View source for Bob Prince

{{Short description|American sportscaster}}
{{other people|Robert Prince}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox person
|name=Bob Prince
|image=Bob prince.jpg
|image_size=
|caption= Bob Prince
|birth_name=Robert Ferris Prince
|birth_date={{Birth date|1916|7|1|mf=y}}
|birth_place= [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1985|6|10|1916|7|1|mf=y}}
|death_place= [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|other_names = The Gunner
|resting_place=Westminster Presbyterian Church Columbarium,<ref name=sospcil>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ToMcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UWIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2774%2C1785906 |work=Pittsburgh Press |last=Smizik |first=Bob |title=They said goodbye to someone special...Bob Prince |date=June 17, 1985 |page=D1}}</ref><br>Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
|years_active= 1948–1985
|occupation  = [[Sportscaster]]
|alma_mater  = [[University of Pittsburgh]]
|spouse      = 
|parents     = 
|children    = 
}}
'''Robert Ferris Prince''' (July 1, 1916 – June 10, 1985) was an American radio and television [[sportscaster]] and commentator, best known for his 28-year stint as the voice of the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] [[Major League Baseball]] club, with whom he earned the nickname "The Gunner" and became a cultural icon in&nbsp;[[Pittsburgh]].<ref name=plabhb>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=URweAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F2MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3605%2C7342047 |work=Pittsburgh Press |last=Kohnfelder |first=Earl |title=Prince lauded as broadcaster, human being |date=June 11, 1985 |page=A1}}</ref><ref name=ppgobt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G9hRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U24DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3073%2C2296117 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |last=Golightly |first=John |title=Bob Prince dies, Bucs broadcaster |date=June 11, 1985 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=redgob>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ABAvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d6YFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5939%2C145194 |work=Reading Eagle |location=Pennsylvania |agency=news services |title=Pirates broadcaster Prince dies |date=June 11, 1985 |page=13}}</ref>

Prince was one of the most distinct and popular voices in sports broadcast history, known for his gravel voice, unabashed style and clever nicknames and phrases, which came to be known as "Gunnerisms." His unique manner influenced a number of broadcasters after him, including [[Pittsburgh Penguins]] voice [[Mike Lange]] and [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] color analyst [[Myron Cope]].

Prince called Pirates games from [[1948 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1948]] to [[1975 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1975]], including the [[World Series]] championship years of [[1960 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1960]] and [[1971 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1971]]. Nationally, he broadcast the [[1960 World Series|1960]], [[1966 World Series|1966]], and [[1971 World Series]] and the [[1965 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1965 All-Star Game]] for [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]], as well as the first season ([[1976 in baseball|1976]]) of [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]]'s ''[[Monday Night Baseball]]''. He also broadcast at different times for other Pittsburgh-area sports teams, including [[Pittsburgh Steelers|Steelers]] football and [[Pittsburgh Penguins|Penguins]] hockey.

==Early life and career==
Born in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], Prince's father was a former [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] [[Army Black Knights football|football]]  player and a career military man. An [[Military brat|Army brat]], Prince attended many schools before graduating from [[Schenley High School]] in Pittsburgh. An athlete himself, he lettered in swimming at the [[University of Pittsburgh]]. Prince worked for radio station [[WJAS]], then landed a sports show on KDKA-TV. Prince joined [[Rosey Rowswell]] in the Pirates' broadcast booth as a commentator in {{Baseball year|1948}}, and he was promoted to the top spot shortly after Rowswell's death in February 1955. He also broadcast [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] and [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]] football, [[Pittsburgh Hornets]] hockey and a [[Duquesne Dukes men's basketball|Duquesne basketball]] game in the 1950s.<ref name="TEC">{{Citation| year =1976| title =Prince Is Named To Penguin Post| publisher=The Evening Standard| url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/27964881/?terms=%22Hughes%22%20%22Pittsburgh%20Hornets%22&match=1| access-date = 13 March 2023}}</ref>
<ref name=sabrbio>{{sabrbio|0d0c3ddc|James Forr|November 12, 2013}}</ref>

As a result of his distinct voice, knowledge of baseball, and high-profile persona, Prince was very popular among Pirates supporters. Prince was a fixture on team broadcasts for three decades on&nbsp;[[KDKA (AM)|KDKA-AM]], a [[Clear-channel stations|clear channel]] radio station that could be heard throughout the eastern United States after sundown. He once claimed to have gone into the booth without anything more than a pencil, a scorecard, and his imagination; the approach of warm announcing and occasional rambling drew plenty of admiration from fans, albeit with detractors, most notably with [[Branch Rickey]], who was general manager of the Pirates in the 1950s.

A regular [[Tobacco smoking|smoker]] and social drinker, the fun-loving Prince jumped from the third floor of the [[Chase Hotel]] in St. Louis into a swimming pool in 1957, on a dare by Pirates third baseman [[Gene Freese]]. He became good friends with slugger [[Ralph Kiner]] and even formed a business to handle Kiner's business interests. Prince, who also spoke [[Spanish language|Spanish]], grew close with [[Roberto Clemente]] and was reportedly one of few people who could call him "Bob" on a regular basis. In the [[1971 World Series]], pitcher [[Bruce Kison]] had scheduled his wedding to take place after Game 7. Prince, in exchange for World Series tickets, found a way to get Kison a private jet so he could make his wedding.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bob-prince/ | title=Bob Prince – Society for American Baseball Research }}</ref>

===The Possum and The Gunner===
Many veteran observers believe Prince did his best work while paired with longtime sidekick [[Jim Woods|Jim "The Possum" Woods]] and vice versa from 1958 through 1969, which coincided with the rise of the Pirates as a championship-caliber team. Indeed, it was roughly halfway through Woods's debut season when Prince—inspired by Pittsburgh's dramatically improved showing after nearly a decade mired deep in the National League's [[second division (baseball)|second division]]—first dubbed [[Forbes Field]] "The House of Thrills."<ref>Keck, Harry (August 13, 1958). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=89477002 "Enthusiasm of the Fans Rubbing Off on the Pirates"]. ''Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph''. p.&nbsp;37. Retrieved June 8, 2022.</ref> It was Woods who first referred to Prince as "The Gunner." Some say this was because of his staccato, rapid-fire style, others claim it was the result of an incident with a jealous, gun-toting husband.<ref name=sabrbio /> Woods allegedly recounted to an interviewer in Cleveland that two decades ago, during Woods' first spring-training with the Pirates in [[Fort Myers, Florida]] (1958), Prince had had a narrow escape from an encounter with a jealous husband who was packing a gun.

To be sure, no one bled black and gold like Prince did before or since. Invariably, when his Buccos were trailing in the late innings by two runs, he'd say, "'''We need a bloop and a blast!'''" If calling for three runs, he would say, "We need a bleeder, a bloop and a blast!" He would call a great double play a “Hoover job,” and his praise of Bill Mazeroski as perhaps the finest fielding second baseman ever was evident throughout Maz's tenure with the Bucs.  His great love, appreciation and respect for Roberto Clemente represented one of the few who didn't downplay the great right fielder due to his playing for the non-elite Pittsburgh Pirates.  Unique was Prince's “excited voice,” an electrified component of his announcing which won the loyalty of Pirate fans forever.  His cleverness slipped over into Woods' style as well, and by the mid-'60s, The Possum would be announcing the presence of pinch-hitter (and reserve catcher) [[Jesse Gonder]] with, "Let's go up yonder with Jesse Gonder." (The two would continue working together through the {{Baseball year|1969}} season, after which the flagship station KDKA refused to match a higher salary offer from [[KMOX (AM)|KMOX]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] for Woods to join [[Jack Buck]] in the [[St. Louis Cardinals|Cardinals]]' booth; that partnership only lasted two seasons.) Prince was more of a rooter than a homer, in that he always showed respect to opponents and the game alike. Like the vast majority of broadcasters of his time, he rarely second-guessed players or managers. He was especially close friends with [[Milwaukee Braves]] pitchers [[Warren Spahn]] and [[Lew Burdette]].

Prince would reunite with Woods on two separate occasions for the [[USA Thursday Game of the Week|USA Network]]. The first was on July 26, 1979, for a game between the [[1979 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pirates]] and [[1979 Cincinnati Reds season|Cincinnati Reds]] in [[Three Rivers Stadium|Pittsburgh]]. The second occasion was on August 28, 1980, for another [[1980 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pirates]] game in Pittsburgh against the [[1980 Cincinnati Reds season|Reds]].

