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If hockey is a religion in this country... well, you could say Ron MacLean is the high priest. For more than twenty years, he's been the face of Saturday nights in this country, on Hockey Night in Canada.
Ron was born in Zweibrucken, Germany, where his dad was stationed with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Like most military kids, Ron moved around a lot: Whitehorse, Victoria, Halifax, Edmonton and Red Deer. That's where he first got into broadcasting - doing radio work in high school.
Then, when Ron was in his mid-twenties, a producer saw him "ad-libbing" a weather forecast and hired him to host Calgary Flames' games. Ron also became sports anchor on the local news before joining CBC in 1986. At first, he hosted Toronto Maple Leafs games on Hockey Night in Canada - then in 1987, the CBC fired Dave Hodge amidst controversy, and Ron became the full time host.
He worked his first Stanley Cup final that spring and quickly became loved across the country. That was made crystal clear in 2002 - when Ron looked set to leave CBC over a contract dispute. After a huge public outcry, CBC resigned him - keeping alive one of the most famous duos in broadcasting.
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