Mike Lange, the renowned former voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team and a Hockey Hall of Famer, died Wednesday night at age 76. The Penguins announced Lange's death in a statement that called the longtime broadcaster "a wordsmith — a legend behind the mic."
"The Penguins organization joins the family, friends and fans of legendary broadcaster Mike Lange as we mourn his passing and remember his remarkable life," the team said, noting that Lange had called all of the team's five Stanley Cup championship games.
Through his decades-long career, Lange became known for his goal calls, quirky catchphrases and colorful play-by-play announcing that, according to the team in its statement, "brought Penguins hockey to life."
" ... His unique one-liners and knack for anticipating game-changing plays set him apart from other announcers," the statement said. "Only Mike could make the biggest names in hockey seem even more magical with just his voice. ... Because of him, Hockey Nights in Pittsburgh had the entire city 'smilin’ like a butcher’s dog.'"
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 and its iconic moments from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux, his longtime running mate Jaromir Jagr and current stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
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 years, serving as the club's lead broadcaster on its television and radio networks as Pittsburgh became one of the NHL's marquee clubs.
It wasn't uncommon for Lange's calls to be mimicked by sportscasters everywhere, with former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann putting his own twist on a Lange classic by using the line “he beat him like a rented goalie” occasionally during NHL highlight packages. Lange even appeared as a broadcaster — and trotted out some of his singular sayings — in the Pittsburgh-set Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie “Sudden Death." The fictional 1995 film was set against the backdrop of a Stanley Cup matchup between the Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lange moved to the radio side full-time in 2006, calling the team's Stanley Cup wins in 2009, 2016 and 2017 before retiring in August 2021 after 46 years with the Penguins. The team honored him in October that year, which Lange noted marked his 50th in broadcasting.
“I didn’t get cheated in my quest to do what I have always loved,” Lange said in a statement that coincided with his retirement.
Lange also broadcast Pirates baseball on the former KBL sports cable network alongside longtime team broadcaster and former player Steve Blass. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lange in 2001 when he received the Foster Hewitt Award for broadcast excellence.
Cindi Lash of WESA contributed to this report.
