Mike “Doc” Emrick On His New Book, Broadcast Career And Decision To Retire

Mike “Doc” Emrick, longtime play-by-play announcer for the NHL on NBC before his retirement last week. He is the author of Off Mike: How a Kid from Basketball-Crazy Indiana Became America’s NHL Voice. Emrick spoke with Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson about his new book, broadcast career and why now was the right time to retire. Emrick said,

“It was somewhere around the end of the second round or the beginning of the third round this spring or this summer, I should say, when the playoffs were still going on and I was still working from home. And I think what happened was it was just starting to dawn on me that this was 50 years from the time that I first started covering NHL games and 40 years of doing NHL on television. And thanks to NBC and the fact that they had given me the go ahead to continue working from home and not having to go to Edmonton if I chose for the last two rounds that they had protected me throughout and that I was remaining healthy. And through 50 years, despite a cancer scare, I was going to be able to stay that way, that this was as good a time as any to to close off a career in as good a health as anyone could have. And here I am in my mid 70s. I still do have my health despite that Cancer scare and despite Covid. Knock on wood and my wife has hers, too. And our little dogs and our horses are our family. And we still have, we hope, some good years to celebrate together. So this seemed like the time. And as that last chapter and I greatly appreciate your reading the entire book. What a guy. As that last chapter says, I hope I would know. And this time somewhere late in the second or early in the third round, I did.”

Listen To The Full Interview Below: