The Life & Times of the Red Wings’ Mickey Redmond

Younger Red Wing fans know him as the insightful and entertaining color commentator on hockey telecasts, but for those who remember Olympia Stadium in the early 1970s, Mickey Redmond was then known as one of the game’s best snipers.

MRedmondIn his first full three seasons in Detroit, Redmond scored an incredible 145 goals and may have become one of the game’s greatest offensive players had the right winger not suffered a back injury that forced him to retire at age 28 in 1976.

As the son of Ernie Redmond, captain of the 1958 amateur world champion Canadian team and the older brother of Dick, who played 13 years in the NHL, Mickey literally grew up with the game.

Mickey Redmond constantly played road hockey on the icy streets of Peterborough, Ontario, and served as a stick boy for the Petes, his hometown’s Junior A hockey team.

“Scotty Bowman was the coach and every game he paid me $2.00 and gave me a stick,” says Redmond. “That was like a bar of gold.”

By age fifteen, Redmond was playing right wing for the Petes where he starred for four seasons before cracking Montreal’s lineup in 1967.

“I had a tremendous opportunity as a rookie to learn from Hall of Fame greats like Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, and Yvan Cournoyer,” says Redmond who would win two Stanley Cups with the Habs. “You couldn’t ask for a better breeding ground to learn to play the game.”

But in January of 1971 Redmond, along with Guy Charron and Bill Collins, was traded to the lowly Wings for Frank Mahovlich.

After netting 42 goals in his first full Detroit season (’71-’72 ) he followed it up with 52 and 51 goals the next two years to become the first Red Wing to score 50 goals and the third player in history behind Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito to have back to back 50 goal seasons. Redmond was a first team All Star in 1973 and on the second team in 1974.

Redmond’s explosive goal scoring career suddenly ended when sometime in the early part of the 1974-75 season he suffered a ruptured disc that caused permanent damage to a nerve running directly to his right leg.

When an operation to repair the problem proved unsuccessful, Redmond, who would play only parts of his two last seasons in Detroit before finally called it quits in 1976.

In addition to opening a travel agency in 1976, Redmond then embarked on his successful hockey broadcasting career in 1979, first locally on cable with ON TV and then with CBC’s “Hockey Night In Canada.” Now in his 20th year as color commentator for Red Wings television, his resume has included doing national telecasts on ESPN and Fox Sports.

Red Wing fans have not only appreciated his informative insights as a color commentator, they have grown to love his famous and often spontaneous sayings such as “Bingo-Bango”, “this is no place for a nervous person,” and “that was a B.C. two-hander.”

“I was advised early on that everybody can see what is happening in a game, but since I played, my job is to tell the audience why,” says Redmond. “But this is also an entertainment business, and I guess I have a wee bit of Irish blarney in me. A lot of those sayings are from when we were kids playing road hockey,” says Redmond.

Despite having faced serious health issues as a lung cancer survivor and with his ongoing battle with Celiac Disease, an intestinal disorder related to intolerance to gluten that requires a special diet, Redmond remains upbeat.

“I’ve learned that once in awhile you’re going to get bounced in the corners but you have to get up and go, have a positive attitude, keep a smile on your face, and have fun.”

7 replies on “The Life & Times of the Red Wings’ Mickey Redmond

  • Barbara Schneider

    I AM A RED WINGS FAN & I TOO, JUST 2 DAYS AGO HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CELIAC ALSO. I NEED TO ASK YOU HOW DO YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT A HAMBURGER BUNS? I LIVE IN NEWBERRY, MI., AND WE DON’T HAVE MANY GLOTEN FREE ITEMS. I WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU AND HOPE I CAN MAKE IT THRU THIS ALSO. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND THE RED WINGS ! BARB S. ( FRANK DUFLO’S NIECE)

  • paul hodson

    No relation to “Ticker” – Kevin Hodson, just wanted to say to Mick, if I ever see you out and about, I’d gladly buy you a ginger ale anytime.

  • Janet A Morningstar

    My husband of soon to be 42 years and I frequently attended hockey games during our first year of dating. Muskegon Lumberjacks ( a team in IHL in the early 1990s) was associated with the Pittsburgh Penguins I began closely following the Red Wings this past year, and loved the commentary by Mickey Redmond from the beginning. I became a fan of his before I knew anything about his career as a professional player. I just knew I was listening to something very special!! Way to go Mickey!

  • Yooper Bill

    Mick,

    Good to see you at a few of the ‘slo-puck’ events up in Marquette. I played a lot of hockey in my day too, and like Mick, suffered a ruptured disk several years ago, and had the numbness down my right leg. I was told it either goes away within 1 year, or it probably won’t get much better.

    But, three straight 50 goal seasons (almost) is indeed
    quite incredible, especially back in the 1970’s.

    Keep up the great work on TV, Mick ! Go Wings !

  • David Kotecki

    I love ya Mickey, you’re a great man for hockey and the world. I love the Red Wings too. No matter what happens. Your (and Kenny’s) game commentary and post game make every game A OK. Jumpin ….

    Polski from Muskegon.

  • Dawn Mousigian

    Mick-
    Not only are you a great Red Wings player, you’re also the BEST announcer, and a FANTASTIC guy to everyone who meets you! You truly show that HEART OF GOLD to ALL!
    I was lucky enough to get a photo of you with my son, at age 4, he LOVES playing hockey and I made sure he KNOWS who you are! And I teach him to SMILE & HAVE FUN!! He’s now 7, and says….. “I met him mom, and he’s got one of the hardest slapshots, right?” Haha love it! Please keep those wee Irish sayings coming… cause Bingo Bango …. WE LOVE YOU!

Comments are closed.