Ernie Calcutt
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ernest George Calcutt (November 1, 1932January 10, 1984) was a Canadian
sports commentator In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...
and radio news director. He worked for CFRA 580-AM in Ottawa, and was the voice for the
Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...
radio broadcasts from 1964 to 1983. He served as a president of the Canadian Football Reporters, and was inducted into both the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...
and the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame.


Early life and education

Ernest George Calcutt was born on November 1, 1932, in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, Ontario,; the son of Allan and Doris Calcutt. He grew up in the
Centretown Centretown is a neighbourhood in Somerset Ward, in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is defined by the city as "the area bounded on the north by Gloucester Street and Lisgar Street, on the east by the Rideau Canal, on the south by the Qu ...
neighbourhood of Ottawa, was an altar boy at St Patrick's Basilica and frequented the
Ottawa Auditorium The Ottawa Auditorium was a 7,500-seat arena located in Ottawa, Ontario. It was located in Downtown Ottawa at the corner of O'Connor and Argyle Streets, today the site of the Taggart Family YMCA. Built primarily for ice hockey, the arena was al ...
as a youth. He played
Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...
and
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 ...
, and attended St. Patrick's High School. He was married, and had five children.


Radio career and community work

Calcutt began working for CFRA 580-AM radio part-time in 1961. He also worked with Metropolitan Life Insurance for 12 years, until he joined CRFA full-time in 1964. He became the station's sports director in 1965, and then its news director in 1968. He broadcast sports news reports every 30 minutes, gave a daily morning commentary and hosted a public affairs talk show. Calcutt was the English language radio
sports commentator In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...
for the
Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...
from 1964 to 1983. The ''
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 ...
'' described Calcutt as having an encyclopedic knowledge of Canadian football, and that he was candid about the Ottawa Rough Riders and not intimidated to give criticism despite that the team and radio station had common ownership. During his broadcast tenure, the team competed in six
Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...
games and won four
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
championships. He was credited for having a sense of on-air humour, and for coining the phrases "pulling an el foldo" and "being as wide open as a church door on a Sunday morning". He also served as president of the Canadian Football Reporters, and was a recurring host of the Schenley Award for the league's most valuable player. Calcutt served as a director with the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club, and was a founding member of both the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame in 1968, and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in 1974. He was a frequent master of ceremonies for the Ottawa Sports Awards annual dinner, and made contributions to the Easter Seals telethon hosted in Ottawa. He helped establish Operation Go Home, to return runaway children to their families. The Ottawa Police Service credited his efforts for taking 15,000 children off the streets in 11 years. Calcutt died on January 10, 1984, in Ottawa, Ontario, due to a stroke. His funeral at St Patrick's Basilica was reported to have been attended by at least one thousand people. His remains were cremated and a memorial was erected at Notre-Dame Cemetery in Ottawa. He was succeeded by
John Badham John MacDonald Badham (born August 25, 1939) is an American film and television director, best known for directing the films ''Saturday Night Fever'' (1977), ''Dracula (1979 film), Dracula'' (1979), ''Blue Thunder'' (1983), ''WarGames'' (1983), ...
as the radio announcer for the Ottawa Rough Riders and the sports director of CFRA.


Posthumous honours

The City of Ottawa made him the namesake of Ernie Calcutt Park in 1984. The new
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...
field at Lansdowne Park Stadium was also named for Calcutt in 1984. He was inducted into the builder category of the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. He was named to the honour roll of Sports Media Canada, and is a partial namesake of the Ernie Calcutt/
Eddie MacCabe Edward William Joseph MacCabe (January 15, 1927May 22, 1998) was a Canadian Sports journalism, sports journalist and writer. He began in journalism with the ''Ottawa Journal'' in 1946, briefly wrote for the ''Montreal Star'' from 1951 and 1952, ...
/ Brian Smith Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports Media in Ottawa. On October 29, 2014, the
press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the ...
and media centre at the renovated
TD Place Stadium TD Place Stadium (originally Lansdowne Park and formerly Frank Clair Stadium) is an outdoor stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Lansdowne Park, on the southern edge of The Glebe neighbourhood, where Bank Street (Ottawa), Bank S ...
were named for Calcutt. He was inducted into the football reporters section of
Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...
on November 26, 2017, in a ceremony at the
105th Grey Cup The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cham ...
game played in Ottawa.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calcutt, Ernie 1932 births 1984 deaths Burials at Notre-Dame Cemetery (Ottawa) Canadian colour commentators Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian radio sportscasters Mass media people from Ottawa Ottawa Rough Riders announcers