Bob Prince was a radio and television sportscaster and
commentator best known for his 27-year stint as the voice of the Pittsburgh
Pirates Major League Baseball club. It was there that Prince earned
his nickname, “the Gunner”.
Prince was known for his unique style of broadcast lingo; his unusual
sayings and nicknames came to be called "Gunnerisms". His
announcing style influenced later sports broadcasters such as Chris
Berman, Mike Lange, and Myron Cope.
Prince was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and joined Rosey Rowswell
in the Pirates' broadcast booth as a commentator in 1948, taking over for
Rowswell’s duties when he died in 1955.
The “Gunner's” raspy voice, colorful vocabulary, and “everyman”
persona made him instantly popular with Pirates fans. Prince called the
Pirates from 1948 to 1975, including their World Series championship years
of 1960 and 1971.
Prince's often intentionally controversial style and fast lifestyle
landed him in hot water in 1975, and he was fired. Pirate fans, incensed
at the unceremonious dumping of their beloved “Gunner”, held a
downtown parade in his honor.
After his time with the Pirates, Prince had stints calling Houston
Astros baseball, Pittsburgh Penguins hockey and appeared on the ABC
Network's short-lived Monday Night Baseball.
Prince returned to the Pirates broadcast booth on May 3, 1985 to
announce three innings of the game between the Pirates and the Los Angeles
Dodgers. Prince, weakened from cancer, was able to announce only two
innings but was given three standing ovations by the crowd. He died of
cancer weeks later.
Bob Prince was posthumously awarded the Ford
C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster in 1986.
Among the more colorful “Gunnerisms” are:
"Kiss It Good-Bye!" Prince’s legendary home run
call and current broadcast standard
"A Dying Quail" a bloop base hit
"We had 'em all the way" a way to say that the
Pirates never trailed in a game
"Radio Ball" a fastball so fast it “could be
heard but not seen”
"The bases are F.O.B." the based are loaded
(“Full of Bucs”)
"Soup Cooler" a pitch high and inside
"Hoover" a double play in which the pirates would
“clean up” the bases
"Bloop and a Blast" a base hit and a home run,
usually late in the game when the Bucs were down by a run
In addition, Prince gave colorful nicknames to Pirate players.
Ralph Kiner: “The Alhambra Kid”
Nellie Briles: "the Rainmaker"
Manny Sanguillen: "Road Runner"
Dick Groat: “Double Dozen”
Elroy Face: “The Baron of the Bullpen”
Prince was credited with popularizing “the green weenie" - A
good luck charm Pirate fan used to jinx opposing players. The green weenie
was a rattle in the shape of a green hot dog.
Prince would end each broadcast by saying, "Good night, Mary
Edgerley, wherever you are." Though we may never know for sure who
Prince was referring to, there was a marriage notice in the May 8, 1890 Chicago
Tribune for a Mary Edgerley and a Martin Trimble.
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