Where have you gone Dave Van Horne?  What’s that you say, Mrs McKenzie?  Dapper Dave has left and gone away — to Florida? Yes, a nation does indeed turn its lonely eyes to Dave Van Horne, the man whose voice was a fixture to Canadian fans on many a summer evening for over 30 years.

Vin Scully, Harry Kalas and Bob Uecker have each deservedly earned reputations as top-quality broadcasters. But it is Van Horne’s laidback style that is indelibly etched in the minds of those who grew up in Canada in the 1970s. Together with Dodgers great Duke Snider, van Horne provided the play-by-play back in pre-Blue Jay era – back in the days when September was time for sharpening skates and not thinking about pennant races.

Things eventually picked up in the late 1970s and early 1980s for the team when they had a couple of pennant runs –  giving Van Horne more opportunities to use his signature “up, up and away” call each time a circuit (home run) was smacked. During these years, long before the Expos eventual demise, it seemed that Warren Cromartie, Andre Dawson and Gary Carter would always be dressed in a Montreal uniform, Youppi the mascot would forever gallivant on the field, and Van Horne would permanently be stationed behind the booth. 

It is good to know that Van Horne is still going strong as the Marlins announcer, and that he had a chance to experience a World Series Championship – which of course took place in October, a time when many Canadians were no doubt vacationing in Florida.