Jim Robson, who was the voice of the Vancouver Canucks for three decades, has passed away at age 91.
Robson began his 47-year broadcasting career in 1952 at CJAV Port Alberni at the age of 17, covering sports and calling play-by-play for the Alberni Athletics Senior A men’s basketball team. From there, he moved on to CHUB Nanaimo in 1955 and CKWX Vancouver a year later, helming play-by-play for the WHL Canucks, the B.C. Lions and Vancouver Mounties baseball.
When the Canucks joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1970, Robson moved to CKNW as a play-by-play announcer, going on to call over 2,000 games over the next 24 years. He additionally did work for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, covering several Stanley Cup finals and NHL All-Star games, and contributed to television broadcasts for BCTV, CHEK-TV and VTV. Robson stepped down as the Canucks’ radio announcer in 1994, moving over to television full-time as the Canucks’ TV announcer for five seasons, until his retirement in 1999.
During his entire career, Robson never missed a broadcast due to illness, according to his B.C. Sports Hall of Fame citation.
Among the accolades amassed over his career, Robson was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He was named to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2002.
The broadcast booth at Rogers Arena in Vancouver continues to bear his name.
