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Joe Bowen: The Voice Of The LeafsBirthplace: Sudbury Ontario
Birthdate: April 5, 1951
First media job: 1973 - CKSO Radio & TV Sudbury, Ontario
Career highlight: 2,400+ Leaf games, blow-by-blow of Muhammad Ali's last fight, three Toronto Rock World Championship Games, Trevor Berbick vs Larry Holmes World Title Fight.
Bowen's catchphrase: "Holy Mackinaw!", typically used when the Leafs score or a big save is made. He is accused of stealing this phrase from a California Spirit Yell, but says he got the phrase from his dad who said "Holy Mackinaw" instead of swearing. Greg Millen is currently his broadcasting partner, after his long time partner Harry Neale accepted a position with the Buffalo Sabres. Bowen and Millen are the voices of Leaf games on television through Leafs TV or Rogers Sportsnet Ontario. Bowen also does the radio play-by-play on AM 640 with Jim Ralph for playoff games and games that are broadcast on TSN or CBC. Recently, he appeared in a TV commercial for Harvey's promoting the "bigger" Angus Burger and used his famous aforementioned catchphrase. Joe Bowen was the Radio Announcer in the 1986 film Youngblood.
Main Biography: He is the father of four boys, who was born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario. Joe attended Sudbury High School, playing hockey and football and was a member of the Copper Cliff Redmen Northern Ontario championship hockey club in 1967. After graduating from the University of Windsor, he returned home to do play-by-play for the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League for eight seasons before going to Halifax to broadcast the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League.
For the past 28+ years Mr. Bowen has been the voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, broadcasting over 2,400 Leaf Games. Throughout his career in Toronto he has acted as the master of ceremonies (M.C.) or guest speaker at hundreds of banquets and golf tournaments. Joe has been the M.C. at all of the Meet the Leafs luncheons, Have a Heart dinners, Maple Leaf Casino nights and Maple Leaf alumni and team golf tournaments.
Joe has also acted as the M.C. for the popular bell mobility golf tournament as well as the Brian Savage golf tournament in his hometown of Sudbury each year.
A big supporter of leukemia research since his son Sean beat the dreaded disease, he has acted as guest speaker and M.C. for the annual UFCW Leukemia Celebrity Golf Classic.
He is very active in minor hockey and baseball as a coach over the past 13 years and guided the Markham Thunder to an all Ontario minor novice title in 1990 and was a co- coach of the Thunder on the All-Ontario novice team in 1993.
Mr. Bowen was inducted into the Sudbury Kinsmen Sports Hall of Fame in June of 1999, and received the Fred Sgambati award from the Canadian Children's foundation in 1988."
