Pittsburgh Authors Profile City's Greatest Sports Broadcasters

PITTSBURGH, PA — Bob Prince. Myron Cope. Bill Hillgrove. Mike Lange. Those are some of the most illustrious names to have announced or provided context to Pittsburgh sporting events over the years, and now there is a book chronicling them and 28 of their local broadcasting brethren.

David Finoli, Pittsburgh's premier sports historian, is out with his 45th book, "Behind the Mic: Pittsburgh Greatest Sports Broadcast Journalists." The collaborative effort with fellow local writers Tom Rooney, Frank Garland and Thomas Leturgey profiles 32 play-by-play announcers, color analysts, talk show hosts and sports anchors.

"It's something that had been on the back burner for awhile," Finoli, of Monroeville, told Patch. "Tom Rooney and I had started talking about it, about what it would be like to create almost a Pittsburgh Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. This is the result."

Finoli said he enjoyed researching the project. Primarily by reviewing old newspaper clippings, he discovered facts about the legendary local broadcasters he hadn't previously known.

Take, for example, the wildly colorful late KDKA-TV sports anchor Bill Currie. In Pittsburgh, he was known for his garish sports jackets and the nicknames "The Reverend" and "Sweet Ol' Bill."

"But it turns out that at one time, he was the most popular basketball announcer in the south," Finoli said.

It's true. Before coming to Pittsburgh, Currie was the voice of the North Carolina Tar Heels and was named North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year eight times.

One of the current broadcasters profiled was current WTAE-TV anchor Andrew Stockey.

"David asked to sit down with me for a chapter. I told him I was not comfortable since I don’t consider myself part of the great pantheon of Pittsburgh sports broadcasters," Stockey said. "David reminded me that I’m not so much a legend, but the current keeper of the tradition of sports broadcasters. It was a pleasure to share my story."

The book is available on Amazon and 21-66books.com.