PITTSBURGH — Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange, whose imaginative goal calls made his raspy voice immediately recognizable to Penguins fans for decades, has died. He was 76.
The team confirmed Lange's death Wednesday. No cause was given.
«Mike was a wordsmith — a magician behind the mic,» the Penguins said in a statement, later adding, «Only Mike could make the biggest names in hockey seem more magical with just his voice.»
Phil Bourque, a former Penguin who spent years alongside Lange in the team's radio booth, called his former partner «one of the kindest, most loyal and loving humans I've ever met.»
Lange spent nearly five decades chronicling the franchise's rise from also-ran to Stanley Cup champion five times over, his unique delivery and quirky sayings serving as the soundtrack for iconic moments from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and longtime running mate Jaromir Jagr to current stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lange in 2001 when he received the Foster Hewitt Award for broadcast excellence.
From «It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh» to «Elvis has left the building» to «he beat him like a rented mule,» Lange's distinctive turns of phrase made his voice instantly recognizable.
When Pittsburgh defeated Chicago to win a second straight Stanley Cup in 1992, Lange punctuated the title on the team's radio network by telling listeners «Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, get me the brandy.»
Born in Sacramento, California, on March 3, 1948, Lange called games in the Western Hockey League before doing a one-year stint with the Penguins in 1974. He left while the team experienced financial difficulties before returning to Pittsburgh for good in 1976. He didn't miss a single game for the next 30
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