Since 2009, Bob McElligott has been the radio play-by-play voice for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. But he’s missed several of their games this month due to illness. McElligott returned to that booth Wednesday, though, and ahead of that, he revealed what had knocked him out. It turns out that’s a notable allergy scare that had him on a ventilator for two days:
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As McElligott notes there, he didn’t know until this that he had any allergies. So it’s quite remarkable for him to wind up with something that had him hospitalized for multiple days, on a ventilator, and under consideration for a tracheostomy. And he still doesn’t know exactly what caused this. And that has him putting out a call here about how allergy testing can be valuable.
Beyond his since-2009 work on the Blue Jackets’ radio broadcasts, McElligott has done notable other regional sports work for Time Warner Ohio, Time Warner Central New York, and the Syracuse Crunch and Syracuse Chiefs. But he’s particularly known for his work on these hockey broadcasts. And he was quite the notable absence during this bout with illness. It’s good to hear that he’s recovered and is able to return, and we wish him all the best going forward.
[Bob McElligott on Instagram]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.