Rob Rossi: Cope Calls it Quits After 35 Years

What they're saying
Reaction from Tuesday's announcement that Myron Cope has retired as Steelers color analyst:

"You would have to say that in the history of Steelers lore, he is certainly the voice of the organization. There can be no question about that."
-- Chuck Noll, former Steelers coach

"For me, I think he's the best sports journalist the city has ever known. He could decipher a story -- the pros and cons of it -- as well as anybody has ever done."
-- Penguins voice Mike Lange

"You were really part of it. You were part of the team. The Terrible Towel many times got us over the goal line."
-- Dan Rooney, Steelers chairman, to Cope on a conference call

"There is no voice more identified with any team in all of sports history -- and that includes Mel Allen with the Yankees, Ernie Harwell with the Tigers, Vin Scully with the Dodgers and Johnny Most with the Celtics -- than Myron Cope with the Steelers."
-- Peter King, Sports Illustrated


Unable to Meet His High Standards in Booth, