Mike 'Doc' Emrick, broadcaster and St. Clair resident, inducted into Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
ST. CLAIR — Renowned hockey broadcaster Mike "Doc" Emrick isn't a Michigander by birth. He's originally from La Fontaine, Indiana.
But the 77-year-old has plenty of history here. Emrick, who lives in St. Clair, got his start in broadcasting as the play-by-play announcer for the Port Huron Flags in 1973.
Now, 50 years later, he's a part of the state's most exclusive sports organization.
Emrick was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Sound Board Theater at MotorCity Casino in Detroit on Thursday.
"It was a great experience to be around all of the other (inductees) that were saluted," Emrick told the Times Herald in a phone interview. "I knew the hockey people, of course, but I didn't know any of the ones from the other sports. So that was fun (to meet everyone)."
The Class of 2023 also included Richard Hamilton, Henrik Zetterberg, Ryan Miller, Sierra Romero, Lorenzo White, LaMarr Woodley, Rick Comley, Colleen Howe and Dawn Riley.
Emrick likened the experience to a scene from the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, when a young Archibald "Moonlight" Graham stares in awe at the past baseball stars on the field.
"When I saw the list of all the people that were already in the Hall of Fame — and the fact that I was going to be in the same place they were — that was pretty awesome," Emrick said. "To be there when several of the guys that'd played in the NFL, NBA and won championships, and never having met them before, that was really awesome too."
Emrick's broadcasting career spanned 47 years, the first four of which were spent in Port Huron at WHLS. In addition to being the radio station's sports director, he was also the Flags' director of pubic relations.
After holding the same roles with the AHL's Maine Mariners for three seasons, Emrick got his first NHL gig in 1980 calling games for the Philadelphia Flyers.
He would spend the next 40 years covering the league in some capacity. During that time, Emrick called 22 Stanley Cup Finals and six Winter Olympic Games. He was also the play-by-play voice of the New Jersey Devils for 21 seasons.
Most recently, Emrick served as the lead play-by-play announcer for the NHL on NBC from 2011 until his retirement in 2020.
The Emmy Award-winning broadcaster has now been enshrined into 10 different hall of fames, the first of which was the Port Huron Sports Hall of Fame back in 1997.
"You always feel very special when somebody calls and chooses you for something," Emrick said. "It never gets old. I remember the one in Port Huron. The speakers for our ceremony were Gordie and Colleen Howe. They had recently authored a book and I got a signed copy that night. Those are things that you remember about these events. That one in Port Huron was a very special night."
A few of last week's memories were made while chatting with his fellow inductees.
Detroit Pistons legend Richard Hamilton confirmed that the TD Garden's parquet floor had "dead spots" just like the old Boston Garden. Former NFL player LaMarr Woodley recounted his game-saving strip sack of Kurt Warner in Super Bowl XLIII.
"It was a wonderful experience," Emrick said. "My wife, brother and sister-in-law were there. When family is there at an event that usually only involves the people you work with, it makes an intersection of your profession and your family and it's always a memorable night."
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Mike 'Doc' Emrick inducted into Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
