Lionel Dyke "Pete" Parker (September 7, 1895 – February 11, 1991) was a Canadian radio announcer. He was one of the first people to ever broadcast

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 ...

. He served overseas in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from 1916 to 1919.

Career

On March 14, 1923, Parker made the world's first complete play-by-play

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

broadcast of a professional

game. The broadcast was carried by

CKCK Radio CKCK-FM is a radio station in Regina, Saskatchewan. Owned by Rawlco Communications, it broadcasts an adult hits format branded as ''Jack 94.5''. CKCK's studios and offices are located at 2401 Saskatchewan Drive in Regina, along with sister stat ...

in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. The game, held at Exhibition Park in Regina between the Regina Capitals and the

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Eskimos, was a meeting of two Western Canada Professional Hockey League teams. Edmonton beat Regina, 1–0. This broadcast was officially recognized by

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1972. This followed by one month the

Norman Albert Norman B. Albert (1897 – 25 December 1974) was a Canadian journalist and radio reporter. He was the first to broadcast an ice hockey game for radio. First radio broadcast of ice hockey Norman Albert called the third period of an OHA Intermediat ...

broadcast on February 8, 1923, of the third period of a game between Midland and North Toronto of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

.Kitchen, p. 246 The first-ever full-game radio broadcast was made of a February 22, 1923 game between the Winnipeg Falcons and Port Arthur by Winnipeg radio station CJCG (owned by the Manitoba Free Press). For many years, it was thought that Parker's broadcast preceded by 8 days the March 22, 1923 first broadcast by

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

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 ...

. Hewitt's own biography lists the date of his first hockey broadcast as March 22.Hewitt, p. 25 However, on March 22, there was no game at Toronto's

Arena Gardens An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

to call. Hewitt's first broadcast (of the third period only) may have been on February 16, 1923, for a game between Toronto and Kitchener.

References

1895 births 1991 deaths Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian radio sportscasters {{Canada-radio-bio-stub