There are so many. I remember hearing stories that a 21-year-old Vitas Gerulaitis would call Myron's show because it was "the thing to do."
But I'll give you a personal memory.
The week prior to Super Bowl XXI (Jan. 1987- Giants v. Broncos), Roy Firestone hosted Larry King's national radio show for a day.
The next-to-last hour was a forum where Firestone did a lot of impersonations- really funny stuff- and so I called him up in the last hour and asked him if he did a Myron Cope impersonation.
Firestone said he didn't- he wasn't around Pittsburgh enough to capture him.
So, the 15-year-old Pratte4Life at 2:41 a.m. says "Well, um, I kind of do one . . ."
"Please, come forth!"
And so I did an impersonation of Myron Cope selling Thorn Apple Valley Hot Dogs.
Which Firestone then said was "The Best Myron Cope Impersonation I have ever heard . . . THE ONLY Myron Cope impersonation I have ever heard!"
Unbeknownst to me, the next day or so Roy Firestone SEES Myron Cope at the pre-Super Bowl events and tells him about this.
Myron then goes on his show the next week and speaks of this person who "did an im-per-SON-AY-tion of me" and goes into a bit of detail about it. If memory serves he wanted to know who it was, asked him to come forth, and kidded he was something of a national figure.
Now, I'm absolutely in heaven. Myron Cope is a great mentor to me and I'm a devout Pittsburgh sports fan, and now PITTSBURGH SPORTS ROYALTY is talking about MY phone call with ROY FIRESTONE at THE SUPER BOWL!
And I'm 15.
The problem here was that I also am ABSOLUTELY too shy to come forth and identify myself.
Or, perhaps more importantly, my family has JUST moved 400 miles away from Pittsburgh. And you just try picking up WTAE 400 miles away from Pittsburgh.
Which I actually could do amid all the static.
Anyway, a couple of months later I gotta call up Myron- long distance- and after asking him some sort of sports discussion I tell him what I had done and . . .
"IT WAS YOU!" Myron cries happily- and then asks me to do my impersonation "RIGHT NOW!"
And I tried to do it as best I could.
"THAT WAS GOOD! THEY'VE ALL STUNK SO FAR BUT THAT WAS ONE OF THE BETTER ONES!"
I made my mentor happy!
I am really going to miss Myron Cope, but I will always cherish memories like that of him.