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MARINERS BROADCASTER DAVE NIEHAUS HAS DIED

I just heard this and I tell you it feels like I just lost a family member... Dave is the only announcer I ever knew as far as professional baseball was concerned and while their are some great Hall of Fame voices in Cooperstown Dave Niehaus was the best of them all in my opinion...

I certainly wish he could have seen the team he worked for and loved for so many years win a Championship that would have been the icing on his cake...

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
 
Incredibly sad news.

Niehaus' call in 1995 when Edgar hit the double down the line to beat The Yankees is legendary.

While I was very sad waking up this morning remembering the news heard last night, this will likely not sink in until baseball begins next year. The accolades bestowed upon him in the coming days and next season will not be enough.
 
So sad...Dave was the Mariners...His "Grand Salami" phrase still rings with me. I met him in 1991 when they still had Junior and a young Alex Rodriguez. Saw Nolan Ryan pitch his last game against the Big Unit that day. They just don't have broadcasters like him anymore!

R.I.P. Dave Niehaus - now you can join Harry and company for a chorus of Take Me Out To the Ballgame.
 
Funny - in a sad way.

KVI's format change gets page after page of comments. The passing on a NW legend gets (including this one) 6 posts. The voicetracked "talents" on KVI can't wash out Niehaus' socks.

RIP, Dave ...
 
WKomm said:
Funny - in a sad way.

KVI's format change gets page after page of comments. The passing on a NW legend gets (including this one) 6 posts. The voicetracked "talents" on KVI can't wash out Niehaus' socks.

RIP, Dave ...
Click to expand...

It might be that the sudden passing of Dave Niehaus completely stunned us. There really isn't much you can say at first when you've lost such an icon. It's still sinking in......
 
WKomm said:
Funny - in a sad way.

KVI's format change gets page after page of comments. The passing on a NW legend gets (including this one) 6 posts. The voicetracked "talents" on KVI can't wash out Niehaus' socks.

RIP, Dave ...
Click to expand...

Thinking the exact same thing about the Funky Monkey thread.
 
Sad news, indeed! He will be GREATLY missed! :'(

My Dad, who passed away a few years ago, was one of Dave's biggest fans. I don't know how many times my Dad used to imitate Dave's style... My Dad always turned off the tv and turned on the radio -- if Dave wasn't doing the tv play-by-play.

"IT WILL FLY AWAY" and "MY OH MY" -- forever etched in my memory!

RIP, Dave!
 
with all the gripes, and complaints many of us opinionate about the state of radio in the northwest, lets sit back and count our blessings, and tip the hat to some of the great sportscasting legends weve all been fortunate to hear in our lifetimes, through our AM radios.

dave niehaus, pete gross, bob blackburn, and wayne cody. decades of great NW sports broadcasting, go into our memory books. rest in peace gentlemen............

-scott "my oh my, weve lost em all"
 
Well said Scott. To this day I miss Pete Gross and now Niehaus. Blackburn was really before my time, but of the same stature. Seattle had three of the best in three different sports.

Formats come and go and get a lot of talk, but in the end radio is about people. It is easy to give your opinion about stations and formats. Rest in peace has good meaning here. Maybe the lack of posts is fitting...a moment to reflect, rather than comment. Rare these days.

RIP Dave
 
radioguy123 said:
Well said Scott. To this day I miss Pete Gross and now Niehaus. Blackburn was really before my time, but of the same stature. Seattle had three of the best in three different sports.

Formats come and go and get a lot of talk, but in the end radio is about people. It is easy to give your opinion about stations and formats. Rest in peace has good meaning here. Maybe the lack of posts is fitting...a moment to reflect, rather than comment. Rare these days.

RIP Dave
Click to expand...

True. Seattle has a history of great sportscasters. Leo Lassen was a star in the old Pacific Coast League in the 40's and 50's. The 60's brought Keith Jackson to Seattle, followed by Bruce King. Bob Blackburn was the original Sonics voice and lasted through most of the franchise history, only to be replaced by another fantastic play by play man, Kevin Calabro. Pete Gross was an acquired taste, but in retrospect, a real good broadcaster. But Niehaus was simply superb. Fantastic voice, great story-telling ability, and a real passion for the game. I agree, Seattle is lucky to have experienced such great talent.

