Remembering Mike Lange, voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins
Credit: Pittsburgh Penguins via X
Hockey nights in Pittsburgh will feel a little different from now on.
Renowned voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, former play-by-play announcer and Hall-Of-Fame broadcaster Mike “Motorcycle” Lange died Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at the age of 76. The esteemed raconteur’s patented affectations served as the oratory score to Penguins games for 46 years, narrating the action from his crow’s nest (note: not to be confused with the infamous press box of the same name, situated atop the grandstand roof at Forbes Field) in the Pens’ original downtown Pittsburgh abode the Civic Arena, lovingly referred to by Yinzers as “The Igloo,” before the franchise relocated to a new, larger venue across the street beginning in the 2011-12 season - their current home of PPG Paints Arena (formerly the Consol Energy Centre), where the team flag was reportedly flying at half-staff as of Thursday to honor the life and legacy of Lange. A gracious gesture displayed by the Penguins’ Front Office in addition to being a heartfelt expression of respect and gratitude for Lange’s years of service to the organization, it’s a fitting tribute to the kindhearted, compassionate man behind the vibrant, impassioned catchphrases imprinted in the earliest memories for generations of Allegheny County residents and Penguins fans alike - the voice which shaped hockey’s broadcast landscape league-wide over the course of a career in the Steel City which spanned five Stanley Cups and nearly fifty years.
“In radio, they say, nothing happens until the announcer says it happened.”
—Ernie Harwell
Play-By-Play With Your Words
A perceptive and zealous analyst, Mr. Lange was sharp-witted and clever, relaying the Penguins’ icy exploits to fans with veracity and fervent enthusiasm. His electrifying, unique calls (better known as “Lange-isms”) helped to bring the game to life and became synonymous with many of the franchise’s biggest moments, and emblematic of the prime Lemieux-Jágr and Crosby-Malkin eras. Who could forget one-liners like “Cam Ward has just lost his liquor license!” or “WRRRRRRRRIIIIIISTER!” or the iconic “Slap me silly, Sidney!” after Crosby netted his first National Hockey League goal in front of the home crowd? The latter still gives me chills, even twenty (!!) years later.
Much as Crosby is playfully (but not incorrectly!) considered to be “your favorite player’s favorite player,” Lange was undoubtedly “your favorite broadcaster’s favorite broadcaster.” Spouting statistics and delivering passionate commentary interwoven with unique and colorful catchphrases, the lively call style of twentieth-century sportscasters like Ernie Harwell (Detroit Tigers), Al McCoy (Phoenix Suns), Rick Jeanneret (Buffalo Sabres), Bob Prince (Pittsburgh Pirates), Myron Cope (Pittsburgh Steelers), and Mike Lange paved the way for commentators to feel comfortable in their roles, and for game analysis imbued with personality and linguistic regionalisms (“Call Arnold Slick from Turtle Creek!”) to become widely accepted in mainstream sportscasting.
Broadcasters like Lange walked so that modern analysts like Jim Ross (formerly of the WWE Network, now with AEW), Greg Brown (Pittsburgh Pirates), Tripp Tracy (Carolina Hurricanes) and Colorado Avalanche telecast duo Marc Moser and Mark Rycroft could run.
Without their precedent, we would have no Steve Dangle, or Colby Armstrong (or Paul Bissonnette, for that matter, but whether or not that’s a selling point is up to you.)
Saturday, February 22, 2025: For the afternoon’s match between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, the PPG Arena press box displayed a memorial honoring the Penguins’ longtime broadcaster, featuring Lange’s iconic headset.
Credit: Pittsburgh Penguins via X
We’ve all heard the oft-repeated maxim, “hockey is a business.”
The dynamic nature of the industry means things are constantly in flux. Everything has its time, and time continually moves forward without regard for the doleful sentiments of man or his resistance to change. Coaches, owners, and managers come and go, endless players shuffle through locker rooms and rosters, celebrated wunderkind hailed as franchise messiahs dazzle like the metaphorical fireworks in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, but amongst the ebbs and flows of history, an unmistakable voice weaves through it all, connecting our reminiscences of the past with our present-day experiences and our hopes and dreams for the future. Spirited exclamations and vocal timbre work in tandem to sear powerful events into our memories, and the distinctive voice framing those defining moments can transport us to those occasions and the soul-stirring emotions they evoked.
Mike Lange remained a constant in the franchise’s ever-changing landscape – unwaveringly cheerful, fair-minded, and diligently dedicated to his craft and his Penguins family, whether they shared his booth in the press box, a few minutes rinkside, or his love and enthusiasm for his team and the city he was proud to call home. His captivating zeal unquestionably contributed to the popularity of hockey in Pittsburgh, and cemented his rightful status as not only a broadcast icon, but as a Penguins and a Pittsburgh legend.
Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.
One of the last remaining links to the Brooklyn Dodgers broke yesterday when Vin Scully died at the age of 94. He joined the team in 1950 as a radio announcer and later made the transition to television. Just 22 when he started, he announced the team’s games for an amazing 67 years. Above, Scully in the TV booth in Ebbets Field ca. 1955.
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