Welcome back beautiful people. Today is week 2 of this journey and it will lead us to talk about Foster William Hewitt. Before going on this journey of finding sportscasters he is a guy that never crossed my pallet when hearing or knowing him. With that being said, William was quite the extraordinary man and here is why… 

He was born November 21, 1902 and grew up in Ontario, Canada. At a young age Hewitt developed an interest in radio. However, instead of a radio station being his first job he worked as a reporter for a newspaper company, which in the 1920’s was a big source of news income to the people. Shortly as 3 years passed, an opportunity arose for the young man at CFCA. CFCA was the first licensed broadcasting radio station in Ontario at the time. It was owned by The Toronto Daily Star and they were known for the very first play-by-play hockey game on February 8, 1923.

Hewitt quickly found a gap for himself in the league as he broadcasted his first game on February 16 between the Toronto Argonaut and the Kitchener Greenshirts. The game ended up going into overtime as the Greenshirts pulled off the upset. 

On May 24, 1925 Hewitt had the honor of broadcasting the world’s very first horse race. His impression from the broadcast then led to an opportunity in 1927 where he was invited as a guest announcer to broadcast the first game from the Detroit Red Wings Stadium! He also was a part of opening night ceremonies and got the designated broadcaster position for the team!

Wow!! That was a lot to take in for me. Hewitt had such an impact early on in his career and found a way for himself. He got involved early on in his life and only climbed the ladder as time went on. Maybe that’s the trick… to start young so you can pick what you do once you have experience?

ps the answer to last weeks blog is: “Wee paws for station identification”😂

Question of the week: Why do golf announcers whisper?