Ted Darling

Ted Darling (born Kingston, Ontario, died 1996), was the original "Voice of the Buffalo Sabres" ice hockey team for twenty-two seasons, calling the team's games from the team's inaugural season in 1970 to 1991. Prior to his work with the Sabres, he was the host of Hockey Night in Canada.

Darling was relieved of his duties by the executive producer of Sabres broadcasts, Jeff Sanchez, on December 12, 1991 due to worsening Pick's disease, which killed him in 1996. The press box at the team's new HSBC Arena was named the "Ted Darling Memorial Press Box" in his honour. Darling was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994.

After a brief (but, in the eyes of most Sabres fans, forgettable) stint with John Gurtler as the TV play-by-play voice, Darling was ultimately succeeded by Rick Jeanneret, who at the time was the morning disc jockey at CJRN and had been calling Sabres games since 1971 as the club's radio voice with Jim Lorentz. The Sabres organization ultimately decided to go with a television-radio simulcast with Jeanneret and Lorentz, a tandem that continues to this day.

Memorable Calls

When the blizzard of 1977 hit the city of Buffalo, Darling called a game between the Sabres and Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum from his apartment -- phoning in his commentary while watching the action on his television.

Ted Darling Information at SabresAlumni.com