Rick Ball
Rick Ball | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | British Columbia Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
Rick Ball is a Canadian sportscaster who currently works as a hockey play-by-play announcer on Chicago Sports Network's Chicago Blackhawks broadcasts. Ball worked the Stanley Cup Playoffs for TNT in 2023.
A British Columbia Institute of Technology graduate, Ball began his radio career in 1993 in his native Kelowna.[1][2] From 1995 to 2000 he was the play-by-play announcer for the Kelowna Rockets.[3] He then worked for CFAX in Victoria, British Columbia.[1] In 2001 he filled in for Jim Hughson on ten of VTV’s Vancouver Canucks broadcasts.[3] That same year he joined The Team 1040 in Vancouver, where he hosted the noon-to-3 p.m. show.[1][4] In 2004, The Team acquired the rights to the BC Lions and Ball was named the new play-by-play voice.[2] In 2008, Ball and Joe Kenward were chosen as fill-in voices for lead Canucks announcer John Shorthouse.[4] In 2011, the CBC chose Ball to call Winnipeg Jets games for Hockey Night In Canada.[5] In 2013 he became the main western play-by-play voice for Hockey Night in Canada.[1] In 2014, Ball left Vancouver to become Sportsnet's regional television announcer for the Calgary Flames.[6] Ball will join Chicago Sports Network as the television play-by-play broadcaster of the Chicago Blackhawks in October 2024.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Douglas, Greg (January 19, 2013). "Ball living the dream following Cole to Hockey Night in Canada's prime team". The Vancouver Sun.
- ^ a b Beamish, Mike (June 17, 2004). "Lions have a new voice on airwaves". The Vancouver Sun.
- ^ a b Ullrich, Lowell (April 6, 2001). "A bouncing Ball: Ex-junior broadcaster relishes opportunity". The Vancouver Sun.
- ^ a b McIntyre, Gordon (November 30, 2008). "He's both on the Ball and on the airwaves; Getting back to hockey this season". The Province.
- ^ "Ball gets the call to do Jets play-by-play on HNIC". The Province. September 23, 2011.
- ^ Douglas, Greg (August 30, 2014). "Ball, Taylor suit up for air battles; Programming: Radio, TV roll out recycled 'all-stars'". The Vancouver Sun.
- ^ "RELEASE: Blackhawks Announce Veteran Broadcaster Rick Ball as New Television Play-by-Play Voice". NHL.com. June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.