Joe Bowen (born April 5, 1951) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sportscaster. He is known as "The Voice of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

", having broadcast over 3,000 Leaf games.

Early life, career, and family

Bowen was born and raised in Sudbury. His father died in 1965. He attended Sudbury High School, where he was part of the Copper Cliff Redmen

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

championship hockey club in 1967. After graduating from the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...

, where he developed his broadcasting chops at

CJAM-FM CJAM-FM (99.1 MHz) is a Canadian campus radio station broadcasting at 99.1 FM from the University of Windsor campus in Windsor, Ontario. CJAM is an active member of the National Campus and Community Radio Association, and hosted the 2008 Nati ...

, Bowen returned to Sudbury where he started his career in radio, covering the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

's Sudbury Wolves.

Career

Bowen started calling games for the Leafs in 1982, after calling games for the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. Bowen's

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

is "Holy Mackinaw!" (also the catch phrase from the CFL's Hamilton Tiger Cats), typically used when an amazing goal is scored or a big save is made. It has been suggested that the phrase originated from a California spirit yell, but Bowen claims he got the phrase from his dad who said "Holy Mackinaw" instead of swearing. He is also known for his creative alliteration when announcing the starting goaltenders (e.g. technicians of the tangled twine, watchdogs of the webbed wickets, officers of the oblong onion bags, etc.) Bowen does the

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

play-by-play on

Sportsnet 590 The Fan CJCL (590 AM, ''Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toro ...

TSN Radio 1050 CHUM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 1050 kHz. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media. CHUM's studios are co-located with The Sports Network, TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt, Toronto, A ...

with Jim Ralph. Bowen appeared in a TV commercial for

Harvey's Harvey's is a fast food restaurant chain operating in Canada, with locations in every province except British Columbia. It serves hamburgers, poutine, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, and other traditional Canadian fast-food fare. The ch ...

promoting the "bigger" Angus Burger, using his famous aforementioned catchphrase (and has voiced over many Harvey's commercials recently). He was the radio announcer in the 1986 film '' Youngblood.'' He also called several seasons for the NLL's

Toronto Rock The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. Oakville reside ...

, beginning in their inaugural season in Toronto in 1999, after one season in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

as the Ontario Raiders. This included the 1999-2002 NLL championship games. Bowen stopped calling Rock games after the 2007 season. On March 7, 2017, Bowen called his 3,000th game as Voice of the Leafs, a 3-2 home victory over the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

. In June 2018, the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

announced that Bowen was named as the 2018 winner of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, honouring outstanding contributions by a hockey broadcaster.

References

External links

Bio, hosted by Sportsnet.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Joe 1951 births Canadian television sportscasters Canadian radio sportscasters Toronto Maple Leafs announcers Lacrosse announcers Living people National Hockey League broadcasters People from Greater Sudbury Public address announcers University of Windsor alumni Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winners National Lacrosse League announcers