When the Penguins open their season on Oct. 3, it will be a hockey night in Pittsburgh.
One week before the season begins, it was a nervous night in Pittsburgh for the living legend whose voice is about to return to the broadcast booth.
“Oh, I’m nervous,” Mike Lange admitted during a lengthy interview Thursday night. “I really am. I still get nervous a lot. And you know what? I’m glad I do. It’s a good thing.”
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Lange dealt with a powerful case of pneumonia last season, forcing him from the broadcast booth during the season’s final three weeks and the Penguins’ first-round dismissal to the New York Islanders.
He will return to the airwaves alongside longtime partner Phil Bourque for the final preseason game Saturday afternoon and intends on calling all of the Penguins’ home games this season, giving way to understudy Josh Getzoff in the road contests.
But how many seasons are left for the man simply known in Penguins circles as “the Hall of Famer?”
‘I’m trying to get my strength back’
The famously private Lange, 71, doesn’t necessarily enjoy talking about his health. On this night, however, he is pretty open about what he dealt with earlier this year and how he currently feels.
There is a bounce in his step these days. His voice, which didn’t sound its powerful self while he recovered over the summer, is rounding back into form.
“You know, I’m doing alright,” Lange said. “I’m just trying to get my strength back. I got whacked pretty good this time. I just hope I can get it all the way back.”
Lange doesn’t yet feel 100 percent but close enough to get back behind the microphone.
“I’m definitely doing well enough to get by,” Lange explained. “I’m going to sound like Sully (Mike Sullivan) here, but I guess you could say I’m day-to-day at the moment. Or year-to-year, in my case. Youth is such of a wonderful thing. When you’re young, you just keep going. So, it’s a slower pace for me now, but that’s OK.”
Lange took some road trips off two seasons ago, and the trend continued last season. An old friend’s schedule got his attention. Pirates legend Steve Blass, now in his final week of broadcasting baseball, stopped traveling with the team many years ago.
“Damn Blass started it,” Lange said with a chuckle. “But it’s good. Those are long nights, and I did it for a long time. It tires you out. It really does. So, I’ve slowed down my schedule. And that’s OK. It was a decision I had to make. I’ve been to every building in the league. I’ve seen all the places I wanted to see. It was time to slow down for me.”
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Lange admits that being away from the team during road trips is awkward and not ideal. He isn’t just a magnificent voice and filled with creative expressions. He’s also something of a hockey savant.
“His anticipation for the game is genius,” said Steve Mears, who is entering his third season as play-by-play broadcaster for AT&T Sports. “When I was a kid, I remember him telling us that Kevin Stevens had great jump in warmups. And Stevens would score two goals every time he said it. Stuff like that. His feel for the game is incredible.”
Not being in the building for 41 games this season is tough for Lange, but he isn’t concerned.
“My eyes tell me more than anything else,” he said. “When you’re there, when you’re in the building and watching hockey live, it’s a different animal. But I’ll rely on the 29’er (Bourque) and I promise you I’ll have still of a handle on everything. I feel good about it.”
‘It gives me chills’
Lange’s voice will still be evident, of course, but just because he’s taking 41 games off doesn’t mean he isn’t working. His mentoring never seems to end.
Mears, 39, and Getzoff, 30, are both in the process of becoming fixtures on Penguins’ broadcasts. Lange is playing a significant role in the development of Mears and Getzoff.
“When I was a kid, I was a fan of his,” Mears said. “Mike was my idol. He was my only inspiration for being in this business. I’m here because of him. But to go from having him as an idol to being someone who is a great resource is a true blessing. He’s willing to share these little pearls of wisdom. It’s amazing.”
Lange has taken both broadcasters under his wing. He sat with Mears in a private booth Wednesday night during the Penguins’ preseason game against Detroit, their bond clearly a strong one.
Getzoff and Lange now have a routine. When Getzoff broadcasts a road game, he can never wait to check his phone following the game. A text is always waiting from a certain listener.
