Yeomans hanging up the mic

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

After 12 seasons, longtime UFA Bisons announcer Ed Yeomans is stepping away from a passion that has been close to his heart.
He became inspired to announce from watching his sons in their early playing days
“When my youngest was playing hockey, he is now 19, when he was about seven I started just doing it out of the penalty box and had some fun with it and all of sudden I was getting involved in minor hockey,” said Yeomans.
“One day I got a call from the Bisons because they needed someone to fill-in for a weekend or for a few games and it’s kind of taken off from there.”
The Bisons gig provided him other opportunities to branch off and announce at other various sporting events.
“I did some work with the Western Women’s Hockey League with the Strathmore Rockies when they were here and I was involved in the Alberta Cup for the two years it was here,” said Yeomans. “It’s expanded as well, I’ve done a little bit of a junior lacrosse in the early days here for Kent Conners when he was coaching the team and the Western Fastball Championship.”
Ever since he started, it has been the fun atmosphere and being a part of the game day experience that has driven him to want to come back to the booth every year.
“I guess for the most part, I find it a lot of fun. When you get reaction back from parents and other people, like during the Alberta Cup, I got some very good comments back on what I was doing. So it makes you feel like you’re doing something worthwhile and I add to the game,” said Yeomans.
His most memorable experience was seeing a player who rarely hit the back of the net finally score a goal.
“He was playing hockey and having fun. So as the game went on, we actually ensured that I could announce his name, his mom was crying when he’s on the ice and his teammates were hugging him,” said Yeomans.
He will also never forget announcing the girls final at the Mac’s Midget Hockey Tournament at the Saddledome, as it was gratifying to work with some of the best in the industry.
“For me to announce in the Saddledome – and yeah it was only for 5,000 people – to work with the staff that are running the scoreboard and the jumbotron, you become a part of that team,” said Yeomans. “A fella that has worked at the Mac’s for a while was helping for that game and I assisted him for the boys final.”
He admits it will be hard to move on but will check in once in a while next season to see how the boys are doing.
“As far as the hockey goes, yeah it could be a bit of a different experience but it’s just time to move on,” said Yeomans. “I have two small dogs at home that are almost three years old and I want to get them involved in some therapy work so that we can go visit old folks homes and hospitals.”
His most profound moments at the Strathmore Family Centre have been covering the Canadian Women’s Olympic Hockey team that would come here to play the Bisons and the professionalism that those players brought with them.