Five significant Buffalo Sabres’ off-ice personnel

from yahoo sports

The Buffalo Sabres are like any other professional sports team in that it takes more than just athletes and coaches to create an entertaining atmosphere for the fans. Down through the years, the Sabres have had a long list of off-ice personnel that have played important roles in the team's history. Here is an acknowledgement of the five most significant Sabres' off-ice personnel and how each person left their mark on the history of the Buffalo Sabres.

Frank Christie - Trainer

When a Buffalo Sabres player was injured on the ice between 1970 and the mid-1980s, the familiar form of trainer Frank Christie would make his way to the fallen player. Christie started out in the Buffalo Bisons' organization in the late 1940's. When the Bisons folded and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres moved into the Memorial Auditorium, Christie was kept on as the trainer. Frank Christie was respected by opponents, revered by the Sabres players and popular with the fans. He was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1980, and then into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. He passed away in 1986.

Robert "Rip" Simonick - Equipment Manager

Rip Simonick (no one calls him Robert), was hired by the Buffalo Sabres when he was just 21-years-old to work for Frank Christie doing errands and a lot of grunt work. He worked his way up from an errand runner to equipment manager. As of 2011, Rip still works for the Sabres and he is one of the longest tenured equipment managers in the NHL.

Seymour Knox III - Owner

It was the tireless work of Seymour Knox III and his brother Northrup that brought the NHL to Buffalo. Knox was born in Buffalo and his grandfather was Seymour Knox I, the founder of the Woolworth's Department Stores. Seymour and Northrup started petitioning the NHL as early as 1965 to get a franchise in Buffalo. When his first petition was refused, Knox tried to move the California Golden Seals to Buffalo but that was also denied by the league. When the league announced plans to expand for the 1970-1971 season, it decided to include Buffalo as one of the cities to get a franchise. Prior to his death in 1996, Knox helped to oversee the building of the Sabres new home called HSBC Arena. In honor of his achievements, the city of Buffalo named the street where the new arena sits Seymour H. Knox III Plaza.

Rick Jeanneret - Broadcast Announcer

Rick Jeanneret joined the Sabres' broadcast team in 1971 as the radio voice of the Sabres. When television announcer Ted Darling left the broadcast team due to illness in 1991, Jeanneret became the radio and television voice of the Sabres. His creative calls and distinctive voice have helped him to become one of the best known hockey announcers in the history of the NHL. He has become as much of a fixture to Sabres fans as the blue and gold colors or the crossed-swords logo.

Ted Darling - Broadcast Announcer

Ted Darling was the very first "voice of the Buffalo Sabres" for radio and television. At the start of the 1971-1972 season, the radio duties were given to Rick Jeanneret and Darling became the television voice of the Sabres. His impact on the Sabres organization is significant. He was voted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994. The press box at HSBC Arena is named the Ted Darling Press Box in his honor. Some of his memorable calls include the call of Gilbert Perreault's first goal, the game against the Atlanta Flames that happened immediately after the tragic death of defenseman Tim Horton and calling a game against the Montreal Canadiens from his home during the Blizzard of '77 when Darling was snowed in.

march 4, 2011