, Ridley was dispatched to Saskatoon and had to miss calling one Tigers regular season game. Ridley drove the Tigers team bus for most of his career too.

This past season, Ridley was absent for all but one regular season game due to the fact he had to battle cancer. Scott Roblin filled in as the Tigers play-by-play voice during the time Ridley was gone.

Before Christmas this past December, Ridley was declared cancer free. With the world in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, he didn’t return to the broadcast booth until the Tigers final game of the 2021-22 campaign this past April 15. They fell 3-0 in that contest to the eventual WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

The Tigers missed the playoffs having finished last in the WHL regular season standings with an 11-53-3-1 record, which was an unusual down campaign for the club.

In an interview with Gates Guarin of CHAT News on Tuesday, Ridley said he contemplated a lot of things during the down time he had this past season and decided the time was right to retire in order to spend more time with family and friends. The 78-year-old added that on top of being the Tigers play-by-play voice he spent about 47 years as the sports director at CHAT, so that meant he sacrificed a lot of time with family and friends.

For about eight years starting in 1977, Ridley was also the play-by-play voice of Medicine Hat’s representatives in the Pioneer Baseball League, which is a rookie circuit for MLB clubs. That included calling games for the A’s lone season in the Hat in 1977 followed by the first number of seasons played by the Blue Jays, who came to town in 1978 before departing following the 2002 campaign. The Blue Jays won the Pioneer League championship in 1982.

Bob Ridley gets set to drive the Tigers bus in the 2012 WHL playoffs.

Ridley has a lengthy list accolades. The accolades include receiving the Medicine Hat Civic Recognition Sports Award in 1995, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Bell Memorial Award in 2005, the Alberta Centennial Award in 2005, the WHL Distinguished Service Award in 2007, induction into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011 and induction into the Western Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019. At Co-op Place the Tigers home rink, the press box is named the “Bob Ridley Broadcast Centre” in Ridley’s honour.

On February 27, 2021 at Co-op Place, Ridley called his 4,000^th game as the Tigers romped past the Red Deer Rebels 7-2. Before that contest, the WHL feted Ridley with a unique honour.

The WHL announced the creation of the Bob Ridley Award for Media Excellence to be presented annually to a member of the radio, television and print journalism industry in recognition of their outstanding contributions to sports journalism and the WHL.

Ridley was named the inaugural winner of the honour and was presented with the award by WHL commissioner Ron Robison during a special ceremony at Co-op Place before he called his 4,000^th game.

This past April 2 before a 6-1 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Tigers honoured Ridley at Co-op Place unveiling a banner to pay tribute to his career that was placed up in the building rafters alongside the retired #9 banner for Tom Lysiak and the retired #8 banner for Lanny McDonald.

Bob Ridley calls a game at The Arena in Medicine Hat.

Ridley’s career is so special that he would be deserving of the call to the Hockey Hall of Fame, if that honour should come his way one day. One day, there should be a place for Ridley in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Tigers fans are going to miss Ridley’s classic goal call, “He scooooooorrrres!”

They can always hear Ridley making his famous goal call when Brennan Bosch scored in double overtime of Game 7 of the 2007 WHL Championship Series to deliver the Tigers their fifth league title and a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. 

The win came before a raucous sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators at the Tigers legendary former home rink in The Arena.

Ridley will always be “the Dean” of major junior hockey broadcasters. The best part about “Rids” is he has always taken all the accolades that have come his way on a humble manner, and he has never made himself that big of a deal.

Ridley is a gentleman and a Hall of Fame person. He has always treated everyone with grace and class, and for anyone associated with the Tigers, it was always a highlight to be interviewed by him.

Anyone that has come through Tigers organization has only great things to say about Ridley including players like Lysiak, McDonald, Kelly Hrudey, Trevor Linden, Chris Osgood, Kris Russell, Darren Helm, Emerson Etem and Cole Sillinger. Ridley considers current Tigers general manager and head coach Willie Desjardins as one of his all-time best friends, and Desjardins cherishes Ridley’s place in team lore.

Bob Ridley calls a road game in Saskatoon in 2017.

It does feel like a disservice not to mention everyone that came through Tigers who would have something great to say about Ridley. Team owners Darrell and Brent Maser have to feel fortunate Ridley was the team’s play-by-play voice for as long as he was.

If you did a search of Ridley’s name on social media channels on Tuesday, you will see an endless number of people and teams offering him well wishes and praise.

