[Dion]

When the Flames arrived in Calgary , CFCN Radio put in "a good strong pitch" for the rights and if they'd been successful Peake had been tagged to be the team's first play-by-play man. But his station was outbid by CHQR and its parent company, Western Broadcasting out of Vancouver.

"The story goes - and there was a lot of money out there at the time, radio and TV - that we went to $250,000 a year,'' reports Peake.

"Only 2&7, as they were known then, were interested in the TV rights.

"So that,'' he laughs, "is as close as I'd ever got to being an NHL play-by-play man.

"And I ended up doing the public address. When we didn't get the radio rights, I went to Coatsey (then PR man/future GM Al Coates) and said I'd be interested in that job.

"I think it came down to Brian Dance or me. I have a hunch Coatsey thought 'Well, poor old Peaker, he didn't get the radio rights, so let's give it to him'.

"I don't know that, but that's probably how it went."

Highlights of 16 years on the job?

"Opening night, a 5-5 tie against Quebec as I recall, at the old Corral,'' replies Peake. "I dug out the program from the first night at the Saddledome, Oct. 15th of '83. That was against the Oilers, who won 4-3. Memorable night, of course.

"So those games, for sure, all the games against the Oilers, it was such a great rivalry, and of course the Stanley Cup run in '89, the biggest of them all.

"Oh sure, I enjoyed it. I don't think two guys are ever going to do PA the same. Everybody has their own way."

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/peak...ht/c-285957484