'I love you. I'm gonna miss you': Foley's farewell fitting as Blackhawks notch win
When Pat Foley was 10 years old, he wrote a letter to Chicago Cubs radio broadcaster Jack Quinlan.
A short time later, a manila envelope arrived at Foley's house in Glenview.
After tearing it open, Foley was delighted to discover a handwritten note from Quinlan as well as pictures of Quinlan, Ernie Banks and Ron Santo.
“I was out of my mind,” Foley said. “I thought it was the coolest thing ever. That stuck with me.”
In the decades since, Foley has been on the receiving end of countless letters from fans who expressed their thanks and gratitude for how he's entertained them as the play-by-play voice of the Blackhawks.
And, yes, he does his best to write back.
“If you can, it's a nice thing to do and it's the right thing to do,” Foley said.
Well, on Thursday at the United Center — during a retirement broadcast that surely brought many to tears — it was Chicago's turn to say thanks to Foley.
It began with a moving pregame ceremony in which Foley was joined by his mom, sister, two brothers, three nephews, godson and godfather. Foley credited his mom for preparing him to take on the awesome responsibility of calling NHL games at the ripe, young age of 26.
Foley, who began with the Hawks in 1980, was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014. As he stood at a podium on the ice, Foley told the crowd he'd only put his Hall of Fame jacket on once before — on the day he was inducted.
Foley then pulled out the jacket, placed it on his mom's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I loved saying that Bob Foley got me this job,” Foley said of his dad, “but it was Mary Foley who made sure I was ready when I got it.”
Foley went on to thank Bill, Michael, Danny and Rocky Wirtz, Eddie Olczyk, Dale Tallon, Troy Murray and a host of others during a ceremony that lasted more than 20 minutes.
After the national anthem, Foley raced upstairs to start his final broadcast. He began it by joking with Olczyk, who was keeping the booth warm for his “partner.”
“How'd you do with the play-by-play?” said a chuckling Foley. “Should I have waited?”
It was a good thing he didn't because Patrick Kane opened the scoring 78 seconds into the Hawks' 5-4 shootout victory over San Jose after taking a pass from Dylan Strome.
“They've got a 3-on-1!” Foley said, his decibel level rising. “DeBrincat's gonna look for Kane, then drop it (for) Strome, right in for Kane! One to nothing Chicago on the first shift of the game!!!”
Foley got to bellow out three other goal calls on the night on tallies by Taylor Raddysh (9), Calvin de Haan (4) and Dylan Strome (21). DeBrincat scored the only goal of the shootout, and the Hawks snapped an eight-game losing streak.
Near the end of the first period Olczyk asked Foley what he thought of the pregame festivities.
“Unbelievable,” Foley said. “And that video. Good Lord. ... It was fabulous. I really appreciate all the efforts to make that happen.”
Said Olczyk: “A beautiful tribute, Pat. It really was.”
Speaking of tributes, they poured in from everywhere. Video messages were played on the air by Rocky and Danny Wirtz, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Bob Verdi, Steve Larmer, Joe Buck, Doc Emerick, Cubs broadcaster Pat Hughes and, of course, Foley's mom.
“We have been so proud of the way you have conducted yourself throughout your career,” said Mary Foley. “We love you.”
Said Buck: “I can't think of anybody that does play by play better than you in any sport.”
Denis Savard and Chris Chelios were also in attendance and popped into the TV booth during the second period.
After Kevin Lankinen made the final shootout save to preserve the victory, the Hawks gathered on the ice and joined the fans by saluting Foley with a long, sustained ovation. It was then time for one final salute. After Kane and DeBrincat were announced as the game's second and third stars, P.A. announcer Gene Honda threw it up to Olczyk in the broadcast booth.
“Well, we all know who the No. 1 star of this game is tonight,” Olczyk said. “We thank you for 39 years and I'm gonna hand you a glass here.”
Foley took the cold cup of beer and said, “Oh, this is gonna taste good.”
Olczyk then left the booth so Foley could address the fans one last time.
“It's hard to know what to say, other than thank you,” Foley said. “I mean look, I'm the lucky one here, and I've always said that I'm the luckiest person in the building. It's true tonight. I appreciate all of you for your support and appreciate you being Blackhawks fans. And now I'm one of you.
“I've always been here for you; you've always been here for me. We're Chicago people and we're proud of it. I love you. I'm gonna miss you.”
Trust us, Pat. The feeling's mutual.
Many millions of times over.