The Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be without the services of legendary broadcaster Mike Lange for the first time since the mid-seventies. He is retiring.
After a Hall-of-Fame career and 46 years of broadcasting Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Mike Lange will be retiring from his play-by-play duties.
Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.
I don’t think it is possible for me to come up with anything new to say about Mr. Lange as a person or as a professional. He is universally loved and deservingly so. People who have had the luxury of meeting or working with him have nothing but glowing things to say about him. People like me who’s only relationship with him is through the TV/radio perceive him to be one of the best who have ever done it regardless of sport.
He called a great game. He told great stories. His goal calls are legendary. What else could you possibly want from your local play by play person. For those of us in our late thirties or older we were old enough to appreciate what was happening in real time during the Lemieux/Jagr era which in turn implies we were old enough to appreciate Mike Lange as well. People older tuned in solely for Lange as the on-ice product was subpar. People younger were also able to enjoy Mike Lange throughout this Crosby/Malkin era, but it became more difficult due to the inane decision to take Mr. Lange off of the television broadcasts.
I am not a Pittsburgh native and did not have the luxury of getting all of the Pittsburgh broadcasts when I was younger. That was until this thing called the internet became a thing. I was lucky enough to get the Penguins on ESPN quite a bit as well as all the tri-city teams on Sports Channel, but early on most of my admiration of Mike Lange came from Sportscenter highlight packages when Mario or Jaromir did something great, usually during the playoffs. The internet allowed me to find the Penguins radio broadcasts which I did frequently. When the Center Ice Package became a thing I know I am only one among many who would mute the television and try to sync up the radio call instead of the inferior TV product.
Mr. Lange’s calls were as exciting as the action preceding them. Which one would he go with next for Mario’s next goal? One of the best sites I stumbled across in the nineties was a geocities site which had sound bites of some of Mr. Lange’s goal calls. Youtube wasn’t a thing and neither was Napster, yet. Finding specific multimedia files on the internet was possible, but unlikely. Finding the geocities site was an amazing find. I’m also happy to report it is still up and running!
Some of my personal favorites were
“He beat goaltender Vanbiesbrouck like a rented mule”
“Lalime doesn’t know whether to cry or wind his watch”
“If you miss this one, shame on you for six weeks”
And of course “Heeeee shoots and scores”
Technology has obviously improved and Mr. Lange’s work can be widely enjoyed via Youtube and other sites, but a Hockey Night In Pittsburgh will never quite be the same again. Mr. Lange thank you so very much for your life’s work. You will always be cherished and your legacy left behind is unimpeachable. My love and interest in the Penguins would not have been the same in my formative years without you. Enjoy retirement and thank you for all the special memories you have given myself and so many more throughout the year.
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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