Edgar Lee "Ted" Darling (June 9, 1935 – December 19, 1996) was a Canadian-American sports announcer. He is best known as the original "Voice of the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

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team for twenty-two seasons, calling the team's games on television from the team's inaugural season in 1970 to 1991. The title was originally bestowed by Sabres defenceman Jim Schoenfeld.

Career

Prior to his work with the Sabres, he hosted ''

Hockey Night in Canada ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...

'' telecasts from

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. Darling won the Sabres play-by-play job after submitting an audition tape of him calling a fictitious Sabres broadcast. Darling was close friends with Rick Jeanneret, with whom he rotated television and radio play-by-play duties from 1971 onward. For games that were not televised, Darling and Jeanneret would often work as a tandem, though neither had playing experience typical of most

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

s. In October 1991, Darling was diagnosed with

Pick's disease Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also called frontotemporal degeneration disease or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of the brain's frontal and temporal lobes. Men ...

, an Alzheimer's-like degenerative illness, and thus, was on medical leave from October 16 to November 20. He returned to call 6 more games before being relieved of his duties by the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of Sabres broadcasts, Paul Wieland, on December 12, 1991. Darling called a total of 11 games during the 1991–92 season. He was brought back, however, as a studio analyst for games on WUTV in the 1992–93 season before announcing his retirement. The illness took a significant toll on his health and after a five-year battle with the illness, he died on December 19, 1996, at the age of 61. Darling's son, Joel Darling, is an executive producer with ''Hockey Night in Canada'', having begun his broadcast career as a gofer under his father and Jeanneret.

Awards and accolades

*Inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () 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) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1994. *Inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1995. *Inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2002. *The press box at

KeyBank Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the Nation ...

is named the "Ted Darling Memorial Press Box" in his honor.

Memorable calls

When the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 hit the city of Buffalo, Darling called a game between the Sabres and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

at the

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from his apartment—phoning in his commentary while watching the action on his television.

References

1935 births 1996 deaths Buffalo Sabres announcers New York Giants announcers Canadian people of British descent Canadian sports announcers Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Deaths from Pick's disease Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winners Ice hockey people from Ontario National Hockey League broadcasters People from Kingston, Ontario Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States {{Canada-icehockey-bio-stub