Gene Hart
| Gene Hart | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Eugene Charles Hart June 28, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 14, 1999 (aged 68) Cherry Hill, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team(s) | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Genre(s) | Play-by-Play |
| Sports | Ice hockey |
Eugene Charles "Gene" Hart (June 28, 1931 – July 14, 1999) was an American sports announcer for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League and the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League.
Hart was born in New York City in 1931 and soon moved to Southern New Jersey, where he graduated from Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, New Jersey. He graduated from Trenton State College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. After serving time in the military, Hart began officiating high school football, baseball, and basketball in South Jersey. After one game at Atlantic City High School, the school’s athletic broadcaster Ralph Glenn was walking around frantically to find a person to go with him to Trenton to announce a game. He explained his situation to Hart and Hart agreed to go with him, which began his announcing career in hockey.
Hart continued to announce with Glenn on a regular basis in Southern New Jersey, and kept several side jobs as well. One of which was teaching high school history classes at Lenape High School in Medford as well as in Audubon High School New Jersey. When Philadelphia was granted an NHL expansion team in 1966, Hart submitted his tapes to the team, which would be called the Flyers. Since the Flyers could not afford one of the more experienced Canadian announcers, Hart got the job. Although he only expected to be on the staff for a few years until the Flyers could afford a better broadcaster Hart stayed on as the voice of the Philadelphia Flyers for 29 years, from the team’s inception until the end of the 1994–1995 season. Hart's colleagues as a Flyers announcer included Stu Nahan and Don Earle. Known for his rapid fire delivery, Hart's style was heavily influenced by famous hockey broadcaster Foster Hewitt. Like Hewitt, Hart's slightly high pitched, action describing delivery was perfect for both radio and early generation sports television. Hart announced more than 2,000 NHL games, 6 separate Stanley Cups, 5 NHL all-star games, and the NHL Soviet Union all-star series. His most famous call came when he announced the end of Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals:
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