The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to honour their great play-by-play commentator Joe Bowen on Dec. 16th against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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The night will be called “Holy Mackinaw Night” and will be all about Bowen who has been calling games for four decades, which amounts to over 3,000 games. Bowen is retiring at the end of the 2025-26 season, which will be a bittersweet moment for Leafs Nation who has been begging for him to return to the TV broadcast, so we can hear him call a game just one more time before he hangs up the mic.
Maple Leafs to Honour Bowen
The “Holy Mackinaw Night” will have a ton of fan interaction to commemorate the great commentator. Maple Leafs general manager (GM) Brad Treliving released a statement in the press release about the Dec. 16th game.
“Nobody represents the passion of Leafs Nation better than Joe Bowen, and his signature voice has been the soundtrack for so many iconic moments for the team over the past 44 years,” said Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving. “We look forward to celebrating Joe all season but especially making December 16 a very special tribute to the man known as the ‘voice of the Maple Leafs’.”
The Maple Leafs will definitely do their best to honour Bowen. Which will include a ton of fan interactions as well as T-shirt sales that say his catchphrase “Holy Mackinaw” written on it.
Bowen also released a statement as part of the press release, here is what he had to say:
“Over the many years I have become huge fans of a number of sports teams: the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, the Toronto Argos and the Green Bay Packers, of which I am an Owner. But there is only one team that I love, and that has always been the Toronto Maple Leafs. First as a fan and fortunately over the last 44 years as a broadcaster. December 16’s tribute will be as big a night as the arrival of my four sons and three grandchildren.”
It’ll be a night to remember for Maple Leafs fans, who will have the chance to honour a great commentator as well as a great person. No one deserves this more than Bowen, who has been calling games for the Maple Leafs since 1982. Interestingly enough, his first game was also against the Blackhawks.
