The Medicine Hat Tigers have announced the retirement of legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Ridley.

The voices of the Medicine Hat Tigers of theWestern Hockey League are off the mic, the team announced Tuesday night.

"For 52 years,Bob Ridley was the voice of the Medicine Hat Tigers," the team tweeted. "Bob is very lonely and we wish him all the best for his retirement."

In 2021, Ridley hit the impressive broadcast milestone of calling the 4,000th WHL game. He told Global News at the time that he had only missed one game in more than 50 years since becoming a Broadcaster for the Tigers. } Legendary WHL Broadcaster Bob Ridley Hits 4,000 Game Mark According to

CHAT News, where Ridley also worked,, the broadcaster missed all but one game of the 2021-22 season because he had to undergo cancer treatment. Mr. Ridley told CHAT News that the experience had given him a long time to think and realized, "Maybe it's time to back off." He said he wanted to be able to spend more time with his family and friends.

"I thought it was the right time," he told CHAT News.

In February 2021, WHL recognized Ridley's impressive career by unveiling the newly created Bob Ridley Media Excellence Awards.

"I've been very fortunate to have a passion for gaming," Ridley told Global News in 2021.

"That's what I've been doing all these years. I just wish I could keep going a little longer, just in case. That's what it was all about."

Ridley wasn't just a WHL club broadcaster at Medicine Hat. He also spent decades double-duty calling the team's games while driving the Tigers' team bus.

Read more: Behind the Scenes of the Game: Life Behind the Mike and the Wheel

In 2011, Ridley went to Alberta to play hockey He took office in Hall. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame and in 2019 was inducted into the Western Broadcasting Corporation Hall of Fame.

– Files by Cami Kepke, Global News

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