Budd Lynch, the longtime Detroit Red Wings public-address announcer, has died.
Wings spokesman John Hahn confirmed that Lynch died this morning in Michigan. Lynch was 95.
Budd Lynch didnt just work for the Red Wings, he was part of the brand, former player and current Wings broadcaster Mickey Redmond said by phone today. To me, he was a walking encyclopedia of not only life, but especially the hockey world. Were all better off for having the opportunity to work with him for so many years.
He made a lot of peoples lives better because of the way he was and the way he carried on. He had a great demeanor, a great, proud Irishman, and wore it on his sleeve. A real gentleman.
Wings radio play-by-play announcer Ken Kal said he never saw Lynch angry.
One of the nicest men that I ever met, Kal said. He was a history book, really, when it came to the Red Wings. He could recall it just like it was yesterday.
He was kind of like a fatherly figure, in a lot of ways, to me. If you had a question about announcing or hockey, you could go to him. In a lot of ways, he was like Ernie Harwell. Well-liked, a great ambassador for the Red Wings.
Wings TV broadcaster Ken Daniels remembered that Lynch had a smile on his face every night.
Id walk into the press box every night and see him laughing, always talking, Daniels. His presence will be missed up there, you know that.
The recall for him at 95, to talk about the good old days, was priceless.
Frank Joseph James Lynch legally changed his name to Budd after World War II, when he became a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. He was born in Windsor and resided in Wyandotte.
He was a member of the Canadian Armys Essex Scottish regimen that landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day -- June 6, 1944. A month later, he lost his right arm and shoulder after being hit by a German shell in Caen, France.
His career with the Wings began in 1949. He did radio, then TV work for the team in 1949-1975.
He served as the public-relations director in 1975-85 and has been the public-address announcer since 1985.
Here are some snippets of an interview he did with the Free Press' Jo-Ann Barnas in 2009:
• Favorite pastime: Golf. "I drive right and putt left -- it drives my playing partners crazy."
• Favorite cigar: Churchill.
• Favorite city: "Any of the Original Six. With expansion, I enjoyed Vancouver. And L.A. was always fascinating to me."
• Favorite road story: "I have so many, but here's one: The train trips coming out of Montreal were always impressive. We played bridge a lot. Once I went down to another car, and I came back and my Kleenex box that I used to stick all my cards in (to hold them up) was on fire. I said, What happened?' Someone said, Gordie took a look at your hand and said it was horse (poop).'" Gordie as in Howe, of course.
• Bet you didn't know: Lynch has been at the microphone for eight of the Wings' 11 Stanley Cup championships. He has five rings, beginning with the 1953-54 season. He plans to give them to his grandchildren.
• Favorite saying: "Assess a man for what he has, not what he has not.' That's a phrase I use all the time from the War Amps (the War Amputations of Canada, Southwestern Ontario branch)."
Contact George Sipple: 313-223-4796 or gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.
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