HNiC: THE RETRO LOOK

Last Saturday, Hockey Night in Canada's Retro Jacket (the baby blue blazers) Night campaign kicked off with bids being accepted until mid-week. All the retro jackets from the broadcasts were auctioned off and raised $127,000 for Hockey Fights Cancer.

The on-air talent on HNiC wore the legendary baby blue jackets from 1973 to 1988. Here is a photo of Bob Goldham wearing his jacket.

In my book on Bob Goldham, he recalled how his hiring came about in 1967:

"I was contacted by Bob Gordon, an old friend from my stay with the Goodson family, who I lived with when I was going to Northern Vocational High School. He was a producer with Hockey Night in Canada and asked if I would be interested in working occasionally as an analyst on the Leaf games. This was a tremendous opportunity for me to get back to the game again and made even more attractive by the fact that on the Leaf team at that time were two of my old mates from our great days in Detroit. Marcel Pronovost  and Terry Sawchuk had been resurrected from the scrap pile by "Punch" Imlach and were important parts of a good hockey club. Sawchuk, while not the goalie of the Red Wing days, was still an excellent athlete and teamed with Johnny Bower gave the Leafs super goaltending. As for Pronovost, anyone who knows me, also knows the high esteem he is held in, and was still playing great hockey."

By the 1968-69 season, Goldham became the first permanent analyst hired by Hockey Night in Canada.