Jim Robson obit

Jim Robson, legendary voice of the Vancouver Canucks, dies at 91

 

He was not on the list.

The man known as the voice of the Vancouver Canucks for 30 years has died.

Legendary broadcaster Jim Robson was the Canucks’ play-by-play announcer, starting in 1970.

Robson started his career at the age of 17, covering senior men’s basketball for a radio station in Port Alberni.

When the Canucks became an NHL expansion team in 1970, Robson moved to Vancouver to CKNW to announce the team’s games.

After retiring in April 1999, Robson remained a Canucks fan and attended many games at Rogers Arena.

Robson started his career at the age of 17 covering senior men's basketball for CJAV radio station in Port Alberni. In 1955, Robson started working for CHUB radio in Nanaimo, where he covered the Mann Cup lacrosse finals.

By 1956, Robson found himself in Vancouver covering the BC Lions football team, the Vancouver Mounties baseball team and the then WHL Vancouver Canucks hockey team on CKWX.

He also covered the Vancouver Canucks on television broadcasts on BCTV, CHEK-TV and VTV from 1985–86 through 1998–99. From 1987–88 to 1993–94, Robson provided both radio and television play-by-play for the Canucks on simulcasts, alongside colour commentators Monahan and Larscheid, and Howie Meeker joined him on both TV and radio in 1985–86.

Robson stepped down as the radio announcer for the Canucks in 1994 and moved to television full-time. His last radio broadcast was game seven of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals between the Canucks and the New York Rangers. Robson served as the Canucks' TV announcer for five more seasons, working alongside colour commentators Darcy Rota (1994–95 to 1995–96) and Ryan Walter (1996–97 to 1998–99). His replacement on radio was Jim Hughson, who later moved to Rogers Sportsnet, and then to CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. In his final year, Robson split television play-by-play duties with rookie John Shorthouse, who is now the announcer for the Canucks on TV and radio.

He also covered the NHL All-Star Games in 1977 (Vancouver), 1981 (Los Angeles), and 1983 (Long Island). He left HNIC after the 1984–85 season, but had a couple of national TV assignments afterward; for CBC in the 1987 playoffs and CanWest Global for the 1988 Smythe Division Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

Nationally, Jim Robson is probably best remembered for his call of Bob Nystrom's Cup-winning overtime goal for the Islanders in 1980. Locally, his voice is linked to every significant Canucks moment in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, particularly the 1982 and 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Memorable calls

The pass, right on the stick of Tonelli. Coming in with Nystrom, Tonelli to Nystrom, HE SCORES! Bob Nystrom scores the goal! The Islanders win the Stanley Cup!

— The overtime goal that won the Stanley Cup for the New York Islanders in 1980

Babych, long shot. Potvin has trouble with it. Adams shoots, SCORES! Greg Adams! Greg Adams! Adams gets the winner fourteen seconds into the second overtime! The Vancouver Canucks are going to the Stanley Cup Final!

— The double overtime goal that advanced his team, the Vancouver Canucks to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.

He'll play, you know he'll play. He'll play on crutches. He will play, and he'll play on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden; the game is over!

— The call as the final seconds ticked off the clock of Game 6 in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. He was referring to Trevor Linden, who was very bloody after taking a high stick, which led to one of the most famous photos in Vancouver Canucks history, of Linden hugging Canucks goaltender Kirk McLean, with blood on Linden's jersey.

Robson was 91.