I am a little reluctant to write this because it can’t help but come out like an obituary but I would like to share a few of my stories about Mike Lange.
I first “met” Mike before I had any idea that I would end up working in Pittsburgh.
I was working in Boston, probably mid-80’s, when a local TV sportscaster – Mike Lynch of WCVB – picked up on this guy from Pittsburgh with all these catch phrases. Especially if the Bruins didn’t have a game, he would play Penguins highlights with Mike Lange on the call.
Being from New England I was brought up as a Bruins fan and hockey fan by a couple of the great voices of hockey – Bob Wilson and Fred Cusick – and they were terrific. But this Mike Lange guy was something different. And it was fun.
I discovered there was a man in Pittsburgh named Sam who liked to drink and his dog did, too. There was another guy named Arnold Slick who lived in some place called Turtle Crick. And there was a woman who musthave always been in trouble because he often exclaimed, “Look Out Lorreta!”
Little did I know that a few years later I’d be working here and I would get to hear Mike Lange on a regular basis. I found out that he was a lot more than a voice with gimmicky catch-phrases. He called a hellluva hockey game.
Hockey play-by-play is the most hectic of radio sportscasting jobs. The action is fast-paced and, with few exceptions, non-stop. The players on the ice change constantly and so does the position of the puck. Keeping track of the players while creating an accurate picture as it’s happening is not easy. Mike Lange just made it sound easy.
Of course, besides listening to Mike I also had the pleasure of getting to know him over the years. We never worked together but our paths crossed quite often at Pens practices. You can believe it was pretty cool – and humbling – when he would strike up a conversation based on somethingI had said on the air.
What was even more humbling happened in 2009. My wife and I were tailgating before the Kenny Chesney show about a week after I’d been fired at ESPN Radio 1250 and I get a call. It’s Mike Lange. He starts out saying “I hope you don’t mind that I tracked down your number.” I started laughing. Mike Lange is taking time to call me? Of course I don’t mind!
He told me he was sorry to hear about what happened and wanted to wait a few days until things had settled down a bit so we commiserated a bit. This was while he was getting ready to call Game 5 of the Cup Final in Detroit and he took a few minutes to see how I was doing. That has always stayed with me.
One more story. Twice, I asked Mike to introduce wedding parties. Our son’s friend Corey wanted to surprise his bride who is a big Pens/Mike Lange fan and the people loved it. A few years later for our former co-worker Abbey Way who used to cover the Pens locker room got married and he did it again. When we played the recording everyone, including Abbey, started looking around because they thought Mike was in the building.
I don’t know how many other times Mike has done that but he did it as a favor for me with no hesitation. That’s just the kind of a man Mike is.
I am sorry to hear that he is retiring but Mike’s voice will never go away. I look forward to seeing him around the rink now and again and I hope to buy Mike a drink. If he brings his dog, I’ll get him one, too.