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LA Kings First Play-By-Play Voice, Jiggs McDonald, Reminisces – Part 2

February 9, 2017 by 3 Comments

In the final installment of a two-part series on the Los Angeles Kings first play-by-play announcer, Jiggs McDonald, who will fill in for the legendary Bob Miller on tonight’s Fox Sports West telecast when the Kings skate at the BB&T Center against the Florida Panthers, McDonald shared his thoughts on how hockey has changed since 1967, and more on what it was like to work for the Kings first owner Jack Kent Cooke. He also talked about his career after leaving the Kings, and about filling in for Miller.

The Los Angeles Kings first play-by-play
announcer, Jiggs McDonald.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein courtesy
Los Angeles Kings/NHL

LOS ANGELES — More than fifty years after he broadcast the first Los Angeles Kings game, Hockey Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer John Kenneth “Jiggs” McDonald will call one more when the Kings skate into the BB&T Center on February 9 to face the Florida Panthers, filling in for another Hall of Famer, the legendary Bob Miller, who is working a reduced schedule this year after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery last season and more recently, suffering a mild stroke during the 2017 NHL All-Star weekend.

During the Kings celebration of their 50th Anniversary last October, McDonald spoke exclusively with Frozen Royalty about his time with the Kings, which you can read in part 1 of this series. In the second and final segment, he also shared his thoughts about how things have changed in the National Hockey League over the last 50 years, about his career after he left Los Angeles, and about returning to the Kings broadcast booth for one more game.

To be sure, hockey has changed rather dramatically over the years, and, as one would reasonably expect, over the course of fifty years, there has been a great deal of change in every aspect of the game, both on the ice and off.

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LA Kings First Play-By-Play Voice, Jiggs McDonald, Reminisces

February 7, 2017 by 1 Comment

Years before the Voice of the Kings, Bob Miller, began his 44 years behind the mic for the Los Angeles Kings, Jiggs McDonald, a Hall of Famer in his own right who will fill in for Miller on February 9 when the Kings skate against the Florida Panthers, called the action for the Kings for their first five seasons in the National Hockey League. In part 1 of this two-part story, McDonald shared some memories from his time with the Kings.

Former Los Angeles Kings play-by-play announcer Jiggs McDonald (right) with former Kings forward Brian Kilrea (left), prior to the team’s 2016-17
home opener on October 14, 2016.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo courtesy Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — As anyone who follows the Los Angeles Kings knows, the long-time Voice of the Kings, Bob Miller, is practically synonymous with the team. It is virtually impossible to talk about the Kings and their history without, at the very least, mentioning their Hall of Fame broadcaster, now in his 44th season calling the action for the team.

But before Miller, when the Kings first arrived in Southern California, their first play-by-play announcer, John Kenneth “Jiggs” McDonald, who became a Hall of Famer in his own right, was behind the microphone on Kings television and radio broadcasts for the team’s first five seasons.

After the Kings, McDonald’s illustrious career includes stints with the Atlanta Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, three Olympic Winter Games, Sports Channel America, and New York Mets baseball. But he is best known for his 13 seasons doing play-by-play for the New York Islanders—the Isles won three Stanley Cup Championships with McDonald behind the mic.

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Did You Know That The LA Kings Had To Trade For Their First Head Coach?

February 6, 2017 by 1 Comment

Former Los Angeles Kings head coach Red Kelly
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.net

LOS ANGELES — Until 2006, when Dean Lombardi took over as their President/General Manager, the Los Angeles Kings’ history of trades was characterized by very few good trades and a ton of really bad ones, with a considerable number bordering on tragic.

One might even think that their first trade belongs on the “bad” side of the ledger.

That trade came on June 8, 1967, just two days after the 1967 National Hockey League Expansion Draft. But the Kings weren’t trading for a player. Instead, they were going after their first head coach.

Leonard “Red” Kelly, a twenty-year NHL veteran who won the Stanley Cup eight times—four each with the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, became the Kings first coach. But that didn’t happen until after Maple Leafs general manager Punch Imlach exacted a price from the Kings.

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Mike Corrigan Has A Lot Of Fond Memories of His Time With The LA Kings

November 15, 2016 by 1 Comment

FROZEN ROYALTY EXCLUSIVE: Part 1 of a two-part story featuring the memories of right wing Mike Corrigan, who shared some interesting stories about his time with the Los Angeles Kings exclusively with Frozen Royalty.

Former Los Angeles Kings forward Mike Corrigan (right), shown here
with his son during the team’s 2016 home opener weekend
in which the 1967-68 Kings players were honored.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Jeff Moeller/Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — On October 14, when the Los Angeles Kings honored their 1967-68 team as part of the franchise’s 50th Anniversary commemoration, the 13 players from that first Kings team who were able to attend, along with the team’s first play-by-play announcer, Jiggs McDonald, had the time of their lives, by all accounts.

Not only did they enjoy all the festivities and the first class treatment they got, but they also enjoyed reuniting with each other out of the spotlight, sharing stories, reminiscing, and enjoying the camaraderie they had as teammates so many years ago.

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Proud To Be One of the Original Los Angeles Kings: Defenseman Bob Wall

October 29, 2016 by Leave a comment

13 players from the 1967-68 Los Angeles Kings— the Original Kings— were honored by the team during their
50th Anniversary celebration on October 14, 2016, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Their first captain, defenseman Bob Wall, is in the first row, third from the left.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Dave Joseph/Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — 50 years ago, the Los Angeles Kings were a brand, spanking new National Hockey League franchise, one of six added when the NHL decided to expand from its Original Six teams in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York and Toronto.

Six expansion teams joined the league in the 1967-68 season, including Jack Kent Cooke’s Kings, who had players such as Bill Flett, Eddie Joyal, Lowell MacDonald, Ted Irvine, Brian Kilrea, Gord Labossiere, Wayne Rutledge and Terry Sawchuk leading the way.

Their leader, the Kings’ first captain, was defenseman Bob Wall, who scored five goals and added 18 assists for 23 points in 71 regular season games in that first season.

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