Jim Hughson (born 1956 in Fort St. John, British Columbia) is a Canadian sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play of professional ice hockey and baseball and as the host of Snapshots on Rogers Sportsnet. In addition to commenting on Sportsnet, Hughson also works on CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada, where he primarily broadcasts the late games of the network's Saturday night doubleheaders and one series through the first three rounds of the playoffs. In 2006, he was the secondary hockey broadcaster at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. On March 11, 2008, Hughson signed an exclusive six-year contract with the CBC to call hockey and baseball for Canada's public network, leaving his current duties for Rogers Sportsnet at the conclusion of the 2007-2008 NHL season.
Hughson has won five Gemini Awards, the most recent coming in 2004, where he was named the best sports play-by-play or analyst. He is also the official play-by-play announcer for the EA Sports NHL series of video games, and has been since 1997. From 1997-2001, Jim was added along with Buck Martinez as an analyst for Triple Play '98, Triple Play '99, Triple Play 2000, Triple Play 2001 and Triple Play Baseball for PlayStation and PC. One humorous quote from the game happens when a player hits a home run, and Hughson exclaims to Martinez, "Oh, Buck! He crushed it!" Martinez was not featured on the Nintendo 64 version of Triple Play 2000.
Hughson and Martinez were actual broadcast partners from 1990 to 1994 when they both covered the Toronto Blue Jays for TSN. During that time, Hughson was most famous for calling all three of the games in which the Jays' clinched first place in the American League East during the 1990s (1991, 1992, & 1993). Previously, Hughson had worked on Montreal Expos broadcasts for the network. From 1987-88 to 1993-94, Hughson also did play-by-play for NHL games with Gary Green on TSN. In 1991, he called the World Junior Hockey Championship in Saskatchewan, which climaxed with a dramatic game in Saskatoon between Canada and the USSR, in which John Slaney scored the winning goal late in the third period to deliver the gold medal to Canada. In 1994, Hughson left TSN to become the radio voice of the Vancouver Canucks.
Hughson had previously worked on Canucks radio broadcasts, working on the pre-game, intermission, and post-game shows in the early '80s. He also filled in as play-by-play man when Jim Robson had national TV duties. In this role, he broadcast games 3 and 4 of the 1982 Stanley Cup final between the Canucks and New York Islanders. In 1982-83, he left to become the television voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, before joining TSN in 1987.
In 1998, Hughson returned to national sports broadcasting, joining CTV Sportsnet (now Rogers Sportsnet) as their main NHL play-by-play commentator alongside Craig Simpson. A year later, he left radio and began working on the Canucks regional television broadcasts on Sportsnet Pacific, alongside Ryan Walter. Since 2002-03 his partner has been John Garrett.
When CBC picked up a package of Toronto Blue Jays games in 2007, it was announced that Hughson would call the games for them. His first Blue Jays broadcast for the CBC on June 22, 2007 was the first Blue Jays game he called in 13 years.
In addition to CBC, TSN, and Sportsnet, Hughson has also done spot work for ABC and ESPN, covering both hockey and baseball. He lives in White Rock, British Columbia with his wife, Denise, and his 2 children, Matt and Jennifer.