In finishing his interview with Guarin, Ridley said his immediate plans are to sit back and relax and enjoy his family and enjoy life. You can be sure Ridley’s wife, Deb, will be happy he is home.

On top of enjoying time with family, hopefully, Ridley will revel in some rides on his Harley Davidson motorcycle too.

Ridley has left a unique mark on the game of hockey, the Tigers and Medicine Hat as a city that will never be matched. In retirement, he deserves everything good that comes his way.

Personal note – I will miss tracking Ridley’s games called total

Bob Ridley calls a game at the 2007 Memorial Cup.

Since Stanks’ Sermon is my blog, I wanted to get a personal note in.

I am going to miss tracking Bob Ridley’s games called total as the play-by-play voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers. I know this will sound self-serving, but I enjoyed tracking that statistic over the years.

When Ridley announced his retirement on Tuesday, it felt weird for me that I wouldn’t be tracking that total anymore that closed out at 4,022 games called, which is the most one person has called as a play-by-play voice of any hockey team.

I first tallied up the number of games Ridley had called way back in August of 2006. As a sports reporter for the Medicine Hat News, I was doing stories about a tribute dinner night the Tigers did for Ridley at that time, which saw a huge number of the team’s alums turn out from all eras. I also did a story on that tribute night for Hockey Now.

After I figured out how many games Ridley had called back in August of 2006 in the newsroom of the News, Sean Rooney, who was my sports editor, suggested that I should keep track of Ridley’s games called tally going into the future. Rooney said that would be an important piece of information people would like as the years went on.

When I left the News and Medicine Hat after 10 years to move to Saskatoon in the summer of 2014 to be closer to family, I kept tracking Ridley’s games called total. When I arrived in Saskatoon, Ridley’s games called total stood at 3,545 contests.

At the end of every season, I would note on a post in this blog where Ridley’s games called total stood at. I also noted when he would hit milestones like 3,600 or 3,700 games called. Of course, it was big time exciting to see him become the first person to call 4,000 games as the play-by-play voice of one hockey team.

Over the years, I hope you enjoyed the games called total I was able to track. I hope it added to Ridley’s iconic status.

I’m going to miss seeing Ridley on the WHL beat. I’ll always consider him a great friend.

Thanks for the memories “Rids,” and cheers to you making many more great memories in your retirement years.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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The Arena will always feel like home, the fans inside will always be family

The Tigers raise a banner to salute the fans at The Arena.

    MEDICINE HAT - Seeing The Arena empty is enough to make you feel happy.
    Walking into the only home rink the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers have known for 45 years makes the mind go on a nostalgia trip for anyone that has spent time in the grand old barn. You look up into the rafters and you see all those championship banners.
    You look down upon the ice and into the stands any they only appear vacant for a short time. Quickly, the memory goes to work and the stands appear full of cheering fans. Willie Desjardins is behind the Medicine Hat bench swaying from side to side guiding the club as head coach.
    The Tigers are on the ice too. Brennan Bosch is once again scoring his double overtime goal to win Game 7 of the 2007 WHL Championship series. Rocky Thompson is out there winning a fight.
    Trevor Linden is no longer a 44-year-old man but a youthful forward aged 17 or 18. He is laying out crowd pleasing hits and wheeling coast to coast to score big goals.
    Kelly Hrudey is there too making big saves in that molded fibreglass mask that has a tiger face painted on it.
    Lanny McDonald and Tom Lysiak are again a magical dynamic duo leading the team to a league championship.

    In a more recent time, Curtis Valk is potting his 100^th career regular season goal, and Trevor Cox is diving into the net to save the souvenir for his linemate and friend.
    No one has passed on. Those images are not ghosts, but they are still there. They still seem real, and those moments somehow and someway are still playing themselves out.
    On Saturday, the Tigers lived out one of the final chapters during their time in the building that sits on Ash Avenue S.E. along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. They were playing their final regular season game against the Saskatoon Blades, who are a charter member of the WHL. The Tigers will play in the new Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre next season.

Trevor Cox follows through with a shot on goal for the Tigers.