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“And it’s always positive,” Getzoff said. “He’ll take a little jab from time to time to make me laugh. But he’s always helping me, always making suggestions. It’s unreal. This is Mike Lange. I was kind of intimidated when I first met him because of who he is in Pittsburgh, and because of who he is in the world of hockey. But he was so down to earth from my first time meeting him. All he ever does is help me.”
Lange gets a twinkle in his eye when he speaks of Mears and Getzoff.
“They make it easy,” Lange said. “When I see two young people like them, who have that desire and that passion to be successful, how do you fight that? I look at them, and I see myself as a young broadcaster. I want them to succeed, and I’ll always be there for them.”
Lange hears Mears’ million-dollar pipes and watches Getzoff’s uncommon preparation, and he knows Penguins’ broadcasts will be in good hands after he departs.
His handling of young broadcasters is a consistent one.
“This is what I do,” he said. “I pride myself on this. When I meet a young broadcaster, I always say, ‘Listen to me. I’m going to tell you something. I was once a young person in the same situation you’re in. You’re probably a little nervous. But I want you to know I’m here for you. If you have any questions, anything, even if you think they’re dumb, come to me. Nobody will ever know about it. I’ll help guide you.'”
Lange and Mears have been close for years, and the Hall of Famer very clearly has an appreciation for Getzoff, who appears to be Lange’s heir apparent in the radio booth.
“He’s just so good,” Lange said. “And I love the way he works. Reminds me of me when I was young.”
When Lange says that about you, it makes an impact.
“It gives me chills,” Getzoff said.
‘He didn’t need anyone’
Lange isn’t sure when he will retire. Could it happen at the conclusion of this season? Sure, it could, though Lange doesn’t sound eager to depart, his recent good health giving him a boost of energy.
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After all, he’s still awfully good.
Penguins broadcasters Mike Lange (left) and Phil Bourque (right) during the 2017 Stanley Cup championship parade in downtown Pittsburgh. (Charles LeClaire/USA Today)His awesome talent leaves fellow broadcasters in awe even after 45 years as the voice of the Penguins.
“There is a constellation of all-time play-by-play stars,” said Paul Steigerwald, who was Lange’s color commentator for a couple of decades before replacing him on TV broadcasts as play-by-play man. “I consider Mike Lange to be one of the biggest stars in that constellation.”
Pittsburgh is special in that it has produced two play-by-play broadcasters who have become rock stars. Lange and legendary Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince — they developed a close friendship in Prince’s later years — are two of the most original, iconic voices in the history of their profession.
“I loved the Gunner,” Lange said. “He was larger than life. He’ll always be the king. He was the most famous person I’ve ever known. I really mean that. Everywhere we went, people recognized him and wanted to be around him.”
The same could be said of Lange, of course.
It could be argued that, other than Mario Lemieux, there has never been a more important figure in franchise history.
“You have to realize how bad the Penguins were in the ’70s and ’80s, before Mario came around,” Steigerwald said. “There’s a whole generation of Penguins fans who are only fans because of Mike Lange. They were the worst team in the league, but they had the best broadcaster. People turned on the game to be there with him. He is living proof that anyone who thinks you only need a good broadcaster on a good team is wrong. But thankfully the Penguins became great in the ’90s. It gave Mike the stage he deserved.”
Mears and Steigerwald agree that, while Lange’s famous sayings are clever and helped him gain notoriety nationally, they perhaps overshadow his considerable talent.
“The way he calls games is just unmatched,” Steigerwald said. “All of the ingredients. That incredible voice. The anticipation. The feel for what’s about to happen. An amazing talent in terms of the knowledge of the game, rules, penalties, the clock. Everything. He didn’t need me, certainly. He didn’t need anyone. He literally could have called games on his own. He was that good. It’s one thing to be a good broadcaster. It’s another thing to be a folk hero. Mike Lange is a folk hero.”
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Lange’s biggest fans appreciate that he continues to be great while passing on the secrets from legends of past generations.
