Sportscasting legend Jim Hughson to enter B.C. Sports Hall of Fame

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fort St. John native and renowned sportscasting icon Jim Hughson is heading to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame. 

According to a press release on Wednesday, October 16th, the retired broadcaster will be inducted in the 2025 class in the media category.

With over four decades of experience, Hughson has had memorable calls throughout the years, including at two Winter Olympics, the World Junior Hockey Championships, and multiple Stanley Cup Finals.

Hughson began his career commentating on Vancouver radio station CKNW, becoming the replacement play-by-play man when Jim Robson had national TV duties back in the late 1970s.

Hughson moved to TSN in the mid-1980s as the head hockey commentator, later adding head Major League Baseball commentating duties to his resume. 

Moving to what was then CTV Sportsnet in 1998, he served as their lead play-by-play man for a decade before moving to CBC and becoming their secondary commentator in 2005.

The following season, he replaced Bob Cole as the CBC’s head broadcaster and served in that role until 2014, when he rejoined Sportsnet when they obtained the rights to NHL telecasts.

Hughson won the NHL Broadcaster’s Association Foster Hewitt Award in 2019 for his long career. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Hughson retired from his duties in 2021.  

Hughson recently served as chair of the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame for the class of 2024, which included his hometown Fort St. John Flyers, whose 2010 Allan Cup-winning roster was enshrined.

He’ll join a class of 11 inductees that includes former NHLer and hockey colour commentator Ray Ferraro and Canadian women’s soccer star Christine Sinclair.

The induction ceremony for the class of 2025 is scheduled for this coming May, and more details will be announced soon.

Since its inception in the mid-1960s, the BC Sports Hall of Fame has inducted more than 450 individuals and 69 teams.