    About 66 players were back in person from those old Tigers days, along with various former staffers, rink attendants, supporters and long-time fans on a night that just seemed perfect.
    Looking into the stands and despite the passage of time, there was a feeling things stayed the same. The fans were there cheering their hearts out like they always have. What is even better is the fact that in this rink you know them.
    In one corner is Medicine Hat's "Mr. Baseball" Lovell McDonnell. He has been a season ticket holder for what seems like forever. You can picture him walking over from neighbouring Athletic Park after doing some administration functions to watch the Tigers game with his grown up son Rob, who is a teacher and baseball coach in the Gas City.
    In the other corner of the rink is Sandy Morrice. He has volunteered his time at what seems like every sporting function in the Hat, and he has been a fixture at most Tigers games.
    Sporting goods store owner Hal Benson is there too visiting as usual along the walkway on the north side of the building that runs parallel to the South Saskatchewan River.
    You can go on and on naming and picking individuals in the crowd. They were all there in the past, and they were all there again on Saturday night.

Tigers captain Tyler Lewington celebrates a goal with Marek Langhamer.

    For the former players that returned, that made the gathering that much more special and so unique. At times, it would take 15 to 20 minutes to walk from one end of the building to the other.
    The trip was filled with handshakes, hugs and conversations that recalled the old days. Those interactions seemed endless, and at the same time, you didn't want them to end. You could run into someone you hadn't seen for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, but it seems like it was yesterday you saw them.
    For the former players, they wanted to see everyone. Those spectators in the stands were your former billets, teachers or buddies you hung out with away from the game. They all helped add to your life, and in reality, they are like a big extended family.
    Some brought old priceless mementoes in person or showed them on social media. One of those was a picture of late Tigers enforcer Derek Boogaard, who was carrying a young boy at a skate with the Tigers event. You almost couldn't believe that such a picture still existed somewhere.
    You could feel the love and the warm feelings in the air.

Brennan Bosch gives a stirring speech at The Arena.

    On the ice, the current Tigers were doing their part to ensure the night's festivities were complete. They rolled out to an early 3-0 lead and held a 6-0 edge after 40 minutes of play. It was a script that played out in some form many times before for a franchise that has won five league titles and two Memorial Cup championships.
    The team's coaches did their part and call off the dogs a bit. Backup goaltender Nick Schneider came in to relieve starter Marek Langhamer for the final 20 minutes. The third and fourth lines played most of the final 10 minutes.
    It felt like the visiting Blades didn't stand a chance in stopping the host Tigers from posting a 6-2 victory.
    When the final buzzer sounded, Bob Ridley stepped out of the broadcast both after calling his 3,617^th game as the Tigers play-by-play voice to be the master of ceremonies for a post-game celebration to commemorate the place. No one from the sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators left the building.
    The old players were brought out one-by-one to grace the ice surface one again to cheers. Bosch gave a stirring speech on behalf of the alumni. 
    Video messages were shown from former Tigers players, who are active in the professional ranks, expressing how much they appreciated their time playing at The Arena for the orange and black. A written message was red from Lysiak mirroring those same sentiments.

The fans at The Arena cheer on the Tigers.

    A video highlight reel was played showing the great moments that have been lived in the rink over the years. A banner thanking the fans was raised to the rafters and a big team picture was taken with all generations of Tigers players past and present on the ice.
    The night was better than anyone could imagine, and it won't be forgotten.
    Anyone that was at The Arena on Saturday night will now see those images when they walk into the hallowed old barn, especially when it is empty.
    Like all the great moments in the history of The Arena, the events from the final regular season game on Saturday night will keep repeating themselves in some way inside that building's walls without end. The memories will live on forever.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Check out the Twitter handle @stankssports to see more photos from the Tigers final regular season game at The Arena.

The Arena – a legendary junior hockey home

Medicine Hat Tigers fans celebrate a goal in last year's WHL playoffs at The Arena.

 Tigers play out their final games at the old Ash Avenue barn

    At age 37, The Arena experienced its prime moment.
    Anyone that is a fan of the Medicine Hat Tigers can still see Brennan Bosch's overtime goal. On May 14, 2007, the Tigers were battling the Vancouver Giants in Game 7 of the Western Hockey League championship series, and the teams were locked in a 2-2 tie in double overtime.
    Both clubs were going to the Memorial Cup tournament, because Vancouver was the host team. Even with that in mind, the Tigers and Giants became fierce rivals over that championship series, not giving and inch and playing like everything was on the line.
    If you were at the Tigers legendary home rink that night, you can still see the game's deciding play.
    Bosch had the puck near the blue-line in his own zone, and he was tapped by a swinging stick of a Giants player. The Tigers talented centre went down to his knees, quickly got up and a 3-on-1 break ensued.

