NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB Long time Medicine Hat Tigers broadcaster Bob Ridley embraces the crowd of 2,572 Tigers faithful at Co-op Place Saturday night. Ridley was honoured by the Tigers for calling 4,000 games with a banner in the rafters of Co-op Place ahead of Medicine Hat's 6-1 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
For someone who doesn’t like to be the centre of attention, the spotlight was on Bob Ridley Saturday night.
The Medicine Hat Tigers honoured their longtime broadcaster with a pre-game ceremony and banner unveiling to celebrate not only the 4,0000game milestone Ridley reached last season, but to also honour a career which has spanned more than five decades.
The 77-year-old was surprised with the banner raising but said he was honoured to be in the Co-op Place rafters with Lanny McDonald and alongside Tom Lysiak.
“It means a lot because during his time here, we became very good friends and he was part of the Medicine Hat Canoe Club when he was here and so on,” Ridley told the News after the Tigers 6-1 loss Saturday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. “We got to know one another very, very well and he was just a wonderful guy, a great athlete and probably one of the best Tigers ever.”
WHL commissioner Ron Robison was on hand for the ceremony and shared a speech during the event.
“Bob (exemplifies) what junior hockey is all about behind the scenes. You have to love the game, spending countless hours doing multiple jobs, and no one has made a bigger commitment to this franchise over the years than Bob Ridley,” Robison said. “It is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind story that I’m sure one day will be a blockbuster Netflix movie.”
Ridley had famously missed only one game in 51 seasons of Tigers hockey before having to undergo treatment in Lethbridge this fall. He called his 4,000th WHL game on Mar. 21, 2021 without fans in the stands.
Ridley announced Saturday night during his speech he will be back in the booth for the Tigers final regular season home game on April 15. He said he’s got butterflies in his stomach thinking about it and the significance of the game.
“I’ll be just like a rookie starting all over again so it will be interesting,” Ridley said. “It’ll be a game that I’ll find quite interesting because my first ever broadcast was against the Edmonton Oil Kings way back in 1970. So not saying that this is the end of my career but it might be as I finish off this year against the Edmonton Oil Kings, so that’s kind of special as well.”
Ridley said he’ll take it one day at a time in respect to calling games next season. When he gets behind the mic on the 15th, he will have called at least one game in every single season of the Tigers 52-year existence.
Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins said it’s pretty special for Ridley to be honoured as he was Saturday night and said he’s glad he’s around the team again.
“I always believe the one good thing and I think our organization is really good at is recognizing good people and you try to keep good people around. If you lose good people they’re hard to replace, and Bob Ridley is a really good person,” Desjardins said. “For us to keep him around in whatever capacity we can is great for us and he does an outstanding job.”
Tigers associate coach Joe Frazer said Monday, ahead of the Tigers contest tonight at Co-op Place against the Saskatoon Blades, that Ridley belongs in the rafters.
“It brought a tear to my eye, it was emotional,” Frazer said. “He’s such a great man and so well deserving of that and he’s with Tommy and Lanny up in the rafters and that’s where he belongs.”
When asked how a broadcaster with his experience could be nervous before calling a game, Ridley laughed and said he was nervous before every single one of them.
“I always thought if I don’t get nervous, if I don’t feel like doing the game, now it’s time to back away but I’ve never had that feeling,” Ridley said.
Ridley said he’ll have to arrive at the arena a little earlier on the 15th to be prepared for his return to the booth and airwaves.
“I’ll probably come down and live here for a whole week just to get prepared,” Ridley joked.
