Foster William Alfred Hewitt (December 6, 1928 – December 25, 1996) was a Canadian radio and television sportscaster. He was the son of hockey broadcaster Foster Hewitt and the grandson of Toronto Star journalist W. A. Hewitt.
Playing career
Bill Hewitt played competitive football and hockey and competed in track & field while attending Upper Canada College in Toronto, Ontario.
Sports broadcasting
After graduation, Bill Hewitt took a broadcasting job at CJRL in Kenora, Ontario. He was then hired as sports director of CFOS in Owen Sound, Ontario, and later held the same title at CKBB in Barrie.
In 1951, his father launched CKFH in Toronto at which the younger Hewitt became its sports director at age 23. In the mid-1950s, Hewitt began substituting on Toronto Maple Leafs hockey broadcasts when his father was given other assignments by the CBC, such as covering the Ice Hockey World Championships or Winter Olympics.
By 1958, both Hewitts were working together for Hockey Night in Canada games involving the Toronto Maple Leafs, with him calling the play-by-play and his dad serving as color commentator. Beginning in 1963, his dad returned to the radio, and he became the TV voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 1981, a blood infection forced Hewitt out of the broadcast booth at the relatively young age of 53.
The Hockey Hall of Fame awarded Hewitt the 2007 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.
Death
Hewitt died from heart failure on December 25, 1996, and was interred in Stone Church Cemetery, east of Beaverton, Ontario.