Over the course of his distinguished 40-plus year broadcast career, Don Wittman covered just about every sport for CBC Sports.

His was one of the most prolific and productive careers in broadcasting history.

I think of Don Wittman's distinctive baritone as the signature voice of CBC Sports. For half a century "Witt" called curling, football, hockey, and track and field for us and he never failed to meet his own high standard. There aren't many broadcasters of whom you can say, "He's just as sharp at age 71 as he was at 21," but you could say it of Don.

Ted Reynolds, the long-time CBC Sports commentator, once told me there was no one better than Don when it came to describing any event that went around in a circle or up and down the field of play. Don had a gift of association that allowed him to instantly identify the athlete and keep perfect order of the proceedings, be it a football game or a complicated 4x100 metre Olympic relay.

Iconic calls

His body of work at 16 Olympic Games speaks for itself: Ben Johnson's 100-metre run in Seoul, the Canadian men's relay team winning gold in Atlanta, Perdita Felicien's fall in Athens — all were called live and Don "nailed" each call. Most other networks would have their commentators attach their voice in a "post mix," creating the opportunity for fix-ups. Don never had that luxury but then, he never needed it.

Consider Felicien's disaster in Greece in 2004 and remember Don was then approaching 70 years of age. I was working alongside him at the track that day and when Felicien stumbled over the first hurdle I was stunned and it took me at least another minute to figure out who had won a race that lasted less than 15 seconds. Not Don. He never faltered, never lost track and his call was, as always, spot on: "Felicien falls and takes the Russian with her and now Johanna Hayes is coming on strong on the outside and the American will win the Olympic gold."

It was vintage Witt: focused, clear, concise, all of his skill rolled into one shining moment, a moment that would have got the better of most other broadcasters.

When the Winnipeg Jets entered the NHL in 1979, Don's already impressive career went to another level. He soon became one of the principal play-by-play commentators on Hockey Night in Canada. You can still catch his work on the NHL Network. When they replay the classic Battles of Alberta between the Oilers and Flames from the 80's, it's almost always Don describing the action, as always going with the flow and letting the game dictate his call. He made it sound natural but he never took anything for granted.

On the Saturday mornings of every telecast I worked with Don, I recall him spending a couple of hours talking to players, coaches, writers and broadcasters, gathering as much information as possible, far more than he could ever use on the air. But, in Don's mind, better that than being unprepared.

He also loved the camaraderie of the Hockey Night crews. If there was a prank on the go, you could safely conclude Don was playing it. Once, at a breakfast meeting in Edmonton, he was able to convince our producer, Jim Hough, that he'd won $1 million in Lotto 6/49, this by reading Jim's own numbers back to him, deciphering them upside down from the other side of the table after Jim had asked if anyone had the winning numbers. It took Jim a few minutes to figure out he couldn't retire.

Voice of the CFL

For 10 years after Don stopped doing CFL broadcasts, people still thought of him as the voice of the game. That says everything about the impact he made on football fans. His call of the thrilling final few minutes of Saskatchewan's 1989 Grey Cup win in Toronto stands out as a brilliant piece of work. The Riders were going to win the Cup for the first time in 23 years and Don knew just how to bring it home, neither understated nor over the top. He had a decade in the broadcast booth with Ron Lancaster and they were the best duo in the business.

But, when he wasn't working with "Caster," as Don called him, it seemed he was always breaking in a new analyst. Don must hold the record for working with rookie analysts in any number of sports. "If he's just starting, put him with Witt because he makes it easy," seemed to be the judgment of our producers.

Our production meetings the day before the telecast always concluded with Don running something called the numbers game. I wouldn't say we were ever unfocused but it certainly felt, at times, like no one was paying attention until we got to the numbers game. It cost the loser $10. Sometimes, we'd play as many as 10 rounds and Don would purchase $100 worth of lottery tickets and we never won a red cent.

When you think about it, two sports are more prominent than others in western Canada. Every little hamlet seems to have an arena and a curling rink in the shadow of its grain elevator and Don's voice was just as prominent in curling as it was in hockey.

Don Duguid, a former world champion, was his first partner in the broadcast booth and he would tell you — as would Duguid's successors Joan McCusker and Mike Harris — that Witt had a deep-seeded knowledge of the game but he never felt compelled to clutter the broadcast with it. He preferred, instead, to lead his analysts, never forgetting what his job was. It's one of the reasons his calls at the Brier, Tournament of Hearts and Olympics could be used as a teaching tool for young broadcasters everywhere.

Don had actually planned, after a few months of aggressive treatment for cancer, to return to work on Dec. 15th and call the Grand Slam of Curling on CBC but, alas, his condition took a turn for the worse the week before.

Don Wittman was more than a great broadcaster. He was a fighter and his full-on brawl with cancer was something to marvel at. He was diagnosed in the fall but continued to work, telling no one other than his family, of his condition. He called both the Toronto marathon and a hockey game in Ottawa before he had to stop for treatment. He never thought he wouldn't return to work.

When I talked to him a few days before Christmas, he took issue with the invitations to his career tribute party we were planning for him in Winnipeg on Jan. 8. We called it his retirement party.

"I never said I was retiring," he said.

"Point taken," I said. And he agreed he would unretire just as soon as he felt up to it.

Great broadcaster; better family man

Don's performance with family outdid his work in the broadcast booth. He was a loving husband and father. He leaves us too early but he leaves safe in the knowledge he and wife Judy raised three beautiful, successful children. Isn't this all any parent can ask?

Don and Judy showed Karen, Kristan and David the way and the children followed. All three are highly-educated professionals making their mark in the world. Karen's three-year-old daughter Katie was Don's pride and joy. She's still a rugrat, so it would only have been a few more years before Don had her running the numbers game.

Did I make a difference? Did I do my job as a father and a husband? The answers to those questions define a life and the life of our colleague, Don Wittman, was a rousing success.