Happy trails: Kamloops broadcast legend Earl Seitz retires after 50 plus years

“In the middle of hockey season in 1973-74, we lost our sports director. And so we were in desperate need of a sports director and Earl’s name came to our attention,” Collins recollects. “So I made a call and fortunately he was interested in coming. It turned out to be one of the best moves we ever made.”

During his years in the community and on the air, he’s made an unforgettable impression through his work in sports. Even athletes and coaches who have blazed their own path in Kamloops sports have great admiration for what Earl has done.

TRU WolfPack Volleyball Coach Chad Grimm remembers watching Earl on CFJC as a kid near Quesnel.

“I grew up as a kid in Kersley, a small town outside of Quesnel. We had the rabbit ears on the roof,” Grimm says. “We had three channels, two of them were pretty much the same – CFJC and CKPG. We would get the Kamloops news and I was always a sports fan, so I remember Earl clearly from growing up doing the sports reporting with CFJC-TV. It was basically the only sports I was getting, so it was always a delight to see Earl’s face on there. I knew I was going to get my fix.”

Since his time in Kamloops, he’s dealt with hundreds of athletes like Chad Grimm and hundreds of coaches, including all 19 coaches that have had a turn behind the Junior Oilers and Blazers bench.

Ken Hitchcock served as Blazers head coach for six seasons from 1984 to 1990, taking the team to three Memorial Cup tournaments. He vividly remembers the first day meeting Earl.

“He was the first media person I ever met [in Kamloops]. In fact, I met Earl before I met [Blazers] Kelly Moore,” Hitchcock says. “I met Earl right out of the gate. I know my first day when I arrived in Kamloops, I went to the office, and he was already sitting in the lobby area of the office. The office at that time was across the street from the Memorial Arena, and there was Earl.”

After Tom Renney came Don Hay, who led the Blazers to back-to-back Memorial Cups in 1994 and 1995. Amidst the fond memories of winning, Hay has a clear picture of Earl being right there with the team during that journey.

“Earl was always around the team. That’s when the Blazers really took off – went to five Memorial Cups in 10 years. Earl covered all of them,” Hay says. “The thing I remember about Earl the most is just his professionalism – how he conducted himself, the questions he asked, and how he handled himself around the players and around the coaching staff. Very professional and we really respected that from Earl.”

Covering the three Memorial Cups was the ultimate highlight for Earl in his 54 years.

“Having been there to cover each one of those all stand out. I don’t think that’ll ever be done by any team again because everything is just so competitive now,” Earl says.

For all his tireless work, Earl has been honoured with a multitude of awards over his five decades years in broadcasting, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2019, he was inducted into the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame.

“I never thought anything of Halls of Fame,” Earl says. “I never thought about where I might end up or what I might be doing. I just never, ever crossed my mind. I’ve been lucky in a lot of ways, along the way, to have worked with some great people.”

And people who have worked with “Earl the Pearl” – as he’s so kindly referred to as in the newsroom – will say they’re lucky to have worked with such a legend as well.

With a Hall of Fame career coming to an end, the congratulatory messages have been pouring in.

by Chad Klassen

Happy trails: Kamloops broadcast legend Earl Seitz retires after 50 plus years

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