Mark Hebscher
{{Short description|Canadian sports journalist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mark Hebscher
| image = Mark Hebscher, Canadian sports journalist and author.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Mark Hebscher
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1956|01|01}}
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| death_date =
| death_place =
| module = {{Infobox sports announcer details
| genre =
| sport = Ice hockey, Canadian football
}}
| alma_mater = Conestoga College
| years active = 1980–present
}}
Mark Hebscher (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian television and radio personality, and author.
Hebscher has worked primarily in sports, and is best known for co-hosting Sportsline, an evening sports show on the Global Television Network and CHCH-DT. His other work has included hosting the flagship sports show Sportscentral on CTV Sportsnet in the 1990s, play-by-play for the Toronto Argonauts radio broadcasts, host of Maple Leaf Hockey on the Global Television Network, anchor of Headline Sports, and host of Square Off, a current affairs show, with Donna Skelly on CHCH-DT. He has authored The Greatest Athlete (you've never heard of), a book about George Orton, a track-and-field athlete who was the first Canadian to medal at the Summer Olympics in 1900.
Biography
Hebscher was born on January 1, 1956, in Toronto, Ontario.{{cite web |url=https://www.hebsy.online/about |title=Mark Hebscher |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= Sportlight productions |access-date=April 7, 2022 |quote=}}
Broadcasting career
Hebscher attended Conestoga College in the applied radio and TV arts program.{{cite news |last= Shaw|first= Ted|date= February 23, 1989|title= Hebscher's highlights score with sports fans|work= The Windsor Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/504222447 |page=C11 |location= |via=newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2022}} He began working at CJFM-FM in Montreal in 1980. His radio career was known for a practical joke on April Fools' Day in 1980, wherein Hebscher announced that then-Montreal Canadiens star defenseman Larry Robinson had been traded to the Los Angeles Kings for star forward Marcel Dionne.{{cite news |last= Province News Services |first= |date= April 2, 1980|title= April Fools joke stuns Montreal|work= The Vancouver Province|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/501443833/|location= |via=newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2022}}
Hebscher joined the Global Television Network in 1984 to co-host Sportsline, an evening sports show, alongside Jim Tatti.{{cite news |last= Atherton|first= Tony|date= November 3, 1987|title= Fans get kick out of earthy sports show|work= Ottawa Citizen|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/463737513/|location= |via=newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2022}} Sportsline was known for presenting highlights with voice-over of the show's hosts, sometimes obtained minutes after events ended, which was then a novelty. Hebscher presented a weekly series of bloopers and highlights from the previous week, that were humorously called the "Hebsy" awards.{{cite news |last= The Canadian Press |first= |date= May 4, 1995|title= Hebscher quits Global to do Argos play-by-play|work= The Ottawa Citizen |page=D5 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/464865104/|location= |via=newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2022}} Sportsline was nominated for two Gemini Awards as best sports show, and in 1989 Hebscher was nominated for best performance by a sports broadcaster.{{cite news |last= Bacchus |first= Lee|date= December 5, 1989|title= Gemini host long on talent|work= The Vancouver Province |page=40 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/502425658/|location= |via=newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2022}} Sportsline was revived for another 5-year run from 2010 to 2015 on CHCH-DT in Hamilton, Ontario with Hebscher co-hosting with Clint "Bubba" O'Neil.{{cite web |url= https://j-source.ca/the-untimely-end-to-my-t-v-career/|title= The untimely end to my TV career |last=Watson |first=H.G. |date=2016 |website=J-Source the Canadian Journalism Project |publisher= |access-date= April 17, 2022|quote=}}
Hebscher next worked as a sports announcer and hosted Maple Leaf Hockey, a live broadcast of Toronto Maple Leaf hockey games on the Global Television Network.{{cite news |last= |first= |date= September 17, 1999|title=Ryder Cup teams set; changes at CTV Sports|work= Alberni Valley Times|page=19 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/560559906|location= |via=newspapers.com|access-date=April 17, 2022}} Subsequent to this, he returned to radio, doing play-by-play for the Toronto Argonauts and served as sports director of Toronto radio stations Q107 and AM640.
Subsequent work
Hebscher co-hosted a current affairs show called Square Off initially at CHCH-DT with future MPP Donna Skelly. In 2015, CHCH-DT declared bankruptcy, and many on-air personalities, including Hebscher, were laid off. Hebscher has subsequently hosted podcasts, most recently Hebsy on Sports with Mike Boon, which started in 2018. Hebscher stopped the podcast in May 2023, officially retiring.
In 2019, Hebscher wrote a book titled The Greatest Athlete (you've never heard of) which chronicled George Orton, the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-greatest-athlete-you-ve-never-heard-of-by-mark-hebscher-1.5375810|title= The Greatest Athlete (You've Never Heard Of) by Mark Hebscher |last=CBC |first= |date=2019 |website=cbc.ca|publisher= |access-date= April 17, 2022|quote=}} Orton was paralyzed as a child after a fall from a tree, but went on to win a gold medal in the 2500-metre steeplechase at the 1900 Summer Games.
References
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Category:Canadian radio sportscasters
Category:Canadian sports journalists
Category:Canadian television sportscasters
Category:Journalists from Toronto