==="The Green Weenie"===
In [[1966 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1966]], Prince popularized a good-luck charm known as the [[Green Weenie]], a plastic rattle in the shape of an oversized green pickle that Pirates fans used to jinx opponents. This came when he saw trainer Danny Whelan waving one while yelling at Astros pitcher [[Dave Giusti]] that he would walk a batter (which he did) in an ensuing Pirate victory. "Never underestimate the power of the Green Weenie,"<ref>{{cite web|title = Beadhead Green Weenie|url = http://www.theflystop.com/beadhead-green-weenie|website = www.theflystop.com|access-date = 2015-05-14}}</ref> he liked to assure listeners. At the height of the term's popularity in 1966, Prince often punctuated the last out of a Bucs' victory by exclaiming, "The Great Green Weenie has done it again!" The pin's shape and color is derived from the pickle-shaped pins distributed to schoolchildren when they toured the [[H. J. Heinz Company]] factory in Pittsburgh.

By late season, with the Pirates in a terrific pennant race with the [[1966 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Dodgers]] and [[1966 San Francisco Giants season|Giants]],<ref name=wharelf>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1kcqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VE8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7436%2C5446671 |work=Pittsburgh Press |last=Biederman |first=Lester J.|title=What a relief! Bucs tied for first |date=August 29, 1966 |page=27}}</ref> some fans would parade a giant replica of the Green Weenie through the grandstand as a rally symbol. The hex symbol had started in the dugout with trainer Danny Whelan. Prince picked up on it and began talking about it on the broadcasts. No one thought to trademark the Green Weenie, so tens of thousands were sold in 1966, but Prince, Whelan, and the Pirates didn't profit from it.

Pittsburgh finished in third place at {{winning percentage|92|70|record=y}}, three games behind the league champion Dodgers;<ref name=fnlstgs>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MvcuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U08EAAAAIBAJ&pg=1632%2C1540457 |work=Pittsburgh Press |title=The Majors |agency=(final standings) |date=October 3, 1966 |page=38}}</ref> the Pirates lost their final three games, swept at home by the Giants.

==Later career==
===Controversial departure from the Pirates===
Soon after control of the broadcasts changed from [[Atlantic Richfield]] to [[Westinghouse Broadcasting]] in [[1969 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1969]], Prince had personal conflicts with Westinghouse management. Pirates management often interceded to quell tensions between Prince and KDKA executives. Finally, in 1975, inexplicably, Prince and sidekick [[Nellie King]] were fired, a decision that Pirates management did not try to reverse, with regional director of Westinghouse Broadcasting Ed Wallis being labeled as the public target for fans to draw their ire. Pirates fans were shocked by the news. Egged on by competing radio station [[WWNL|WEEP]], hundreds of supporters held a parade and downtown rally. Several Pirates players also went to bat for him, but rehiring Prince was never a consideration. KDKA hired [[Milo Hamilton]] in December and distributed press kits at a news conference that had a cover sticker proclaiming, "The New Voice of the Pirates." Hamilton was never popular with fans, later accusing Prince of badmouthing him and being "bitter". After the 1979 season, Hamilton left, calling it "living hell.” [[Lanny Frattare]] avoided the implied negativism toward Prince and worked as Hamilton's junior partner and occasional play-by-play while going on to broadcast Pirates games with some significant acceptance until 2008.

After his time with the Pirates, Prince had stints calling [[Houston Astros]] baseball (1976), [[Pittsburgh Penguins]] hockey, and [[Major League Baseball on ABC|ABC]]'s ''[[Monday Night Baseball]]''. On ABC, he was partnered with [[Warner Wolf]] and [[Bob Uecker]]. He was frustrated that ABC wouldn't let him employ his usual style (the network encouraged talking without much personality) and was removed from the primary Monday night broadcast team during his first season ({{mlby|1976}}) before being dropped altogether after the season. He also was released by the Astros after a one-year stay; he later said that Houston didn't agree with him. His work with the Penguins was a cause of consternation for hockey fans because he didn't understand the game and didn't know the Penguins' personnel. Eventually he was taken off play-by-play and re-cast as an intermission interviewer.  Eventually, he returned to Pirate baseball, thrilling his loyal fans, in [[1982 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1982]], calling a limited number of Pirates games for a cable station.

