Danny Gallivan

Danny Gallivan (April 11, 1917 - February 24, 1993) was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gallivan began his broadcast career at a local radio station in Antigonish, Nova Scotia while attending St. Francis Xavier University. He taught high school algebra and Latin in Antigonish following graduation and took a stint in the Canadian Army before returning to continue his broadcasting career.

Hockey Night in Canada

In 1946, Gallivan moved to a radio station in Halifax where he became sports director. He was spotted by a CBC producer of Hockey Night in Canada while in Montreal to broadcast a junior hockey playoff between Halifax and Montreal and was asked to fill in for a sick announcer in 1950. In 1952, Gallivan began a 32-year stint with Hockey Night in Canada, mostly calling games involving the Montreal Canadiens, before retiring after the 1983–1984 season. Gallivan did play-by-play for over 1,800 Canadiens games on both television and radio in his career.

Colorful descriptions

Gallivan was known for his colourful descriptions of action on the ice. Hard shots became "cannonading drives"; saves were "scintillating" rather than merely spectacular; and, after a save, pucks tended to get caught in a goalie's "paraphernalia" (goalie equipment). Sometimes if the goaltender made a fantastic or impossible save, he would refer to it as a "hair raising save", he would also use words such as "anemic" to describe an offense, powerplay, etc. The ultimate Gallivanism was a word he coined: the "spinarama," which described a player evading a check or when a player would deke a defender with a sudden 180- or 360-degree turn. Its chief practitioner was Serge Savard, so the move was also known as "The Savardian Spinarama".

When a university professor wrote to Gallivan protesting that there was no such word as "cannonading," Gallivan wrote back and replied, "There is now." The Canadian Oxford Dictionary includes an entry for "spinarama."

On October 9, 1970, he had the distinction of announcing the Vancouver Canucks' first-ever game in the NHL, a 3–1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on CKNW radio.

Later life

Gallivan was active in retirement, working with several charities, and was the recipient of several television/broadcast industry awards. He made a cameo appearance in the 1975 Canadian feature film The Million Dollar Hockey Puck. Gallivan also had a cameo as the voice of sportcaster Ferlin Fielddigger in the 1981 animated TV special, The Raccoons On Ice.

References

• "Hockey's Great Voices Echo Through Generations" at NHL.com. Retrieved 10-20-06.