Donald Earle Clement (March 29, 1929 – December 12, 1993) was an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience on a broadcast media programme or live event either on radio or television. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaki ...

for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. Earle was born Donald Earle Clement in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

. He graduated from Dedham High School in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a New England town, town in, and the county seat of, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on Boston's southwestern border, the population was 25,364 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. First settled by E ...

. He served in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

from 1949 to 1951 and was a journalist. He graduated from Grahm Junior College in 1954. He began his broadcasting career with WBET in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...

and later worked for another Brockton station - WOKW. He then moved to WKOX in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston ...

, where he called high school hockey games. In 1967, Earle was chosen from relative obscurity to become

WSBK-TV WSBK-TV (channel 38) is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS outlet WBZ-TV (channel 4). The two stations share studios on Soldiers Field R ...

's announcer for Boston Bruins games. He called Bruins games during one of the club's most successful periods, which included winning the

1970 Stanley Cup Finals The 1970 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1969–70 season, and the culmination of the 1970 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was a contest between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues, who appe ...

. Due to the team's success and the high number of games aired on WSBK, Earle became a high-profile sportscaster in Boston, however, according to Jack Craig of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', he was also the most criticized. In 1971, Earle was loudly booed by Bruins fans while presenting Channel 38's 7th Player Award. He was let go by WSBK-TV at the end of the season. From 1971 to 1977, Earle served as a second play by play announcer/analyst with the

WTAF WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned and operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network through its Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Market S ...

alongside

Gene Hart Eugene Charles "Gene" Hart (June 28, 1931 – July 14, 1999) was an American sports announcer for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League and the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League. Biography Hart was born in New ...

. After his dismissal from the Flyers, Earle worked as a freelance sportscaster, calling games for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

and the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. He returned to Massachusetts in 1981. From 1982 to 1985, he was a sports anchor for

WGGB-TV WGGB-TV (channel 40) is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power CBS affiliate WSHM-LD (channel 33). The two stations share ...

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

. Earle spent his later years in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

. He died on December 12, 1993.

References

External links

Bruins' Fourth Stanley Cup win celebration, with Don Earle interviewing Bruins team members (starting at 1:15 into the video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earle, Don 1929 births 1993 deaths National Hockey League broadcasters Boston Bruins announcers Colorado Rockies (NHL) announcers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators Philadelphia Flyers announcers People from Dedham, Massachusetts People from Westfield, Massachusetts Grahm Junior College alumni United States Coast Guard enlisted