===May 3, 1985===
Three years after his return, KDKA and the Pirates decided to make Prince a member of the regular radio broadcast team in [[1985 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1985]]. Broadcaster [[Lanny Frattare]] suggested that KDKA should launch a campaign to have Prince recognized with the [[Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]]'s [[Ford Frick Award]]. At about the same time, independently, station executives Rick Starr and Chris Cross decided Prince should have a role on the radio broadcasts. The announcement came days after he had been released from a hospital for cancer treatments. Prince returned to the Pirates broadcast booth on May 3<!--, 1985--> to announce the middle three [[inning]]s of the game between the [[1985 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pirates]] and the [[1985 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]]. Weakened from [[mouth cancer]], Prince was able to announce only two innings but was given three standing ovations. The Pirates scored nine runs in the fourth, the first inning that Prince announced, one for each year of his absence from the booth. In the next inning Prince called for first baseman [[Jason Thompson (first baseman, born 1954)|Jason Thompson]] to park one "so we'll have a little bit of everything," and Thompson homered; the Pirates won&nbsp;16–2 to improve to {{winning percentage|7|13|record=y}}.

The 1985 team finished last in the [[1985 Major League Baseball season|majors]] at {{winning percentage|57|104|record=y}}. [[Willie Stargell]] had retired three years earlier, and most of the [[1979 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1979 championship team]] had disbanded. The fourth inning broadcast announced by Prince on May 3 was the fifth-most runs scored in any one inning (9) in Pirates franchise history. A commentator on [[KDKA-TV]] (Channel 2) referred to it on the 6&nbsp;p.m. news as the "last revival of the Green Weenie," Prince's good luck charm from 1966.<ref name=gundnla>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UOIhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U2IEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2895%2C1857628 |work=Pittsburgh Press |last=Hertzel |first=Bob |title=Prince of a game: Pirates gun down L.A. |date=May 4, 1985 |page=C1}}</ref><ref name=gnrcmbk>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WfMoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Pm4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4186%2C1569540 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |last=Weiskind |first=Ron |title=Gunner's comeback: How sweet it was |date=May 4, 1985 |page=19}}</ref> Prince announced a few following homestands.  Weeks later, he reported to the park for another game, but his illness forced him to go home after waiting through a long rain delay. Prince was unable to report for work again and was re-admitted to the hospital, where he died at age 68 on June&nbsp;10.<ref name=plabhb/><ref name=ppgobt/><ref name=redgob/> His brief funeral service on June 16 was attended by seven hundred.<ref name=sospcil/>

==Honors and awards==
Prince was [[Posthumous recognition|posthumously awarded]] the [[Ford C. Frick Award]] by the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] as a broadcaster in {{Baseball year|1986}}.<ref>[http://baseballhall.org/awards/frick/1985-ford-c-frick-award-winner-bob-prince 1986 Ford C. Frick Award Winner Bob Prince] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108184922/http://baseballhall.org/awards/frick/1985-ford-c-frick-award-winner-bob-prince |date=November 8, 2012 }}</ref> He also was a 1986 inductee in the [[NSSA Hall of Fame|National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame]].

Even today, his name remains synonymous with Pirates baseball including the naming of the new "Gunner's Lounge" at PNC Park in 2012.<ref>[http://eater.com/archives/2012/04/05/where-to-eat-at-pnc-park-home-of-the-pirates.php What to Eat at PNC Park, Home of the Pittsburgh Pirates - Eater<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 1999, Prince was selected for the Pride of the Pirates award, a lifetime achievement honor given annually to a member of the organization.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* O'Brien, Jim. (1998). ''We Had 'Em All the Way: Bob Prince and His Pittsburgh Pirates''. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: James P. O'Brien Publishing. {{ISBN|1-886-34803-0}}.

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball|Radio}}
* [https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/awards/frick/bob-prince Bob Prince] Ford C. Frick Award biography at the National Baseball Hall of Fame
* {{sabrbio|0d0c3ddc|James Forr|November 12, 2013}}
* {{Find a Grave|4398}}

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-media}}}}
{{succession box | before = [[Chris Schenkel]] (in [[1965 Major League Baseball season|1965]]) | title = Lead play-by-play announcer, ''[[Major League Baseball on ABC]]''| years = [[1976 Major League Baseball season|1976]]| after=[[Keith Jackson]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Pittsburgh Pirates HOF}}
{{Major League Baseball on ABC}}
{{Major League Baseball on USA}}
{{1986 Baseball HOF}}
{{Ford C. Frick Award}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Bob}}
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