Scott Oake
Inducted 1996
Primary Outlet
CBC
Scott Oake could have been a doctor, but Canadian sports fans are glad he preferred holding a microphone instead of a scalpel.
Oake was born in Sydney, N,S., in 1952, and raised in the city’s Shipyards neighbourhood. At age 14, his family relocated to Newfoundland. While studying pre-medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Oake discovered his passion for broadcasting through volunteer work at the campus radio station. This experience set him on a path toward a distinguished career in Canadian sports media.
In 1974, Oake was hired full-time by CBC, and shortly thereafter moved to Winnipeg, a city that would become his professional and personal home. From 1979-89, he served as the sports anchor on CBWT’s 24Hours, where he became one of Manitoba’s most-recognizable broadcast figures. It was during this time that he also began contributing to Hockey Night in Canada, providing National Hockey League coverage to a national audience.
Over his decades with CBC and later Sportsnet, Oake covered 14 Olympic Games, multiple Commonwealth Games and the Canadian Football League, and became a key part of Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday night broadcasts. His work earned him numerous accolades, including the 2003 Gemini Award for best host or interviewer in a sports program or sportscast.
Outside of the broadcast booth, Oake has faced profound personal loss. He and wife Anne raised their sons, Bruce and Darcy, in Winnipeg. After Bruce passed away from a drug overdose in 2011 at age 25, the family became strong advocates for addiction recovery. Their efforts led to the founding of the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, a residential treatment facility in Winnipeg that honours Bruce’s memory and helps others on the path to recovery. Anne passed away in 2021.
Oake has spoken publicly about stigma and the importance of recovery, noting that “addiction knows no boundaries regardless of socio-economic status.” His best-selling memoir, For the Love of a Son, explores his family’s truth and the reality that even with love and access to support, addiction can still take lives, but that recovery is possible.
His contributions to Canadian sports broadcasting and to the Winnipeg community have been widely recognized. In 2020, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Manitoba, followed by a Member of the Order of Canada in 2024.
Scott Oake was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour in 1996.
Oake was born in Sydney, N,S., in 1952, and raised in the city’s Shipyards neighbourhood. At age 14, his family relocated to Newfoundland. While studying pre-medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Oake discovered his passion for broadcasting through volunteer work at the campus radio station. This experience set him on a path toward a distinguished career in Canadian sports media.
In 1974, Oake was hired full-time by CBC, and shortly thereafter moved to Winnipeg, a city that would become his professional and personal home. From 1979-89, he served as the sports anchor on CBWT’s 24Hours, where he became one of Manitoba’s most-recognizable broadcast figures. It was during this time that he also began contributing to Hockey Night in Canada, providing National Hockey League coverage to a national audience.
Over his decades with CBC and later Sportsnet, Oake covered 14 Olympic Games, multiple Commonwealth Games and the Canadian Football League, and became a key part of Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday night broadcasts. His work earned him numerous accolades, including the 2003 Gemini Award for best host or interviewer in a sports program or sportscast.
Outside of the broadcast booth, Oake has faced profound personal loss. He and wife Anne raised their sons, Bruce and Darcy, in Winnipeg. After Bruce passed away from a drug overdose in 2011 at age 25, the family became strong advocates for addiction recovery. Their efforts led to the founding of the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, a residential treatment facility in Winnipeg that honours Bruce’s memory and helps others on the path to recovery. Anne passed away in 2021.
Oake has spoken publicly about stigma and the importance of recovery, noting that “addiction knows no boundaries regardless of socio-economic status.” His best-selling memoir, For the Love of a Son, explores his family’s truth and the reality that even with love and access to support, addiction can still take lives, but that recovery is possible.
His contributions to Canadian sports broadcasting and to the Winnipeg community have been widely recognized. In 2020, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Manitoba, followed by a Member of the Order of Canada in 2024.
Scott Oake was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour in 1996.