Ward Cornell & Jack Dennett Uniting two Hockey Night in Canada legends
Graveside Stories: Ward Cornell and Jack Dennett
Ward Cornell (1924–2000)
On a quiet summer walk through the peaceful hillside of the Uxbridge Cemetery—a historic Quaker ground in Uxbridge, Ontario—I came upon the grave of Ward Cornell, best known as a calm and steady presence on Hockey Night in Canada. He was, in fact, a colleague of Jack Dennett, whose own resting place I would later visit in Toronto.
Ward interviewing the late, Ken Dryden.
Ward was born in London, Ontario, and discovered his love for broadcasting at the University of Western Ontario’s campus radio station. After graduating, he worked in radio back in London, and also taught at Pickering College.
In 1959, Hockey Night in Canada came calling. For the next 13 years, Ward served as host—interviewing players between periods and providing the sort of composed insight that Ron MacLean would later make his own. When he stepped away from broadcasting, Ward took on a diplomatic role, representing Ontario as Agent General in London, England. He returned in 1980 and served the provincial government as Deputy Minister of Culture and Recreation, and later, Housing.
Ward interviewing a very young Boston Bruin, Derek Sanderson during HNIC intermission.
Ward MacLaurin Cornell died in Uxbridge on February 5, 2000. He was 75.
Jack Dennett (1916–1975)
Later in the summer, while walking through Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, I came across the grave of radio and television legend Jack Dennett.
Jack’s broadcasting career began early. At just fifteen, he worked at a radio station in his hometown of Calgary. His break came on his sixteenth birthday, when a regular announcer didn’t show up for an evening shift. Jack had been begging for a shot—he got it, and never looked back.
In 1943, he moved east to CFRB Toronto, one of Canada’s major private stations. Two years later, he joined the NHL’s Hot Stove radio panel from Maple Leaf Gardens. Jack would remain a fixture on Hockey Night in Canada for 17 years, making his mark on both radio and television.
Jack never finished high school, yet he received one of the highest compliments a broadcaster can earn: teachers asked to use recordings of his newscasts as models of clear, concise English.
Jack Dennett died in Toronto on August 27, 1975. He was just 59.
