Legendary broadcaster Doc Emrick is officially hanging up the microphone. The longtime lead of NBC Sports’ hockey coverage is retiring after decades of calling play-by-play for multiple sports, including a 50-year career in hockey.
NBC Sports announced Emrick’s decision on Monday, sharing a video farewell from Emrick where he covered some of his favorite moments and noted that, though he’s done broadcasting for NBC, he may occasionally pen some video essays in his retirement. Uproxx Sports interviewed Emrick in September ahead of the Stanley Cup Final and the broadcaster, who covered the NHL’s Bubble remotely, talked about the difficulties of the broadcast and being away from the game.
In an interview with the New York Post, Emrick said he looks forward to spending time at his home north of Detroit and, eventually, traveling in retirement.
“I hope I can handle retirement OK,” he said Sunday night from his home in Michigan, “especially since I’ve never done it before. But I’ve just been extremely lucky for 50 years. And NBC has been so good to me, especially since the pandemic, when I was allowed to work from home in a studio NBC created.
“Now, into my golden years, this just seemed to be the time that was right.
“Plus, I’ve now accumulated enough frequent-flyer miles — to not go anywhere.”
Emrick, who spent decades expanding every hockey fan’s vocabulary considerably, will be missed on NBC to say the least. But at least it sounds like we’ll still hear his voice from time to time, which is the least you can ask for.