Remembering Mike Lange

Mike Lange, was the voice of the Penguins for 46 years, calling all five of the Penguins Stanley Cup Championships. Lange touched so many, even those who never got to meet him or work alongside him. So many people, while they never had the chance to meet Lange, felt like they knew him. So many had the pleasure of listening to him call the games each night. Lange inspired so many including Andrew Kiehl and Cadeyn McCroy who attribute their career goals to wanting to be just like Lange. 

I never got the chance to meet Lange however, like so many, I felt like I knew him. I could not watch the Penguins games from Maryland growing up, I would listen to the radio broadcast every night. Even after being able to watch games, I would turn the TV on mute and turn on the radio. Lange had a passion for the game and a way of calling it that can never be replicated. 

Cadeyn McCrory is a broadcaster for the Iron City Forge and the Robert Morris club sports teams. “Lange had such an impact on the hockey world and on all of us, being around so many that were lucky enough to work alongside him, you could see the impact he had on so many. He has inspired so many people to go into the broadcasting field such as myself.” Andrew Kiehl is often right beside McCrory in the broadcast booth and has stated that he wants to be just like Lange after graduation. “Listening to Lange was inspiring to me, he is the reason why I wanted to go into the broadcasting field and for pushing me in the direction that I have gone.”

Lange was unlike any other broadcaster, he always had these sayings that he would throw in all of his broadcasts that ended up getting called “Lange-isms.” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said Lange felt like a teammate to so many in the locker room. Lange was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 for being one of the best broadcasters ever. Lange passed away this week but will continue to touch players, fans, and staff of the Penguins for years to come.