Johnny Esaw

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Johnny Esaw, CM (June 11, 1925 – April 6, 2013) was a Canadian of Assyrian[1] descent, a sports broadcaster and television network executive.[2] He was a pioneer of sports broadcasting in Canada, best known for his involvement with figure skating, football, and international hockey.

Early broadcasting career

Born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Esaw was unsuccessfully selling insurance in 1947 when Emile Francis hired him to cover semi-professional baseball games on radio station CJNB in North Battleford. In 1949, he moved to a bigger market in Regina, Saskatchewan at CKRM, where he worked until 1956. He provided play-by-play coverage of the 1951 Grey Cup game from Varsity Stadium in Toronto—the beginning of what would become a long affiliation with the Canadian Football League. In 1956, Esaw became sports director of Winnipeg's CKRC.

Moves to television

Esaw made the transition to television late in 1960, becoming sports director of

Vancouver, British Columbia. He was also the lead play-by-play man for the CFL on CTV
from 1962 until 1973 and then the host from 1974 until 1986.

A network executive

In 1974, Esaw became vice-president of CTV Sports, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1990. He negotiated the host broadcasting rights to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

After retiring from CTV, Esaw joined Houston Group as vice-president of broadcasting operations and remained in that role after Houston was acquired by Edelman, the world's largest public relations firm. With Edelman, Esaw worked on several sports events, including golf tournaments, tennis, and motor sports. He retired in 1996 at the age of 71. Esaw died in Toronto at age 87 on April 6, 2013, of respiratory problems.

Honours

Esaw was inducted into the Canadian Football Reporters Hall of Fame (1984), the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame (1991), Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1991), the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame (1991), the North Battleford Sports Hall of Fame (1992), the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame (1997), and the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame (1997). In 2004, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

References

  1. ^ Robertson, Patricia (23 April 2013). "Sportscaster Johnny Esaw brought an athlete's drive to the booth". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  2. ^ Canadian, The. "Canadian sportscasting pioneer Johnny Esaw dies at 87". Brandon Sun. Archived from the original on 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
  • "Johnny Esaw hangs up his mike after 41 years in broadcasting," Ken McKee, Toronto Star, February 19, 1990, p. D7.
  • Johnny Esaw, Canadian Communications Foundation, retrieved December 15, 2006.
  • Johnny Esaw, George Gross, Sports Media Canada, retrieved December 15, 2006.

Further reading