The Foster Hewitt Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting was presented annually by

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has over 30,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. Th ...

, the

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

association of actors and broadcasters, to honour outstanding work by Canadian television and radio sportscasters. The award was named after legendary Canadian sportscaster

Foster Hewitt Foster William Hewitt, (November 21, 1902 – April 21, 1985) was a Canadian radio broadcaster most famous for his play-by-play calls for ''Hockey Night in Canada''. He was the son of W. A. Hewitt, and the father of Bill Hewitt. Early life ...

. Prior to the introduction of the Foster Hewitt Award, ACTRA presented an award for Best Sportscaster at the 3rd ACTRA Awards in 1974. At the 4th ACTRA Awards in 1975, the Foster Hewitt Award was introduced as a lifetime achievement award for sports broadcasting, and was presented to a different person than the Best Sportscaster award for work within the broadcast year, but this differentiation was not maintained thereafter, and the Foster Hewitt Award became the award for sportscasting work within the eligibility period rather than a lifetime award. First presented in 1975, ACTRA discontinued the Foster Hewitt Award along with other individual awards program in 1986 when the

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

took over presenting the awards.

Winners

Best Sportscaster

* 3rd ACTRA Awards (1974) -

Danny Gallivan Daniel Leo Gallivan (April 11, 1917 February 25, 1993) was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster. Early life Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gallivan was an avid athlete and was a baseball pitcher on the St. Theresa's parish ...

* 4th ACTRA Awards (1975) -

Don Chevrier Don Chevrier (December 29, 1937December 17, 2007) was a Canadian sports announcer. He worked in television and radio, and was born in Toronto, Ontario. Biography Early life and career He began his broadcasting career at CJCA in Edmonton, Alb ...

"William Hutt wins ACTRA best acting award"
''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. It has been referred to as a "sister newspaper" to the ''Regina Leader-Post, Leader-Post''. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out si ...

'', April 24, 1975.

Foster Hewitt Award

* 4th ACTRA Awards (1975) - Bill Good Sr. * 5th ACTRA Awards (1976) - Fred Sgambati * 6th ACTRA Awards (1977) - Ernie Afaganis * 7th ACTRA Awards (1978) - Don Wittman * 8th ACTRA Awards (1979) -

Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American journalist and television news anchor. He was a correspondent for ''NBC Nightly News'' starting in 1993, before his promotion to anchorman, anchor and managing editor of the broadcast in ...

* 9th ACTRA Awards (1980) -

Dave Hodge Dave Hodge (born January 8, 1945) is a Canadian sports announcer. Hodge worked for TSN, the CBC and CFRB 1010 radio in Toronto. Early years Born in Montreal, Hodge began his career as a sportswriter with the ''Chatham Daily News'' in 1965, t ...

* 10th ACTRA Awards (1981) -

Jim Robson Jim Robson OBC (born January 17, 1935) is a former radio and television broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer of the Vancouver Canucks' games from 1970 to 1999. Broadcasting career Robson started his career at the age of 17 covering ...

* 11th ACTRA Awards (1982) -

* 12th ACTRA Awards (1983) -

Steve Armitage Steve Armitage (born 20 June 1944) is a retired British-born Canadian sports reporter, formerly with CBC Sports. He reported on and hosted '' Hockey Night in Canada'' broadcasts for the Vancouver Canucks for nearly 30 years, the Canadian Footb ...

13th ACTRA Awards The 13th ACTRA Awards were presented on April 3, 1984. The ceremony was hosted by Laurier LaPierre, Ann Mortifee and Jayne Eastwood.Rick Groen, "Popular mini-series dominates ACTRA awards: Empire earns big dividend". ''The Globe and Mail '' ...

(1984) - George Young, Don Cherry * 14th ACTRA Awards (1985) - Sue Prestedge"ACTRA winners". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', April 4, 1985. * 15th ACTRA Awards (1986) - Ernie NairnAdele Freedman, "Charlie Grant's War is ACTRA's top show of the year: Nellie makes last stand brisk but chummy". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', April 4, 1986.

References

{{Canadian Screen Awards 1975 establishments in Canada 1986 disestablishments in Canada Awards disestablished in 1986 ACTRA Awards Sports mass media in Canada Sportscasting awards Canadian sports trophies and awards Awards established in 1975 Retired Canadian Screen Awards