Legendary Toronto Maple Leafs announcer taking first day off in 43 years

Joe Bowen hasn’t missed many games during his lengthy run as a Toronto Maple Leafs broadcaster.

According to the legendary radio and television voice, he’s requesting a mid-season break for the first time in his career, but there seems to be as good a reason as any.

A major fan of college football, Bowen’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish are taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national championship game taking place tonight, at the same time as a Leafs-Tampa Bay Lightning contest at Scotiabank Arena.

“In 43 years of doing this job, this is the first day off I have asked for,” Bowen posted on X. “Many thanks to Jeff MacDonald and TSN 1050 Radio to allow me to spend a very special day with my family… Go Irish!”

It’s clear to anyone who knows Bowen’s work well how important the Fighting Irish are to him: after being listed as the Leafs broadcaster in his X bio, he’s listed as “a fan of the Irish.”

Bowen later added that Todd Crocker would fill in for him on the call.

Despite being a marquee program in college sports, it’s been a long time since Notre Dame has played a football game that is this important.

In 2013, the Fighting Irish fell to Alabama 42-14 in the BCS National Title Game, the last time they played in a one-off title game. While the school has 11 national titles, they haven’t been champions since 1988, a drought the 73-year-old Bowen likely didn’t envision when he saw the teams claim four total titles in his first four decades on the planet.

That 1988 title was the only one that Bowen’s seen since starting a gig working with the Leafs, which he began in 1982. Most recently, Bowen has been on the play-by-play Leafs radio call since 2014 for both Sportsnet and TSN. Over the past four decades, he has worked on TV broadcasts on TSN, Sportsnet, and CBC.

Bowen is slated to return to the call Wednesday night when the Leafs host the Columbus Blue Jackets.