| Mark Hebscher | |
| Birth Date: | 1 January 1956 |
| Birth Place: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Module: | |
| Alma Mater: | Conestoga College |
| Years Active: | 1980–present |
Mark Hebscher (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian television and radio personality, and author.
Hebscher has worked primarily in sports, and is best known for co-hosting Sportsline, an evening sports show on the Global Television Network and CHCH-DT. His other work has included hosting the flagship sports show Sportscentral on CTV Sportsnet in the 1990s, play-by-play for the Toronto Argonauts radio broadcasts on The Fan 590, host of Maple Leaf Hockey on the Global Television Network, anchor of Headline Sports, and host of Square Off, a current affairs show, with Donna Skelly on CHCH-DT. He has authored The Greatest Athlete (you've never heard of), a book about George Orton, a track-and-field athlete who was the first Canadian to medal at the Summer Olympics in 1900.
Hebscher was born on January 1, 1956, in Toronto, Ontario.[1]
Hebscher attended Conestoga College in the applied radio and TV arts program.[2] He began working at CJFM-FM in Montreal in 1980.[1] His radio career was known for a practical joke on April Fools' Day in 1980, wherein Hebscher announced that then-Montreal Canadiens star defenseman Larry Robinson had been traded to the Los Angeles Kings for star forward Marcel Dionne.[3]
Hebscher joined the Global Television Network in 1984 to co-host Sportsline, an evening sports show, alongside Jim Tatti.[4] Sportsline was known for presenting highlights with voice-over of the show's hosts, sometimes obtained minutes after events ended, which was then a novelty.[2] Hebscher presented a weekly series of bloopers and highlights from the previous week, that were humorously called the "Hebsy" awards.[5] Sportsline was nominated for two Gemini Awards as best sports show, and in 1989 Hebscher was nominated for best performance by a sports broadcaster.[1] [6] Sportsline was revived for another 5-year run from 2010 to 2015 on CHCH-DT in Hamilton, Ontario with Hebscher co-hosting with Clint "Bubba" O'Neil.[7]
Hebscher next worked as a sports announcer and hosted Maple Leaf Hockey, a live broadcast of Toronto Maple Leaf hockey games on the Global Television Network.[8] Subsequent to this, he returned to radio, doing play-by-play for the Toronto Argonauts and served as sports director of Toronto radio stations Q107 and AM640.[5]
Hebscher co-hosted a current affairs show called Square Off initially at CHCH-DT with future MPP Donna Skelly.[7] In 2015, CHCH-DT declared bankruptcy, and many on-air personalities, including Hebscher, were laid off.[7] Hebscher has subsequently hosted podcasts, most recently Hebsy on Sports with Mike Boon, which started in 2018.[1] Hebscher stopped the podcast in May 2023, officially retiring.
In 2019, Hebscher wrote a book titled The Greatest Athlete (you've never heard of) which chronicled George Orton, the first Canadian to win an Olympic gold medal.[9] Orton was paralyzed as a child after a fall from a tree, but went on to win a gold medal in the 2500-metre steeplechase at the 1900 Summer Games.