Norman B. Albert (1897 – 25 December 1974) 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 ...

journalist and radio reporter. He was the first to broadcast an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

game for radio.

First radio broadcast of ice hockey

Norman Albert called the third period of an OHA Intermediate playoff game on 8 February 1923 when North Toronto defeated Midland 16–4.Kitchen, p. 246 This game, like the early broadcasts of

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. Biography ...

, was aired on

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

radio station CFCA, which was owned by the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' where both Hewitt and Albert were employed.Hewitt, pp. 18-23 Albert is known to have broadcast three or four games, all in 1923. The ''Toronto Star'' of 9 February 1923 (page 9) confirms that Albert made the first broadcast on 8 February. The other dates are likely 14 February, 24 February and 27 February. The game on 14 February featured the

Toronto St. Pats The Toronto St. Patricks (colloquially known as the St. Pats) were a professional ice hockey team which began playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1919. The Toronto NHL franchise (league membership) had previously been held by the Toront ...

and the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

, and is the first

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

game to be broadcast.

References

* * ;Notes Canadian radio sportscasters National Hockey League broadcasters 1897 births 1974 deaths {{canada-radio-bio-stub