Press & broadcasting / Sports
Bruce Martyn
born 1929 · hockey radio broadcaster
Radio voice of the Detroit Red Wings from 1964 to 1995, famous for his call "He shoots, he scores!"
- Born
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
age 97- Detroit years
- 1953–1995
- Field
- Press & broadcasting, Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Martyn, from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, came to the Detroit area in 1953 as a morning disc jockey and sports director at WCAR in Pontiac, and over the next decade he also called Michigan State football, the Pistons and the Lions. After moving to WKBD-TV as sports director, he became the Red Wings' radio play-by-play man in 1964, and for more than thirty years his rapid, excited voice carried the team to fans across Michigan and Ontario, from the last seasons at the Olympia through the move to Joe Louis Arena and the rise of Steve Yzerman. His trademark "He shoots, he scores!" became part of Detroit hockey culture. He retired after the 1994–1995 season but came back in June 1997 to call the second period of the game in which the Red Wings clinched their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. He received the Hockey Hall of Fame's Foster Hewitt Award in 1991.
Highlights
- Red Wings radio play-by-play 1964–1995
- Called the second period of the 1997 Cup clincher
- Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, 1991
- Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, 1996
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1964–1979
Olympia Stadium
Demolished · 1927–1979
The Red Wings' arena for his first fifteen seasons on the air; demolished in the 1980s.
Worked here · 1979–1995, 1997
Joe Louis Arena
Demolished · 1979–2017
His broadcast home from 1979; demolished in 2019–2020.