by Dan Carle
Cambridge, ON – One of Canada’s best known all-time sportscasters and the former noteworthy Leaf who once played senior hockey in Dundas will be on the call for the national Saturday afternoon final at the Canadian men’s AAA senior hockey championship.
“I said if I’m free I’m yours. That’s kind of how it worked,” said Black, the face of television sports broadcasting in Canada for generations. He left CTV and TSN in 2021 after 31 years.
A five-time Gemini nominee as Canada’s best sportscaster who called all the big events – Olympics, World Series, NBA, Masters, Figure Skating, Kentucky Derby, Grey Cups – Black has never strayed from being the professional’s professional, his support for community sport or his Manitoba roots.
“They packed those smaller arenas,” said Black, who took in more than a few St. Boniface Mohawks senior hockey games in Winnipeg as a youth.
“It was a place to go. It was the place to be.
“There was a territorial feeling to being involved in sport back then.
“It was a magnet for young fans and old fans and people to get together and tell stories.”
Black and Vaive will team up to present the final games of the 2024 tournament.
Vaive played 13 years in the NHL and is likely best remembered for his time with the Maple Leafs, where he scored 50 goals for the first time in team history in 1981-82. He also played 14 games with the Real McCoys between 2001-03, with 15 points and 58 penalty minutes over 14 regular season games, and appeared in the 2003 Allan Cup in Dundas.
“I think I was around 40 years old,” said Vaive, now 64. “There was a whole bunch of 20-year-olds running around. It was fun – but quite a bit tougher than I thought it would be.”
The Allan Cup Final will be broadcast Saturday at 3:00 p.m. by CHCH TV in Hamilton and available across Canada.
Cable 14 in Hamilton will televise the final and semi-final game Friday at 7:30 p.m. from JL Grightmire Arena.
Black and Vaive will be on the call for the semi-final and final.
“That Cup is still one of the beautiful trophies around,” said Black of Montagu Allan’s donated trophy from the early 1900’s. “All you have to do is see it, and see the history around it.”
About Allan Cup Hockey (ACH) and the Allan Cup
Allan Cup Hockey (ACH), formerly Major League Hockey until 2011, is the top tier Canadian senior ice hockey league in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1990, as the Southwestern Senior “A” Hockey League, the ACH is a member of the Ontario Hockey Association and Hockey Canada. The ACH’s champion contends for the Allan Cup each year.
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the Dundas Real McCoys, who captured the 2023 Allan Cup in Dundas, Ontario.
More about the Allan Cup Challenge
The 2024 Allan Cup Challenge goes from April 20-27 at the J.L. Grightmire Market Street Arena in Dundas, ON. For more information and to purchase tickets click here
