Really has me reluctantly saying goodbye. I know after 30 some years it's probably time to sign off, but things really won't be quite the same without Maher calling games on the radio.
Couple of memories regarding Peter:
I remember in 2004 I was in the middle of a move to a new city for a new job. The night the Flames clinched a playoff spot I was on the road with a car-full of stuff to my new apartment. I will never forget Maher calling the first playoff spot in 7(?) years, and hearing the "Yeah Baby" is forever etched in my mind as I pumped my fist half-way from my destination to my new city.
Second, I recall being half-pissed at a game following the lock-out in the stands in the Sport Chek seats. Must have been '06 or '07...those years are really a blur at a darker time in my life. Anyway, I was in the washroom in what is now called the "press level seating" area of the Dome, and was just about to head out. I saw this older gentleman about to take a leak, and damned it wasn't the legend Peter Maher himself probably trying to sneak a quick break in between intermissions. Drunk and inhibited as I was, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to thank this man for providing so many great calls and memories for me, and even while he's lined up to a stall with his head over his shoulder he THANKS ME for listening and being a loyal fan. Humility struck me and I thanked him once more as I scurried to my seat not wanting to bother him anymore. It's my brush with greatness, and I'll never forget that he was so courteous as to acknowledge me without shrugging me off or telling me to F off because he was taking care of business.
TL;DR: Awesome guy, an even better PBP guy, and he will be truly missed on a number of levels. Best of luck and all the prosperity in the world, Peter, if this news is true.
You're a beauty.
__________________ "It's a great day for hockey."
-'Badger' Bob Johnson (1931-1991)
"I see as much misery out of them moving to justify theirselves as them that set out to do harm." -Dr. Amos "Doc" Cochran
Man, he will certainly be missed. A legend in every sense of the word. He's gonna be very hard to replace.
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A few weeks after crashing head-first into the boards (denting his helmet and being unable to move for a little while) following a hit from behind by Bob Errey, the Calgary Flames player explains:
"I was like Christ, lying on my back, with my arms outstretched, crucified"
-- Frank Musil - Early January 1994
Like several others, I remember listening in my room when I was a kid, 30 years ago now. The only games televised were the 2&7 Thursday nighter, and the occasional HNIC game. So the rest was Peter on the radio or nothing.
In 2004 (actually, I think it was after the Phoenix game when we clinched) I got to sit in his seat in the broadcast booth, then I met him down in the hot stove lounge. I was actually kind of laughing at myself how exciting it was for me to meet this legend that I grew up with.
Sad to hear, and I truly hope he is going to enjoy retirement.
Last edited by Ryan Coke; 04-28-2014 at 10:20 PM.
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I believe the first (and definitely the best, most heartfelt, unscripted) yeah baby was when the Flames beat the Oilers in '86. Surprised and concrned by the suddenness of this news. My sense was always that Peter would call games till the day he died if he had any say. You're the best PM.
I've got it recorded somewhere -- will have to dig it out sometime:
"And the Flames have won it! Yeah baby! The Flames have climbed the mountain! They have beat the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 3 to 2, and they win the series!"
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Sad, sad day. He'll always be synonymous with the Flames. Class act, awesome at his job, awesome human being.....enjoy retirement Pete! (wipes away a tear...)
“@EricFrancis: Sad that a Rogers colleague would betray the request of management to keep the Peter Maher retirement under wraps until tomorrow #weak”
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The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Go Flames Go!
