The Los Angeles Kings will hold “Bob Miller Appreciation Day” at Saturday’s game at Staples Center to honor their longtime television play-by-play broadcaster who is retiring following Sunday’s season finale.
A pregame Fan Fest will be held outside Staples Center from 1-3 p.m. where fans can sign a special 20-foot “Signature Wall” and leave personal messages.
All Kings players will wear jerseys with “Bob/44” on the back, referring to his 44 seasons with the team. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the game by the Kings Care Foundation.
All fans in attendance will receive and a “Thank You Bob” cheer card. The backside of the card includes a special letter from Miller.
Multiple interior and exterior atmosphere and decor elements will be changed to honor Miller, including the large City View Terrace banner.
Several testimonial videos will be played throughout the game. Tribute videos will be played to start the game and third period and midway through the third period.
For the first time in his career, Miller will participate in the Kings players annual “Jerseys Off Their Back” ceremony at the end of the game with the winner of the Bob Miller sweater being decided by a special sweepstakes.
Miller will address the crowd at center ice upon the conclusion of the “Jerseys Off the Back” event.
“As far as any of us can remember, Bob Miller has been the voice of the L.A. Kings and we are looking forward to honoring Bob and his many, many great contributions to our club and to our sport,” said Kings President of Business Operations Luc Robitaille, who spent 14 seasons of his Hall of Fame playing career with the Kings.
“This is a chance for our tremendous fans and the Kings organization itself to give back to Bob and his family. Watching a Kings game will never be the same after these two games but we are thrilled that Bob gets to go out on top.”
Miller will call the game against the Chicago Blackhawks, his first game since Jan. 16.
The 78-year-old Miller suffered a mild stroke on Jan. 28, hours before he was scheduled to work a live broadcast of the NHL All-Star Skills Competition.
Miller announced his retirement March 2 and will call the 3,353rd game of his Kings career Sunday, when the team ends the season by playing the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.
“Due to four separate health incidents the last year, quadruple bypass heart surgery, a transient ischemic attack, a mild stroke and a stent placed in my left carotid artery, and with doctor’s advice to slow down, it’s time for me to retire,” Miller said when he announced his retirement.
Miller became a hockey announcer in 1968, when the program director at his radio station in Madison, Wisconsin, told him he would be announcing a University of Wisconsin game the following Friday because it was the school’s only team to win consistently and draw standing-room-only crowds.
Miller first sought to be hired by the Kings in 1972, when the team’s original announcer, Jiggs McDonald, left for the expansion Atlanta Flames.
Legendary Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn recommended Miller for the job, but team owner Jack Kent Cooke hired California Golden Seals announcer Roy Storey.
When Storey was fired after one season, Hearn again recommended Miller, with Cooke going along that second time.
There was a benefit to the one-season delay in joining the Kings. Staying at Wisconsin, he broadcast the Badgers during their 1972-73 NCAA championship season.
Miller waited 39 years to broadcast another title-winning team, when the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012, which they won again in 2014.
Miller’s honors include the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, given to members of the television and radio industries for outstanding contributions to their profession and hockey, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and membership in the halls of fame of the Kings and Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association.
“I have been fortunate to work in a career I’ve always wanted, to be a radio-TV sports announcer for 57 years, 44 of those years as the Los Angeles Kings play-by-play broadcaster,” Miller said.
“Not many of us get to enjoy five decades, 3,351 games, in a career that has brought so much joy and excitement.”
—City News Service