Ed Whalen (July 8, 1927 – December 4, 2001) was 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 ...

television personality and journalist best known worldwide for hosting the popular

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

TV series ''

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the pro ...

''. Whalen was also a popular sportcaster in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

whose nickname "Wailin' Ed" was indicative of his famous nasal announcing voice.

Biography

Born in

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...

, Ed Whalen was studying

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

in 1948 when he dropped out to take a part-time job in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

at CFQC radio. In 1955, he moved to Calgary and became the News and Sports Director for the new Calgary TV station CHCT (later popularly known as 2&7, and then Calgary 7, and later still as part of the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after C ...

Wrestling

Stu Hart was introduced to Ed Whalen while he promoted shows in Saskatchewan. In 1949, Ed was tapped to be the ring announcer on the shows there. Ed recalls one of his stints when he was just 21 and started in radio with his sign off of, "I'm 48 degrees and outside it's Ed Whalen." When Ed had the chance to apply for TV from radio in Saskatchewan, he jumped at the chance. The friendship with Stu was not forgotten as Stu, looking to air his program, contacted Ed Whalen. Whalen went to bat for Stu and the first program aired in 1957. Henry Viney was the first host of the show known as Wildcat Wrestling. In 1962, Ed took over as the host of the show and it was renamed to its run as Stampede Wrestling. It was bestowed the official Stampede name in 1975. Ed would be the host of the show from 1962 to 1983. It was there he would quit on air citing its violent and bloody matches and lack of family entertainment. Ed would rejoin Stampede Wrestling when it resumed in 1985 to 1989). The show popularized several Whalen

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 ...

s including "It's going to be a ring-a-ding-dong dandy!" and his trademark sign-off, "In the meantime and in-between time." According to

Ross Hart Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

, Whalen, along with Helen Hart, were the only classy elements to the wrestling business, stating that Whalen and she added dignity to Stampede Wrestling.

Hockey

After his time with ''Stampede Wrestling'', Whalen became beloved by Calgarians as the television voice of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

on 2&7/Calgary 7 from 1980 (right after the city won the NHL franchise) until his retirement in 1999, and was famous for his introduction, "Hello hockey fans!", and catchphrases such as "a ring-a-ding-dong dandy". During Flames telecasts, Whalen was memorable in showing high & intense enthusiasm with phrases such as, "put it out in front"!! or "oh they jam away"!! When Flames captain Lanny McDonald scored his 500th goal in 1989 (his final season & just prior to the team's Stanley Cup winning playoff run) on a wrap-around effort, Whalen made the call, "Otto battling for possession, gets it behind the net to McDonald, he scores!! He did it!! 500!!" Whalen also wrote a weekly column in the ''

Calgary Sun The ''Calgary Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia. First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running tabloid-size newspaper ''The Albertan'' soon after it was ...

'' newspaper for many years, and even after his retirement he continued to make occasional appearances on TV and still wrote his column. He also was a regular local host of the

Children's Miracle Network Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: Réseau Enfants-Santé (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of 10 million children each ...

telethon.

Death

Whalen died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

while on vacation in

Venice, Florida Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The city includes what locals call "Venice Island", a portion of the mainland that is accessed via bridges over the artificially created Intracoastal Waterway. The city is located in S ...

in 2001. The broadcasting booth in Calgary's

Scotiabank Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flame ...

(home of the Calgary Flames) was renamed the Ed Whalen Broadcast Booth in his honour. A year after his death, his wife released a CD of musical recordings Whalen made, with the proceeds going to

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

Championships and accomplishments

* Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2016 *

** Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' ** Worst Television Announcer (1989)

References

External links

Slam! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Ed Whalen
* ttp://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosW/whalen_01dec05-sun2.html Slam! Wrestling: Calgary icon's curtain callbr>Slam! Wrestling: Ed Whalen dies after heart attack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whalen, Ed 1927 births 2001 deaths Calgary Flames announcers Canadian colour commentators Canadian columnists Canadian television sportscasters National Hockey League broadcasters North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commentators People from Saskatoon Professional wrestling announcers Stampede Wrestling alumni