Legendary Hockey Voice Mike Emrick Retires After 50 Years

When I am asked about my Mt. Rushmore of hockey play by play television broadcasters, it includes Sam Rosen, Pat Foley, Bob Miller, and Mike "Doc" Emrick. After spending 50 years in the sport, Emrick retired from broadcasting games effective today.

"I hope I can handle retirement OK," Emrick told Phil Mushnick from the New York Post. "But I’ve just been extremely lucky for 50 years. And NBC has been so good to me, especially since the pandemic, when I was allowed to work from home in a studio NBC created. Now, into my golden years, this just seemed to be the time that was right."

I started watching Emrick call the national games on ESPN in the mid 1980s along with Bill Clement and the two also worked together on Philadelphia Flyers broadcasts during that same period. In the early '90s, Emrick went back to New Jersey and replaced Gary Thorne on television for Devils games and he stayed there until 2011. In addition to ESPN, he has called national NHL games on FOX, ABC, Versus, and NBC Sports.

Simply put, Doc Emrick is one of the all-time greats in hockey broadcasting. A few years ago, HBO Real Sports did a terrific profile on his life and career, which you can watch below.