Ernie Calcutt
Ernie Calcutt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 1, 1932 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | January 10, 1984 (aged 51) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Resting place | Notre-Dame Cemetery, Ottawa |
| Occupation(s) | Sports commentator and radio news director |
| Known for | Ottawa Rough Riders and CFRA |
| Awards | Canadian Football Hall of Fame Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame |
Ernest George Calcutt (November 1, 1932 – January 10, 1984) was a Canadian sports commentator and radio news director. He worked for CFRA 580-AM in Ottawa, and was the voice for the Ottawa Rough Riders radio broadcasts from 1964 to 1983. He served as a president of the Canadian Football Reporters, and was inducted into both the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame.
Early life and education
[edit]Ernest George Calcutt was born on November 1, 1932, in Ottawa, Ontario,[1][2][3] the son of Allan and Doris Calcutt.[4] He grew up in the Centretown neighbourhood of Ottawa, was an altar boy at St Patrick's Basilica and frequented the Ottawa Auditorium as a youth.[5][6] He played Canadian football and ice hockey, and attended St. Patrick's High School. He was married, and had five children.[3]
Radio career and community work
[edit]Calcutt began working for CFRA 580-AM radio part-time in 1961. He also worked with Metropolitan Life Insurance for 12 years, until he joined CRFA full-time in 1964.[3][5][7] He became the station's sports director in 1965, and then its news director in 1968.[8] He broadcast sports news reports every 30 minutes, gave a daily morning commentary and hosted a public affairs talk show.[3]
Calcutt was the English language radio sports commentator for the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1964 to 1983.[9][10] The Ottawa Citizen described Calcutt as having an encyclopedic knowledge of Canadian football,[5][7] and that he was candid about the Ottawa Rough Riders and not intimidated to give criticism despite that the team and radio station had common ownership.[3] During his broadcast tenure, the team competed in six Grey Cup games and won four Canadian Football League championships. He was credited for having a sense of on-air humour, and for coining the phrases "pulling an el foldo" and "being as wide open as a church door on a Sunday morning".[11] He also served as president of the Canadian Football Reporters,[3][8] and was a recurring host of the Schenley Award for the league's most valuable player.[11]
Calcutt served as a director with the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club, and was a founding member of both the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame in 1968, and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in 1974.[11] He was a frequent master of ceremonies for the Ottawa Sports Awards annual dinner,[12] and made contributions to the Easter Seals telethon hosted in Ottawa.[3] He helped establish Operation Go Home, to return runaway children to their families. The Ottawa Police Service credited his efforts for taking 15,000 children off the streets in 11 years.[6]
Calcutt died on January 10, 1984, in Ottawa, Ontario,[2] due to a stroke.[8][10] His funeral at St Patrick's Basilica was reported to have been attended by at least one thousand people.[6] His remains were cremated and a memorial was erected at Notre-Dame Cemetery in Ottawa.[2] He was succeeded by John Badham as the radio announcer for the Ottawa Rough Riders and the sports director of CFRA.[8][13]
Posthumous honours
[edit]
The City of Ottawa made him the namesake of Ernie Calcutt Park in 1984.[11][14] The new artificial turf field at Lansdowne Park Stadium was also named for Calcutt in 1984.[11] He was inducted into the builder category of the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.[1][11] He was named to the honour roll of Sports Media Canada, and is a partial namesake of the Ernie Calcutt/Eddie MacCabe/Brian Smith Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports Media in Ottawa.[11]
On October 29, 2014, the press box and media centre at the renovated TD Place Stadium were named for Calcutt.[9] He was inducted into the football reporters section of Canadian Football Hall of Fame on November 26, 2017, in a ceremony at the 105th Grey Cup game played in Ottawa.[15][16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Ernie Calcutt". Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame. 1988. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ a b c Interment Directory, Ottawa, Ontario: Notre-Dame Cemetery, 2020
- ^ a b c d e f g Hill, Bert; Deveney, Abby (January 11, 1984). "Voice of Riders dies at 51". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 1.
; Hill, Bert; Deveney, Abby (January 11, 1984). "Voice of Riders dies at 51 (Continued from page 1)". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 10.
- ^ "Calcutt, Ernie". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. January 11, 1984. p. 28.
- ^ a b c MacCabe, Eddie (January 9, 1984). "Sports fans pulling for Ernie Calcutt". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 27.
- ^ a b c "1,000 mourners honor broadcaster". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. January 14, 1984. p. 9.
- ^ a b Brown, Dave (January 6, 1984). "Calcutt suffers stroke". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 19.
- ^ a b c d "CFRA-AM". History of Canadian Broadcasting. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ a b Holder, Gord (October 30, 2014). "Ex-Riders broadcaster Ernie Calcutt honoured at rebuilt stadium". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario.
- ^ a b "Le Rouge et Noir rend hommage à Ernie Calcutt". Le Droit (in French). Ottawa, Ontario. October 30, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ernie Calcutt". Canadian Football Hall of Fame. 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ "1995 Award Winners". Ottawa Sports Awards. 1995. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ "Sports Roundup". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. March 16, 1984. p. 54.
- ^ "Our Parks". Riverside Park Community Association. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ Brennan, Don (November 26, 2017). "Ottawa broadcasters Ernie Calcutt and Jeff Avery inducted into FRC Hall of Fame". Ottawa Sun. Ottawa, Ontario.
- ^ "Avery, Calcutt to be inducted into Canadian Football Hall of Fame". Ottawa Redblacks. November 15, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
