The Hockey Hall of Fame announced this morning that longtime hockey broadcaster Harry Neale will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. This award is the most prestigious award given to hockey broadcasters.
Neale is well known for his work on Hockey Night in Canada, where he worked from 1985 until he joined the Buffalo Sabres organization in the 2007-08 season. He would end up doing color commentary for the team’s radio and television broadcasts until the end of the 2011-12 season. Neale can currently be seen on the Sabres pre and post game shows.
This is the third-time a Sabres broadcaster has been honored with this award, joining Ted Darling in 1994 and Rick Jeanneret in 2012.
When Neale received the call from Chuck Kaiton, Carolina Hurricanes play-by-play voice, Neale could not believe it.
“It had never even crossed my mind that it was a possibility, and so I said, “Call me back in five minutes and reconfirm this, would you?” Neale said. “I thought he might be pulling my leg.”
Neale will be recognized formally, on November 11th, at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.