Buffalo Sabres fans know him most for his hockey broadcasts, but play-by-play icon Rick Jeanneret will be honored by another sport this summer.
The longest reigning announcer in the NHL, member of the NHL Hall of Fame and member of the Buffalo Broadcast Hall of Fame is being inducted into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame on July 7.
The Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame is located in Belfast, NY, in the training barns used to prepare for the epic 75-round world championship brawl between the great John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain.
Jeanneret is being inducted because, as the “the Voice of the Buffalo Sabres, no man in history has called more ‘bare knuckle’ fights," said the Hall of Fame.
Among the other inductees will be retired Buffalo gloved boxer Dick Topinko, who the Hall of Fame said "brought a positive spotlight to upstate New York during his career," which started in 1964.
Born in Lackawanna's First Ward, Topinko's career included a Golden Gloves win in 1965 before being drafted for the Vietnam War. Once home, he turned pro in 1968, going 14-0 and being picked in 1970 as one of the "Top 5 Prospects in the World" by The Ring magazine. A shoulder injury later that year forced retirement.