Penguins honor legendary broadcaster Mike Lange

If you’re a Penguins fan of any age, then most of, if not all, of your time as a fan has been graced by the local cords of the legendary Mike Lange. For 45 years, Lange has been the most recognizable voice of Penguins hockey, both on television and now on radio as the lead play-by-play announcer.

Over the course of his Hall of Fame career behind the mic, Lange has been on the call for five Stanley Cup championships and seen some of the greatest players in hockey history don the black and gold. He has called Penguins games featuring Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He was even around for the less glamorous years before Mario arrived, so it’s safe to say he has seen it all in Pittsburgh.

Prior to their game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, the Penguins held a special pregame ceremony to honor Lange and his 45 years of service to the team.

Following the tribute video, the ceremony went to ice level where team owner Mario Lemieux presented Lange with a special plaque that featured a few of Lange’s iconic sayings. Captain Sidney Crosby then joined the ceremony, skating over from the bench to present Lange with a custom Penguins jersey.

Following the gifts, Lange stepped to the mic to briefly address the crowd and everyone watching at home.

The celebration of Lange’s career did not stop with puck drop as the Penguins honored their legendary broadcast with several tributes throughout the evening. If you’re familiar with the game day experience inside PPG Paints Arena, you’ll understand the reference in the video below.

Fans who attended the game went home with a Mike Lange bobblehead figurine to commemorate the evening.

One honor many fans will not get to see, sits up high above the crowd at PPG Paints Arena. The media level at the arena has been renamed as the Mike Lange Media Level to honor the broadcast legend.

Throughout the evening, several video tributes were shown to honor Lange, from various individuals praising his career with the Penguins. His crosstown broadcasting friends Greg Brown and Steve Blass were in attendance on Tuesday night and sent their congratulation to Lange.

Fellow hockey broadcasting legend Mike “Doc” Emrick sent along a video congratulating Lange on his 45 years in the booth and even slipped in a Pirates reference like he is known to do.

It takes a special player to get his own custom goal call from Lange and Sidney Crosby is one of those players as Lange pulls out “Slap me silly, Sidney” when No. 87 finds the back of the net.

General manager and former Penguins goaltender Jim Rutherford wrapped up the tributes with his own congratulatory message.

One of things that makes Lange so unique in terms of broadcasting style are his famous “Langeisms” that he uses for goal calls. The list of “Langeisms” is long and you can probably pull many right off the top of your head without much thought. Most fans have their favorites and that includes the players.

All around, it was a special night honoring one of the most important individuals in franchise history. For a guy who never laced up skates for the team, Mike Lange has made an indelible impact on the Penguins franchise that will never be forgotten. His signature broadcast style had endeared him to Penguins fans a million times over and landed him in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Here’s to hoping he still has a few years left in the tank.