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OT: Mike Lange Retiring

9nationalchampionships

9nationalchampionships

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May 21, 2010
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from play by play for the Pens. I consider him and Doc to be the 2 best play by play announcers in hockey. I was at the Pens game in 2001 when he was honored by being elected into the hockey HOF. They gave pucks BEFORE the game and someone got a hat trick so you can only imagine what happened....? People started throwing their pucks onto the ice and the players had to go to their runways and the referees went inside the goal nets so they would not get hit.



I of course kept mine and have it in my man cave.

Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties 33m
 
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9nationalchampionships said:
from play by play for the Pens. I consider him and Doc to be the 2 best play by play announcers in hockey. I was at the Pens game in 2001 when he was honored by being elected into the hockey HOF. They gave pucks BEFORE the game and someone got a hat trick so you can only imagine what happened....? People started throwing their pucks onto the ice and the players had to go to their runways and the referees went inside the goal nets so they would not get hit.



I of course kept mine and have it in my man cave.

Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties 33m
Click to expand...
Incredibly sad! He is the GOAT and it was heaven listening to him call Mario’s games for all those years. It’s probably no coincidence that I watch less Penguin hockey since he stepped out of the tv booth.
 
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9nationalchampionships said:
from play by play for the Pens. I consider him and Doc to be the 2 best play by play announcers in hockey. I was at the Pens game in 2001 when he was honored by being elected into the hockey HOF. They gave pucks BEFORE the game and someone got a hat trick so you can only imagine what happened....? People started throwing their pucks onto the ice and the players had to go to their runways and the referees went inside the goal nets so they would not get hit.



I of course kept mine and have it in my man cave.

Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties 33m
Click to expand...
Used to see him smoking and drinking in the Igloo club with the boys after every game. That’s all caught up to him I suppose.
 
Mike Lange really helped grow the game of hockey. From every kid saying his goal calls playing NHL on Sega or street hockey to his incredible ability as a play by play commentator, Lange was a legend of the game. Between Lange, John Barbaro, and Vince Lascheid, the Penguins have had some special people off the ice making the game day experience something we will never forget.
 
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Anyone else record onto cassette the radio replays of his goal calls? I did. I had two 90 minute cassettes filled with nothing but goal calls. Look out Loretta.
 
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Fk_Pitt said:
Anyone else record onto cassette the radio replays of his goal calls? I did. I had two 90 minute cassettes filled with nothing but goal calls. Look out Loretta.
Click to expand...

In college I had some soundboard of his goal calls that I had downloaded on my computer
 
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9nationalchampionships said:
from play by play for the Pens. I consider him and Doc to be the 2 best play by play announcers in hockey. I was at the Pens game in 2001 when he was honored by being elected into the hockey HOF. They gave pucks BEFORE the game and someone got a hat trick so you can only imagine what happened....? People started throwing their pucks onto the ice and the players had to go to their runways and the referees went inside the goal nets so they would not get hit.



I of course kept mine and have it in my man cave.

Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties 33m
Click to expand...
Heard this on The Fan this morning, among possibly others Lange was picked over way back when was none other than Doc Emerick. In retrospect, that's a nice Plan B candidate.

It was time for Mike and it's been great to hear him all of these years. A bit ago today heard his call of Mario's go-ahead goal from game 1 of the 92 SCF against Chicago, which I didn't hear live as I was in attendance, but it gets me roused every time I hear the replay. In his prime, he was as good as anyone who ever called hockey, IMO.
 
I was at game 6 in 09 against the Redwings. Listening to the post-game and then hearing the "meet me in the school yard" call gave me chills.
 
ratking17 said:
I was at game 6 in 09 against the Redwings. Listening to the post-game and then hearing the "meet me in the school yard" call gave me chills.
Click to expand...
Off the top of my head, I don't recall that one but hopefully they play it again soon. Just so many great memories of his calls. Incidentally, I think for the first time in my life I found myself in Turtle Creek two weeks ago and, of course, couldn't help thinking of "Arnold Slick."

BTW, I imagine that was a great game to have attended. That Game 1 in '92 was the last SCF game I attended. Came very close in '17 when a ticket came up on Stubhub or Seatgeek at about $125-$130 (probably game 5) but I hesitated a bit too long and it was gone once I decided to pull the trigger.
 
maxxwell said:
Off the top of my head, I don't recall that one but hopefully they play it again soon. Just so many great memories of his calls. Incidentally, I think for the first time in my life I found myself in Turtle Creek two weeks ago and, of course, couldn't help thinking of "Arnold Slick."

BTW, I imagine that was a great game to have attended. That Game 1 in '92 was the last SCF game I attended. Came very close in '17 when a ticket came up on Stubhub or Seatgeek at about $125-$130 (probably game 5) but I hesitated a bit too long and it was gone once I decided to pull the trigger.
Click to expand...
 
