Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC

Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.

Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90.

Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.

Born June 24, 1933, the St. John's native provided a distinctive soundtrack to Canada's game. He was known for his signature "Oh baby" call, an expression that was not restricted to hockey arenas.

“He’s been saying that around the house as long as I can remember," Megan said in Cole's 2016 autobiography "Now I’m Catching On. My Life On and Off the Air."

Cole first remembers using it to describe some memorable Mario Lemieux stickhandling in Game 2 of the 1991 Stanley Cup final against Minnesota.

“Look at Lemieux. Oh my heavens. What a goal. What a move. Lemieux. Oh baby,” Cole said excitedly after Lemieux went the length of the ice, skated through the defence pair of Shawn Chambers and Neil Wilkinson and deked goalie Jon Casey.

“I don’t know when it’s going to come out. No idea … I don’t plan it. It’s spontaneous,” he wrote in his autobiography. “I don’t script the thing. It’s ad-libbed … and that’s what broadcasting’s all about.”