Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 by Matt Felser
Terrible Towels hang at halfstaff
As many sports fans have already heard, Myron Cope, iconic radio broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers died this morning at the age of 79. He was the voice of the Steelers for 34 years, up until his retirement in 2004, when his health began to decline. Cope, best known for his warbly voice and his creation of the oft-imitated Terrible Towel, began his career as a journalist, and was featured in Sports Illustrated’s list of its Top 50 Articles.
I personally recommend his autobiography, Double Yoi!, a humorous look back on his entry into sports journalism and some tales from the booth. In a chapter detailing his fondness for nicknames, Cope wrote:
Chris Fuamatu-Ma`afala? I blurted into my microphone, “The Steelers have just made their sixth-round pick. He is runnning back Chris Fuamatu of Alfalfa State!”
Of course, no such college existed, but who knew? … I thereupon announced a reasonable facsimile of his name and told our audience, “From here in, that guy is Fu.”
Tributes are beginning to pour in for the late broadcaster. The University of Pittsburgh is requesting that fans attending the mens basketball game against Cincinatti bring their Terrible Towels, and Pittsburgh radio station B94 has cued up a tribute for him that his been playing throughout the day. The audio is available below, and I apologize for B94’s selection of Daughtry as background music.
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