Rod Phillips (broadcaster)
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Rod Phillips | |
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Born | |
Occupation | Radio Broadcaster |
Spouse | Debby[1] |
Children | 2[1] |
Relatives | Chris Phillips (nephew) |
Rod Phillips (born September 9, 1941) is a retired
Rod Phillips was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1941 and grew up in Calmar, Alberta.[3][4] Before being a hockey broadcaster, Phillips hosted Edmonton's first-ever late-night television show in 1967.
Rod Phillips is the uncle of retired Ottawa Senators defenseman Chris Phillips.[5]
Phillips announced his retirement on May 28, 2010. Although retired, he still broadcast 10 more games of the 2010–2011 season, referred to as a "farewell tour" and dubbed "Rod's Classics."
Rod called his 3,552nd and final game on March 29, 2011, officially marking his retirement. During a pre-game ceremony before the game, the Edmonton Oilers honored the Hockey Hall of Famer with a banner marked not with a sweater number but, rather, the number 3,542, which references the number of games he called for the Oilers.
On-air durability
Well known for his on-air durability, Phillips once even tried to call a game while suffering a bleeding nose so bad that it blurred his vision and was known to call games even while sick with severe colds. Phillips had only missed nine periods of Oilers hockey during his entire career - two full games missed due to illness and three first periods missed after participating in on-ice ceremonies - until November 2008, when he missed a 7 game road trip only after being banned from flying by his doctors due to an ear infection. At the time, Phillips said that felt that he was 'letting people down.' Bob Stauffer, the regular color commentator, filled in for him on during the road trip, an admirable performance which led many to speculate Stauffer would be Phillips' eventual replacement. Upon Phillips' retirement, Jack Michaels was named as his replacement.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Rod Phillips retires & Oilers announce 'Rod's Classics'". Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
- ^ "Congrats, Rod!". NHL.com. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
- ^ "Oilers '84: Rod Phillips, the former voice of the Oilers, on winning the Cup: "It was just so hard to believe" | Edmonton Sun".
- ^ a b "Rod Phillips retires & Oilers announce 'Rod's Classics'". Edmonton Oilers. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
- ^ "Bring Stanley home". Western Standard. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
- ^ "New Oilers play-by-play man earned spurs toiling in minors". Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.