From Bobcat to Blue Jackets

If you saw him on the street, you most likely wouldn’t recognize him, but it is his voice that would give him away.

As a broadcast journalism major at Ohio University, Greg Murray did not know a thing about hockey.

“I would go over to my brother’s place to watch hockey and have no idea what was going on,” Greg said.

Now, as the PA announcer for the Columbus Blue Jackets, his love for the game has grown immensely. So much so that it can occasionally even be to the displeasure of his wife. “It can sometimes get to her,” Murray said. “But it’s the best sport in the world to watch.”

Murray is one of three former Bobcats, along with in-arena host Mike Todd, and anthem singer Leo Welsh, to have a major role on the in-game experience at a Blue Jackets hockey game.

While at OU, Murray worked for the All Campus Radio Network, and as a DJ at a local bar. During his time with ACRN, Greg and Fellow host Mike Todd set a record for the longest radio marathon in Ohio history, over 99 hours.

When Murray graduated from OU in 1990, his intention was to work in radio, as a DJ, and he did. Murray bounced around between a couple radio stations before landing what he considered his dream job at QFM 96 in Columbus.

It was there, at the High Street studios of QFM, that Murray watched the construction of the future home of the Blue Jackets, Nationwide Arena.

When Murray heard about the PA job opening, he sent in his tape, the management liked his voice, and he got the job.

As PA announcer, Murray is most well-known for sayings such as “Jackets on the power play,” or his pre-game announcement of the starting lineups, but few people know about the other responsibilities Murray takes on.

Before each game, Murray and Todd script and perform a pre-game show called the “Rink Report”, which takes a look at the upcoming match as well as other games around the league. He is also responsible for “spotting” the game, and notifying the presentation and production directors of breaks in the actions, so that they can know the appropriate time to display a video, or play a sound bite.

Greg and the crew take time before each game to go over the pronunciation of all the player’s names for the upcoming game. Names like Nikolai Khabibulin (hah-bee-BOO-lihn) or Wade Dubielewicz (DOO-bih-wihtz) could give an unprepared announcer trouble. “That’s the hardest part,” he said. “People get really upset if you mispronounce names, you lose credibility.”

Murray, as well as Todd, also takes part in many Blue Jackets Foundation charity events such as a golf outing, Hockey Fest, and a fashion show dubbed “Black Ties, Blue Jackets”, to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer research.

When asked what his favorite part about the job was, Murray responded by saying it was working with his best friend, Mike Todd. “Mike is my best friend, working with him is an absolute blast.” “This is not a job to me,” he said.

Along with being the public address announcer at the Blue Jackets games, Murray owns and operates MurrVox Voice Imaging, that according to its website “provides professional television, radio and industrial voiceovers and commercial and audio production”. Murray also does some freelance work for various Christian radios stations throughout the country.

At the conclusion of the 2008-’09 season, Murray had announced 362 consecutive home games. “You’ve got to be on your game night in and night out,” he said. “We take it very seriously.”