Longtime Canadian sports broadcasting pioneer Ralph Mellanby has passed away at the age of 87.
Mellanby was the creative force behind CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada as its executive producer from 1966 to 1985.
Sad day today. Ralph Mellanby, who was Executive Producer of #HNIC for 19 years, passed away this morning. He was a Canadian TV legend, a true game changer. A Visionary who influenced so much of how our business played out in the 1960s,70s and 80s.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) January 29, 2022
He made us all better. pic.twitter.com/khS41v6Tit
Under Mellanby, the Saturday night broadcast introduced countless innovations in sports broadcasting, including new camera angles in arenas, slow motion replay, telestrators and on-air graphics.
He also produced the memorable Peter Puck children’s cartoon for NBC’s hockey coverage in the 1970s and the long-running Coach’s Corner during CBC intermissions with Don Cherry.
Many sports broadcasters became household names during Mellanby’s two decades on Hockey Night, including Dan Kelly, Dave Hodge, Bob Cole, Ron MacLean, Jim Robson, Howie Meeker and Dick Irvin Jr.
I, and the large HNIC family, past and present, are saddened by the death of Ralph Mellanby. As long-time exec. producer, Ralph took a chance on this untested 26-year-old in 1971 and showed confidence in my ability to fill the host's role properly for 16 yrs.
— Dave Hodge (@davehodge20) January 29, 2022
He also produced memorable broadcasts for many high-profile sporting events, including the ‘Miracle on Ice’ at the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid in 1980, the Calgary Games in 1988, as well as tennis, golf, Major League Baseball and the Canadian Football League.
His son Scott played over 1,400 games in the NHL and was most recently assistant general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.
