Since being let go by the Baltimore Orioles after the 2021 season, longtime baseball and hockey play-by-play man Gary Thorne has stayed busy.
Thorne has filled in on play-by-play duties for New York Mets broadcasts on more than one occasion, returning to the team he was with from 1994-2002.
The former voice of ESPN and ABC’s NHL coverage from 1992-2004 has mostly stuck to baseball since leaving the Orioles. Last weekend, though, that changed.
Thorne was on the call for a high school hockey showdown between Connecticut’s Kent School and Canterbury School. While that seems to be a random place for Thorne to show up, his grandson, Giovanni DiGiulian, plays hockey for Kent.
Not only did Thorne get to make his return to hockey play-by-play, he also got to call his grandson’s 20th goal of the season.
Cool moment- Gary Thorne on the call of our broadcast as his grandson scores his 20th goal of the season. Kent skated past Canterbury 6-4 on Saturday #cthk pic.twitter.com/4WqgMSLIZD
— Ben -BirdsEyeSports (@BirdsEyeSports) February 19, 2024
DiGiulian’s goal, his second of the game, ended up being the game-winner for Kent, who wound up winning 6-4.
At age 75, Thorne sounds better than ever. Many have been surprised that in the years since the NHL returned to ESPN, Thorne hasn’t been asked back for some play-by-play work.
Even after his time calling hockey on TV ended, Thorne stayed in the space by being the voice of the EA Sports NHL games from 2007-14.
