It’s September 11th, 1994 and the Pittsburgh Steelers have just picked up their first win of the NFL season against the Clevland Browns. “Steelers win!” a new voice yells out over the broadcast. This would be the first of hundreds of times that Bill Hillgrove would get to say that phrase, as for the next 30 years, he would serve as the official play-by-play voice of the Steelers.
After 30 years, two Super Bowls, and plenty of huge moments, the now 84-year-old has decided to hang up his microphone for good and let someone else take his position.
When asked about the reason for leaving, he essentially just said he wanted to enjoy the rest of his life and “get on the boat and enjoy the fall foliage”.
Who Will Replace Bill Hillgrove
Replacing a legend is never easy, especially when nearly half the fanbase has never heard anyone else call games. Think of it: a 40-year-old man would have been 10 years old when Hillgrove took over calling games.
There was not an immediate word as to who the replacement will be, but the team put out the following statement:
“(Bill) has played a major role in broadcasting to our amazing fans on our radio network, but he also found time to be part of so many special events since he began working alongside the great Myron Cope on the airwaves in 1994,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said. “Bill will truly be missed by Steelers Nation, but we are excited for him and his family to enjoy his retirement.”
Guessing who may take over is anyone’s guess, but the Steelers would do well to find someone who had a similiar love and knowledge of the game that Hillgrove had.
Conclusion
Bill Hillgrove’s impact on the game will be missed, but it is very understandable why he felt it was a good time to step away from the game. It feels that this offseason we’re losing quite a few legends to the game of football if also including Nick Saban, Bill Belichick, and Pete Carroll, at least in the way that we’ve seen them before.
It’s a good lesson to enjoy the sport and the personalities around the sport while we have them because once they’re gone, that part of the game goes with them.
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