Flyers honor retirement of longtime broadcaster Coates

PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Coates began the night in his honor in the most fitting way for those that know him.

"I'm ecstatic to be here for a lot of reasons," he said Saturday. "The No. 1 reason is I was worried this was be an April Fool's joke."
There was a lot of laughter during the pregame ceremony, titled "Coatesy's Last Call," to honor Coates, who will retire after 43 years as a radio and television broadcaster for the Flyers.

Players wore matching No. 43 jerseys with "Coatesy" on the back during warmups ahead of their game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Coates was presented with a custom Flyers golf cart, and it was announced that a bar inside the Edge member lounge at Wells Fargo Center also will be renamed Coatesy's Corner.

He has been part of Flyers broadcasts since 1980, when he began working radio games part-time with Gene Hart.
Between TV and radio broadcasts, Coates has covered more than 3,000 Flyers games.
During that time he established a rapport with the fanbase that has made him one of the more popular figures in the history of the organization.
"As someone lucky enough to have spent so much time with 'Coatesy' over the years as I have, I can tell you the love affair with this team, with this fanbase, was genuine, heartfelt and mutual," said Tim Saunders, Coates' radio partner. "In the booth his energy, his sometimes off-the-wall persona made even the toughest Flyers games and seasons more fun."
The ceremony also featured classic moments from his between-periods TV feature, "Coatesy's Corner," which featured numerous Flyers players over the years demonstrating hockey skills or in funny skits.
There were more 'Coatesy's Corner' moments played during the game, as well as tribute messages from current and former players, among them Scott Laughton, Travis Konecny, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds.

"I grew up watching 'Coatesy's Corner' and all different kinds of stuff," Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who grew up a Flyers fan in nearby Sewell, New Jersey. "So now getting to know him and interact with him has been great after growing up watching him."
Coates said problems with his right eye are the reason he announced March 24 he would be retiring after the season. Since then, he said, it's been more than a week of wonderful moments that were capped off in the ceremony Saturday.
He'll work the final eight games of the season and then shift into retirement with only happy memories.
"If you had told me that I was going to be a broadcaster for the Philadelphia Flyers for 40-some years, you got no chance," Coates said. "It's surreal. I can't even put my finger on how I feel. I just feel so gratified at the whole thing, but humbled at the same time."