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This makes me feel old. I'm in my upper 50s and was obsessed with the Pens when was I was a kid. I think Mike Lange was part of the reason. He was an incredible announcer. I haven't lived in Pittsburgh for over 15 years and I still use a lot of his sayings (my wife thinks I'm nuts). I recall a few times when I was a kid that my parents wanted to go out to dinner and I wouldn't go unless I put a transistor radio in my pocket and listened to the Pens broadcast with an ear piece.
 
9nationalchampionships said:
from play by play for the Pens. I consider him and Doc to be the 2 best play by play announcers in hockey. I was at the Pens game in 2001 when he was honored by being elected into the hockey HOF. They gave pucks BEFORE the game and someone got a hat trick so you can only imagine what happened....? People started throwing their pucks onto the ice and the players had to go to their runways and the referees went inside the goal nets so they would not get hit.



I of course kept mine and have it in my man cave.

Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties 33m
Click to expand...
With all due respect to Bob Prince and Bill Hillgrove and such, I always believed Mike Lange was the best announcer period. Not only in Pittsburgh.
 
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wbrpanther said:
With all due respect to Bob Prince and Bill Hillgrove and such, I always believed Mike Lange was the best announcer period. Not only in Pittsburgh.
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He had a smooth voice and was always describing the play as if it happened minutes ago while it was happening as he was talking. Very good delivery!
 
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9nationalchampionships said:
He had a smooth voice and was always describing the play as if it happened minutes ago while it was happening as he was talking. Very good delivery!
Click to expand...


Back when he was at his best (so a pretty long time ago) the number of times that he was able to tell you what was going to happen before it actually happened was astounding. He'd tell you the Pens were on the verge of scoring a goal (or giving one up) and sure enough, within a minute or two it happened.

His feel for the game was better than any announcer I've ever heard.
 
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9nationalchampionships said:
from play by play for the Pens. I consider him and Doc to be the 2 best play by play announcers in hockey. I was at the Pens game in 2001 when he was honored by being elected into the hockey HOF. They gave pucks BEFORE the game and someone got a hat trick so you can only imagine what happened....? People started throwing their pucks onto the ice and the players had to go to their runways and the referees went inside the goal nets so they would not get hit.



I of course kept mine and have it in my man cave.

Mike Lange retiring from Penguins play-by-play duties 33m
Click to expand...
Sad. But not unexpected . "Aw call Arnold Slick from Turtle Crick" .
Loved telling my young son that one while we were listening/watching during the games since we were from there.... We always loved that one !
Never met Arnold though ...
 
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My fav memory will be his pre-game for game 6 of the finals in 91'. Everyone was nervous. It was a tight series and the Pens weren't established as great yet. Nobody was super confident and everyone was questiining if Mario was healthy or weather he could get us over the top.

"Paul, I saw the big guy in the training room this morning and asked him "Are you ready?" He just looked at me. He had that look in his eye. That look that gets just before he's about to do something special."

I went from being nervous to being more giddy than I had ever been in my life. Mario was about to carry us to the promised land. What a glorious night. I have it all on tape. Even the post game.
 
Josh Zatkoff will be taking over the full-time duties, which I think is a great pick.

However, I want to get the board’s opinion on something: should certain phrases (“hockey night in Pittsburgh,” “Elvis has just left the building”) be passed down and continued to be used or should they be kept exclusively with Mike Lange? Obviously if Zatkoff uses them, he would’ve gotten Lange’s blessing. I’m on the fence…
 
HailToPitt725 said:
Josh Zatkoff will be taking over the full-time duties, which I think is a great pick.

However, I want to get the board’s opinion on something: should certain phrases (“hockey night in Pittsburgh,” “Elvis has just left the building”) be passed down and continued to be used or should they be kept exclusively with Mike Lange? Obviously if Zatkoff uses them, he would’ve gotten Lange’s blessing. I’m on the fence…
Click to expand...
Would probably seem awkward coming from someone else.
 
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HailToPitt725 said:
Josh Zatkoff will be taking over the full-time duties, which I think is a great pick.

However, I want to get the board’s opinion on something: should certain phrases (“hockey night in Pittsburgh,” “Elvis has just left the building”) be passed down and continued to be used or should they be kept exclusively with Mike Lange? Obviously if Zatkoff uses them, he would’ve gotten Lange’s blessing. I’m on the fence…
Click to expand...
Those belong to Lange, not the Pens so no. Let the new announcer do his own thing.
 
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He definitely was the best!!
A fitting tribute to Mike Lange, is that there are probably 30 posts in this thread, and not a single negative one about Mike Lange.
That is an accomplishment that only the very best can achieve 😊
 
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