David W. Shea (born c. 1950) is an Irish-American sportscaster, who is best known as the former ice hockey announcer for Hockey East and the Boston Bruins. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame on November 19, 2008.[1]
Career
He began calling the college game in 1984 and joined the Bruins telecasts on NESN as color commentator and studio host in 1986, joining Fred Cusick and Derek Sanderson. From 1986-1995, he acted as both the color commentator and studio host for Bruins telecasts on NESN. This meant that he missed the beginnings and ends of periods as he moved from ice level to the broadcast booth and back. He was also a play-by-play announcer for ESPN's coverage of the NCAA Hockey Regionals from 1994-97.
Shea was named the road announcer for the Bruins (Dale Arnold did home games) in 1997 after hall of famer Fred Cusick retired. He held that position until the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After the 2004-05 lockout, Shea took a temporary job with the Washington Nationals baseball team as a radio analyst. NESN did not renew his contract, fearing his unavailability for Bruins games in the case of the Nationals qualifying for the playoffs. He was replaced by Jack Edwards, formerly of ESPN.
Additional work
A thirty-plus-year broadcasting veteran, Shea has called hockey, football, soccer and basketball for numerous professional and college teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Breakers, Atlanta Chiefs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Harvard Crimson and the Boston College Eagles. He also served as the radio voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox for three summers during the mid-1990s.
He had been a co-host briefly on WEEI on The Big Show with Glenn Ordway in its infancy.
Shea worked the 2006 Ivy League football season for CN8 on Comcast.[2]
He has also worked as a car salesman at South Shore Volkswagen (formerly Hanover Volkswagen).
Shea is currently the Senior Vice President for the Regional Sports Media Group, which is a subsidiary of BBI Marketing. The company is best known for dealing with Bob's Stores, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), Lowe's Home Improvement Stores, Manulife Financial, and publishes the Hockey Magazine.
Personal
An avid golfer, Shea lives in Pembroke, Massachusetts, with his wife, Pam, sons Brendan, Christopher, Timothy, and Daniel, and daughter Jillian.
See also
References
- ^ "Massachusetts Hockey". Mahockey.org. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
External links
- Old NESN Bio
- BBI Testimonial Page
- Jan. 2006 The Beltway Boys, retrieved August 18, 2007
- Boston Globe "Shea lands radio gig with the Nationals", 2-26-05; retrieved August 18, 2007
- Nashua Telegraph "Shea enjoying Nationals attention", Published: Thursday, Jul. 21, 2005, Retrieved August 18, 2007