Ward MacLaurin Cornell (4 May 1924 – 5 February 2000) 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 ...

broadcaster noted for hosting ''

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 ...

'' between 1959 and 1972.

Biography

He was born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

where he studied at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

. There, he became a

CFPL (AM) CFPL is a radio station owned by Corus Entertainment and based in London, Ontario, Canada. Transmitter power is 10,000 watts daytime, 5,000 watts nighttime. Broadcast frequency is 980 AM. CFPL uses a four-tower directional antenna with differing ...

radio announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...

of campus

sports game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport (s ...

s. Following graduation in 1949, he presented sports news in the early years of

CFPL-TV CFPL-DT (channel 10) is a television station in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Kitchener-based CTV station CKCO-DT, channel 13 (although the two stations maintain separate oper ...

. During the next five years, he held a tutorial position, teaching

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

, History and Geography, at

Pickering College Pickering College is an independent, co-educational school for children in grades from Junior Kindergarten through grade 12. It is located in Newmarket, Ontario, Newmarket, Ontario in Canada on a 17-hectare (42 acre) property on Bayview Avenue. The ...

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket ( 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The name stems from the ...

while still finding the time to perform announcing duties for sports events on radio and play roles in drama performances on the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

network. Then in 1954 he became general manager at CFPL radio, holding that post for 13 years. Following his 1972 departure from ''Hockey Night in Canada'', Cornell became

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

's Agent-General in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, UK. He then received deputy minister appointments in various provincial ministries. Cornell died aged 75 at

Uxbridge, Ontario Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. Communities The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include Altona, Coppin' ...

due to

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

. He left his wife Georgina Saxon (m. 1969) and five children. He is buried in Uxbridge Cemetery.

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornell, Ward 1924 births 2000 deaths Canadian sports announcers Cornell family People from London, Ontario University of Western Ontario alumni Deaths from emphysema Canadian Football League announcers National Hockey League broadcasters People from Uxbridge, Ontario