As a sidelight...in the 70's into the early 80's, the west coast had an incredible line-up of NBA announcers. LA Lakers with Chick Hearn, Golden State with Bill King, Portland with Bill Schonely, and Seattle with Bob Blackburn. Doesn't get much better than that!
 
searadiofreak said:
radioguy123 said:
Well said Scott. To this day I miss Pete Gross and now Niehaus. Blackburn was really before my time, but of the same stature. Seattle had three of the best in three different sports.

Formats come and go and get a lot of talk, but in the end radio is about people. It is easy to give your opinion about stations and formats. Rest in peace has good meaning here. Maybe the lack of posts is fitting...a moment to reflect, rather than comment. Rare these days.

RIP Dave
Click to expand...

True. Seattle has a history of great sportscasters. Leo Lassen was a star in the old Pacific Coast League in the 40's and 50's. The 60's brought Keith Jackson to Seattle, followed by Bruce King. Bob Blackburn was the original Sonics voice and lasted through most of the franchise history, only to be replaced by another fantastic play by play man, Kevin Calabro. Pete Gross was an acquired taste, but in retrospect, a real good broadcaster. But Niehaus was simply superb. Fantastic voice, great story-telling ability, and a real passion for the game. I agree, Seattle is lucky to have experienced such great talent.

As a sidelight...in the 70's into the early 80's, the west coast had an incredible line-up of NBA announcers. LA Lakers with Chick Hearn, Golden State with Bill King, Portland with Bill Schonely, and Seattle with Bob Blackburn. Doesn't get much better than that!
Click to expand...

Hey! Don't forget Bill O'Mara. He opened the door for everybody.
 
What is Kevin Calabro doing these days? I would take his silky smooth voice over that annoying Sims dude... When I listen to him call a game there is always a point where I want to reach through my radio or television and choke him to death... Even worse than Mr. Obvious Ron Fairly....
 
You may have missed this, since "nobody" listens to AM anymore, but Kevin Calabro is the 3-6pm talent on KIRO-AM. 710 on the dial. You may have run across it a time or two.
 
True local radio talent is growing in short supply. Radio in so many ways has become junior television. Web cams in the C.R. and such makes some of these air people just plain lazy at the mic. In sports play by play, Pete Gross could take a simply awful Seahawks game (and their were many) where the score is 61-10 and make a paltry 8 yard gain sound exciting, like it was a Superbowl play.. Niehaus could do the same but with Baseball you have soooo much dead space your play by play has to be filled with far more material than just trivia and nickknacks. Listening to Dave was sort of like sitting in your living room listening to your wise old dad..
 
I read somewhere that Dave had been dealing with some health issues recently. I don't know the details but early last season when he did pre-game live on TV, his hands were visibly shaking. Pretty soon they changed from doing a stand up to him sitting, hands planted on the table. Made me feel horrible to see an icon apparently slip a bit. I feel worse with him gone.

A few observations.

Listening to early PBP from Niehaus, when he was much younger and pre raspy-voiced, he was good from the start. His style aged well, IMO.

During listener call-ins to KIRO, it was wild how many guys called into imitate Dave's calls. At first I thought it was a bit irreverent but quickly changed to seeing how he affected Mariner fans. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

And the height of irony - as I write this with "Almost Live" on, the guest on a baseball skit is Niehaus doing his famous Edgar call. My oh my ...
 
WKomm said:
During listener call-ins to KIRO, it was wild how many guys called into imitate Dave's calls. At first I thought it was a bit irreverent but quickly changed to seeing how he affected Mariner fans. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
Click to expand...

If my Dad were still around, I'm sure he would have been one of KIRO's call-ins, "MY OH MY"!
 
Dave was the greatest, just too bad the M's never made it to the WS while he was alive. It's pretty fitting, though, that he was the first Mariner in the baseball HOF.
 
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