St. Louis Blues Broadcasters Join Together, I Still Want Ken Wilson

The St. Louis Blues broadcasters are some of the best in the business and proving it with their Stanley Cup decision. I still want a former guy to show up though.

In a rare show of solidarity, the St. Louis Blues broadcasters are going to join forces for the Stanley Cup Final. Fox Sports Midwest television broadcaster, John Kelly, son of former Blues announcer Dan Kelly, will get to call the second period of every game on KMOX.

Kelly is no stranger to KMOX. He filled in for the Blues plenty of times in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

The reason Kelly will have this opportunity is because Chris Kerber is a stand up guy. Kerber realized his dream of announcing the Blues going to the final in the last round. Now, he is giving Kelly the chance to finally call a game in the Stanley Cup Final.

Kelly has worked with teams that made it before. He was the broadcaster for the Colorado Avalanche when they were at their peak.

Kelly was shutout of calling those games because, even then, the playoffs and final were broadcast by national television only. So, anyone who is a team’s television broadcaster gets to go along for the ride, but not take part.

So, it is a feel good story and it shows how tight the crew is on the Blues, just like the players.

All that said, I still wish Ken Wilson was around. I know Wilson was a polarizing figure and he seemed to fall into the category of you either loved or hated him. I was in the former.

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Wilson is the reason I went into sports broadcasting. While some found him to be over the top, his energy level and enthusiasm for a game in January was what drew me in.

I would have been a Blues fan regardless, but I will not say that watching games would have been as enjoyable without Wilson.

Again, there are those out there that found his style annoying. I fell in love with the “Oh, Baby!” phrase almost immediately.

He had a flow to his calls that just fit perfectly. He was witty with his words but not trying too hard as some broadcasters do.

Personally, I also still feel he was done dirty the way he left. I understand that Wilson was his own worst enemy by not wanting to be more involved with the team functions and what not. However, his contract was not renewed following the 2003-04 season.

The guy had been with the team for 20 seasons and it ended rather unceremoniously. Again, Wilson had his part to play in that ending, but it felt like it was not handled well.

Kelly was under contract with Fox Sports already since Colorado was a Fox affiliate at the time, so moving him over was simpler.

Kelly is a solid broadcaster and definitely knows his stuff. He has a history with the Blues too.

His style just never meshed with me as a fan. So, hearing him on the radio is not that much of a draw. Plenty will tune in.

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In the end, the situation is working out about as well as it should. I always wondered if I would want to be a television broadcaster since they don’t get to call the final. Now, Kelly no longer has that worry.

Still, it would be nice to hear an Oh Baby! during this final round of the 2019 playoffs.

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