“Sometimes he’ll say to me, ‘The Gunner’ told me to do this, so do it this way,'” Mears said. “Think about that. Information is getting passed from Bob Prince to Mike Lange, and then I get to hear it. It’s amazing.”
‘I still get mad’
Lange has accomplished everything a broadcaster can but insists on keeping himself sharp. The kid who grew up in Sacramento, Calif., listening to San Francisco Giants games on a transistor radio under his pillow, is still trying to perfect his craft.
His mentor, Phoenix Suns broadcaster Al McCoy, is going strong at 86, so Lange hardly feels the urge to relax at 71.
“Another father to me,” Lange said. “And he’s even going to travel to all of their games this season. How about that?”
In the home games Lange broadcasts, nothing short of outstanding work is the goal.
“You judge yourself as well as you can,” Lange said. “And, to be honest, I demand excellence of myself. I still do. I continue to do that. I don’t listen to myself or listen to old broadcasts. I can pretty much tell how I’ve done just by my own feel. It’s an ongoing thing.”
Lange laughs when he thinks of the time he’s accidentally startled one of his broadcast partners. He’s had many color commentators, including Steigerwald, Bourque, Bob Errey, Eddie Olczyk and Stan Savran.
“I still get mad,” he said. “I’ve had my moments. I always tell people I’m working with, ‘If we’re ever doing a game and I get mad, it’s never your fault. Never. It’s always me.’ I will slap my hand on the desk once in a while. And it’s always me that I’m mad at. I think I’ve scared people a few times, and I never meant to. Then I have to wait until the commercial break to apologize.”
‘It will be special’
On Oct. 8, the Penguins will hold “Mike Lange Night” during a game against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG Paints Arena.
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“It’s tough to sell tickets in October,” Lange joked. “I’m sure that was part of it. Promotions help.”
Then, he turned serious.
“This really caught me off guard,” he said. “It will be special. It really does mean a lot to me.”
Lange lives for getting to know Penguins fans and is clearly excited to share his evening with the fanbase that has grown so extraordinarily during his time as the franchise’s voice.
“They’re who I love, they really are,” he said. “I’m who I am because of those people. And to get that kind of notoriety from the team, and to be able to share it with the fans, it’s just a great thing. And look at how far that fan base has come. My God.”
Lange admits that, when he first arrived in Pittsburgh in 1974, he didn’t plan on sticking around for long.
“I come from a pretty damn special place,” he said. “California, it’s great. I always figured I’d go back there.”
He did leave for a year after the Penguins filed for bankruptcy in 1975. He quickly found his way back to Western Pennsylvania and has never left.
His love affair with Pittsburgh is part of his legacy.
“It’s funny how this place grows on you,” he said. “If you’ve ever been exposed to Pittsburgh, there’s just something about it that draws you back. I wish I knew how to explain it, but it’s got that impact on you. When I was away from Pittsburgh, I wanted to come back. This is truly someplace special. I have a deep love for this city and for its people. This is home.”
He maintains a deep love for being the voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Working with Bourque is an important part of the gig.
“I love him like he’s my brother,” Lange said.
Bourque always says, in a fairly serious tone, that he doesn’t intend on letting Lange retire.
“He would say that,” Lange said. “You know, I’ve been so blessed. Mario. Sidney Crosby. Jaromir Jagr. Evgeni Malkin. My God, the players I’ve gotten to watch. And did you know, since I became the full-time play-by-play guy in Pittsburgh, the Penguins have won the Stanley Cup five times? Two other franchises (the Canadiens and Oilers) have also won it five times. That’s it. That’s the list. And we should have won six, because the ’93 team never should have lost.”
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Much like a hockey player who isn’t ready to hang up the skates, that desire to win one last championship runs deep in Lange, too.
“I’d like to do it a few more years,” Lange said. “I would. I’ll stay on the air with Bourquey for as long as I can, to be honest. I’d like to see that sixth Cup. I’d like to break that deadlock and call that game.”
(Top photo: Keith Srakocic / AP)
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