Mike “Doc” Emrick, the hockey broadcaster with the deepest Boston accent in sports, is retiring after more than four decades in the business.
“I’m going to miss doing the game and reporting it,” he said in a phone interview Friday. “But it’s time for another step in my life.”
Emrick’s last Stanley Cup telecast will be the NBC pregame show Saturday.
In addition to calling more than 1,000 NHL games, Emrick also worked an NFL game, eight NHL playoff games and 55 Stanley Cup Finals. He earned Emmy awards for his play-by-play work and directorial decisions. In 1978, he was the first person from outside the NHL to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. He was a nine-time Sportscaster of the Year, a 12-time Sports Emmys winner and a seven-time Sports Emmy winner.
“From his dedication and focus on the telecast itself, to his ability to empathize with each player and coach, through the excitement of playoff hockey, to his colorful descriptions of the ugliness of the NHL’s hard-core violence, Doc Emrick is a talented man,” said Doug Vaughan, senior vice president of coverage for NBC Sports Group, in a statement. “We are saddened by his retirement, but thankful to have had the opportunity to work with a true hockey man during his 50-plus years in this business.”
Emrick said he doesn’t know what his next move will be.
“I don’t feel like I’m done with the game of hockey. I would not be happy if I did not have a future in hockey,” he said. “But I don’t know what I’m going to do, I guess.”
He added that his last game would feature his favorite team, the Bruins, and coach Bruce Cassidy, and acknowledged that the season couldn’t end soon enough. “It’s going to be long for a guy like me,” he said, looking ahead to his return to New England.
“I don’t want this place to finish when I go,” he added.
