Richard Loney, the man who has opened up a countless number of Vancouver Canucks games with his renditions of the Star Spangled Banner and O Canada over the past four decades, has passed away.
From Trevor Linden’s press release:
“The entire Vancouver Canucks organization is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of longtime anthem singer, Richard Loney. Richard sang the anthem at the first Canucks NHL game in 1970 and his rendition of our National Anthem remained a welcome tradition at Canucks home games for over 40 years. I was lucky enough to hear him sing O Canada so many times during my playing career. He’s been such a big part of our team’s history and was a true icon in BC, lending his one-of-a-kind voice to the Lions, Whitecaps, Giants, and even at Safeco Field when the Blue Jays would come for their annual visit. He supported sports at all levels and often volunteered for charities and for minor league hockey, baseball and soccer events around the Lower Mainland. He was such a nice man and I will miss him. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife Marion, and his family and friends.”
While Mark Donnelly has been the primary anthem singer for quite some time now, Loney continued to participate into his later years, including singing the Star Spangled Banner during the 2011 run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Loney was the man who originally recruited Donnely to begin with, as they were both members of the Vancouver Opera, where Loney spent over thirty years.
Loney suffered a stroke in 2009, and while his recovery wasn’t an easy one, he used singing to aid the process. Despite being the full-time singer until 1995, Loney managed to juggle the role with a career as a music and French teacher in North Vancouver.
When he spoke to BC Local News in 2011 about getting the job all those decades ago, he was pretty blunt about its origins. “I went to four or five games and they had different singers. I was going to buy season’s tickets but I thought, ‘This is ridiculous. I can do what they’re doing.’ Greg Douglas was in p.r. and marketing [with the Canucks] so I got hold of him and he said to come down and do two or three games and we’ll see how it goes.”
Loney has also sung the anthem for the BC Lions, Vancouver Whitecaps, Vancouver Giants, and even the Toronto Blue Jays (when they made the trip to Seattle, that is). Loney will be missed by Canucks fans everywhere.
