BREAKING: Penguins Play-By-Play Legend Mike Lange Dies
The longtime voice of hockey in Pittsburgh has gone silent.
Mike Lange, the play-by-play man for the Pittsburgh Penguins for nearly five decades, died Wednesday at age 76.
There was no immediate word on the cause of death, but health issues had been the primary reason he left the broadcast booth.
Lange, a native of Sacramento, joined the Penguins in 1974, after a stint with the San Diego Gulls of the Western Hockey League.
He left the team after one season because it was in bankruptcy and called Washington Diplomats soccer games, but returned for the 1976-77 season and never left again.
Lange became renowned both locally and around the hockey world for his creative goal calls and sayings, including “Buy Sam a drink and get his dog one, too,” “He’s smiling like a butcher’s dog,” and, after the Penguins had secured a victory, “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.”
Until the arrival of Mario Lemieux in 1984, Lange was probably the most popular member of the organization, and he is credited with keeping interest in pro hockey alive here when the Penguins weren’t doing a very good job of that.
In 2019, the Penguins honored Lange by naming the media level (press box) after him. They also had a pregame ceremony recognizing his contributions to the organization a few months after he retired.
Lange received the Foster Hewitt Award, tantamount to induction in the broadcasting wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame, in 2001.
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Goodnight Mike! ☹️
RIP Mike
A true one of a kind legend. He had already been missed. The backbone of the franchise through many a lean season RIP
I don’t know what to say. The man was just as responsible for the rise of Pittsburgh hockey in the 80s as anyone not named Mario. To say that he will be missed is an understatement. My condolences to his family and friends. A giant loss for us all. Let’s all buy Mike a drink and get his dog one, too. Here’s to you, Mike. RIP.
May God Bless you , say Hello to the Gunner.
RIP Mike. True legend!
Elvis has left the building!
RIP Mike! I met him while working at Best Buy, and he was such a nice guy, down to earth and would talk to you like he had known you for years!
No no no
So sorry to hear this. He was simply the best. I hope the team will do something to honour him when they come back.
A true master of the craft of sports broadcasting and hockey broadcasting as well. You could imagine in your mind what was happening on the ice the way he would call the action when all you had was radio, and made the crossover into TV seamlessly as well. There will never be another one like him. For sure.
Mike Lange to me, IS the Pittsburgh Penguins, in my timeline. Of course, Mario, Sid, Coffey and all the good names and all cups, Love all that, but Mike Lange… you will always be the best and always be remembered!!! Scratch god with a hack saw and buy me one too ❤️❤️
RIP. Loved that guy.
He deserves a statue at PPG. It should have been done a long time ago. No one better than Mike!!!
Yes in my opinion he saved hockey in Pittsburgh, I remember listening to games on radio( before cable) r.i.p. mike
So sad to hear this. He was simply THE BEST to ever do it.
C’mon Pens, build the F——- statue NOW!
I miss him.
God Bless Mike and his family, blood and Black and Gold!
Just too many wonderful memories to narrow it down. Part of my childhood just died as well. May you rest in peace. Forever in our hearts and never forgotten.
Goodbye Legend. Thanks for everything. You made every game worth listening.
RIP to a broadcasting legend. God must have needed a comforting voice at his side.
Oh man. Very upsetting. RIP Mike.
Crushed. Mike WAS Penguins hockey. Bob Prince…Myron Cope…Stan Savran. Never gets any easier. R.I.P. to “The Best”.
Mike I pray you’re seeing all these tributes and “Smiling like a Butcher’s dog”. We were SO BLESSED to welcome you into our radios…our homes…and our hearts–which are BROKEN tonight
My heart sank when I read this flash about his passing. A true legend, one of a kind, never to be duplicated, never to be forgotten. His quotes are infamous. May God bless you in his Kingdom.
RIP Mike your were the best and you will be missed
Just woke up at 4:33 am. Checked my phone for some reason and saw this. As a kid, I grew up listening to Mike on an old General Electric radio with an earpiece (for the west coast games, which were late at night; I wore the ear piece so my parents didn’t know I was still awake). The day he left the broadcast booth is the day I started to miss him. To honor Mr. Lange, what the Pens should do is as soon as the Pens score, before the goal horn, before anything else, they should play over the… Read more »
Another Generational Talent that Penguins fans were lucky to have. RIP Mike.
Such sad news. I grew up listening to Mike on the radio during the 80’s. When I got a little older I was out with a group of friends and Mike walked in to order takeout. We told him how our one buddy wouldn’t come out cause he was with his gf. Mike said give me the phone and told him “back in my day we used to call guys like you pw for p***y whipped” hahaha. Then he casually hung up, said goodnight to us, grabbed his takeout and went home. I’ll never forget that
RIP
Best ever. RIP.