‘Quite a thrill’: Fort St. John’s Jim Hughson reflects on BC Sports Hall of Fame induction

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Fort St. John’s celebrity broadcaster wasn’t sure what to expect when he got a phone call informing him of his entry into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in the media category.

With a career spanning four decades, the news about Jim Hughson’s induction came during a phone call with the hall’s board chair Tom Mayenknecht, who he describes as a personal friend.

“I didn’t realize what he was calling me about, because I talked to him all the time in matters of sports halls of fame because I have been involved in them,” said Hughson. “It wasn’t until almost the end of the conversation when I realized he was calling about me.

“It is actually quite a thrill for a guy who grew up in B.C. It’s pretty exciting. You don’t ever plan for it, but it’s pretty neat when that happens.”

Born in Dawson Creek but raised in Fort St. John, Hughson began his broadcasting career working behind the scenes at local radio station CKNL, first beginning as an system operator, plugging in B.C. Lions and Vancouver Canucks games.

He said he looked up to former Vancouver Canucks’ commentator Jim Robson and former Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play man Danny Gallivan as role models, stating the latter “found the best and the most flowery expressions for everything that happened in hockey.”

“[Robson] broadcast hockey games, and I was a big hockey fan,” said Hughson. “Danny Gallivan just became a real inspiration to me, because he never, ever had a bad game.”

Although a B.C. native, Hughson eventually moved eastward to continue his broadcasting aspirations. 

He began commentary on cable television network TSN in the 1980s, calling both National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) involving both the Toronto Blue Jays and Montréal Expos.

In fact, Hughson provided commentary for the Blue Jays three division championships in the early 1990s, and is still avidly watching the current team as they compete in the 2025 World Series.

He’s also provided commentary on World Junior Hockey Championships, including the gold medal game pitting Canada versus the Soviet Union in 1991, and the Winter Olympics, including in 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

“Watching the Blue Jays as they got to the World Series this year brought back some great memories,” said Hughson. “[In the early 1990s] they were such a good team. 

“The World Junior Hockey Championships [in 1991] was really the start of something. It was the first year [TSN] broadcast all the games. It was on the Prairies, and that was the start of what has become a holiday tradition on TSN and across the nation for people who watch it.”

Having fulfilled roles as the head NHL play-by-play man on Rogers Sportsnet, TSN and CBC, Hughson retired before the 2021-22 NHL season.

He is being inducted into the Hall of Fame in a class which also includes (but is not limited to) former NHL veteran Ray Ferraro, Canadian women’s soccer legend Christine Sinclair and the 2000 B.C. Lions football team who captured the 88th Grey Cup.

Speaking to Energeticcity.ca, Hughson called the induction a “humbling” experience.

“I wasn’t in the arena of sports. I was above it, watching it, and so I admire all of the athletes,” said Hughson. “They are in a different category. I would have loved to have been in their skates or shoes, because it would have meant I was great. I simply watched what they did and chronicled it.”

The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame class of 2025 induction took place on Monday, October 20th in Vancouver. A full list of inductees is available on the hall of fame’s website.