Hillgrove Retires (Sort of), and Other Pittsburgh Play by Play Guys

A seismic change in Pittsburgh sports broadcasting occurred recent days with the announcement that after 30 years on the job and at the age of 83, Bill Hillgrove will be retiring as the radio play-by-play voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Bartenders throughout NFL cities visited by the Steelers are in mourning, but mixologists throughout ACC cities are still secure, because Billy will remain on the job as play-by-play man for Pitt football and basketball.   Bill has been on the job at Pitt since 1969, and let me reiterate, that he is 83 years old.

My thoughts on Hillgrove have been oft expressed, and I am not going to repeat them now, but I do have a couple of questions.  

In all of the glowing tribute pieces that have been written about Hillgrove in recent days, which I have not bothered to read, were either of these two facts mentioned?

1. Was it mentioned that Hillgrove has been, shall we say, pretty much incompetent as a broadcaster for the last 15 or so years, and that he should have given up the microphone at least that long ago? ("Ben throws to Mike Wallace who crosses midfield and is  brought down by a guy in the Bengals secondary.  Check that, that was Antonio Brown, not Mike Wallace.  Oh, and the pass was incomplete.")
2. Was any mention made of Billy's escapade of a few years back when he, while drunk, went to pick up a prescription, plowed into a plate glass window, went in to the store, got his Rx, then backed his car out of the display window and drove home again while still drunk?

Just curious.

********

This prompted me to wonder who have been the best play-by-play guys on the Pittsburgh sports scene in all of history?  (Ashamed to admit that I got this idea from listening to Mark Madden, God help me.)

Anyway, here are my top five, listed alphabetically:

• Jack Fleming
• Lanny Frattare
• Mike Lange
• Bob Prince
• Joe Tucker

Maybe Bill Hillgrove would have been on this list had he retired fifteen or twenty years before slipping into what he has become. 

I recognize that no one reading this younger than me will know who Joe Tucker was (I'm sure that Mark Madden doesn't).   I also think that a guy like Steve Mears could earn his place on such a list depending on how much time he puts in in this market, but for now, That's It, That's The List.