Rroary, the Tigers mascot, gets the fans going at The Arena.

    The Martensville, Sask., product skated two to three strides past the Vancouver blue-line and wired home the winner low stick side on Giants goaltender Tyson Sexsmith. The sellout crowd of 4,006 spectators at The Arena exploded like never before with the home side pulling out a 3-2 win and capturing a WHL title.
    In that one moment, you experienced everything that made The Arena special. A storied junior hockey team was winning a league championship in a classic junior hockey rink that had character. The victory came in a city of about 60,000 people that felt special to be a junior hockey town.
    As the Tigers celebrated on the ice, they looked into the stands and saw family members, fans they knew, rink attendants and the team's legendary play-by-play voice Bob Ridley up in the broadcast booth. They occupied the same spots game in and game out.
    Goaltender and local product Matt Keetley was answering questions during a post-game interview on the ice, and out of nowhere, he pointed to the stands and yelled out in joy that he saw his whole family. It wouldn't be that much of an exaggeration to say everyone that was partial to the Tigers cause felt like family for that one night.
    In major junior hockey, the Tigers are a legendary team. They have built a huge staple of memories in their storied home rink. Most can be recalled by Ridley, who has called all but one of the team's games as the play-by-play voice.
    For the players, coaches and staff that have passed though the Tigers since they were born in 1970, The Arena is a second home.
    In the 1970s, they used to shoehorn the fans into the barn that contained the "Smartie Box" coloured seats. Stories were often told that fans stood five deep in the walkway that circled the top of the stands to watch games.
    They saw Lanny McDonald and Tom Lysiak lead the Tigers to their first league title in 1973. They also got to see tough as nails characters like defenceman and later 1987 Memorial Cup winning head coach Bryan Maxwell, who always seemed to crack the right joke. Barry Melrose, who was sporting his mullet style haircut, made his first claim to fame at The Arena guiding the Tigers as head coach to a second straight Memorial Cup win in 1988.

A young fan cheers on the Tigers at The Arena.

    It was a building a Gas City youngster named Trevor Linden dreamed of playing in, when he attended games as a boy. He more than made good on that dream helping the Tigers win their back-to-back Memorial Cup titles. The trip to the 1987 title included a Game 7 WHL championship victory over the Portland Winterhawks, which saw fans jumping over the glass to celebrate with the team on the ice.
    It was a place Jason Chimera cried his eyes out over, because he didn't want to leave after being traded in the late 1990s.
    The Arena was where head coach Willie Desjardins brought the Tigers into their current era of success. When the team was at one of its darkest points having missed the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, Desjardins was the one that preached hockey was one of the best games there is and the rink is one of the best places to beat. He was the man that talked heart and soul character guys like Steve Marr into staying with the game, when there was every reason to walk away.
    Following his first season in 2002-03, the Tigers ended the playoff drought and fell in the second round to the powerhouse Red Deer Rebels in a tough seven-game series. A year later, they won the franchise's fourth league title making that run in what was then known as the loudest barn in the WHL.
    Countless NHL players have graced The Arena ice wearing orange and black. A way larger majority the hit the ice arriving as boys and departing as quality young men. The Arena was the place they grew up in.
    It seems everywhere you walk in the building you will encounter a part of its history.
    Or, if you just want to have a friendly visit with someone, Tigers assistant trainer Ken Stickel, who is a fixture there, always loves to chat.

Cole Sanford and the Tigers celebrate a goal at The Arena.

    However, The Arena's time as the home of the Tigers is coming to a close after 45 seasons. Tonight, the Tigers will play their final regular season game in their long-time home against the Saskatoon Blades at 7:30 p.m. local time.
    Next season, the Tigers will call the brand new Medicine Hat Regional Event Centre home.
    Before they make their move into their new home, the Tigers will embark on one more playoff run playing out of The Arena. The Brandon Wheat Kings and the Kelowna Rockets are the favourites to win the WHL crown, but the Tigers are in the mix.
    If fate would have it, it would almost be fitting if the Tigers could give The Arena one more Ray Lewis type last ride. Being the home of one more WHL championship and Memorial Cup winning team would create a fairy tale ending for the building that sits on Ash Avenue S.E. along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.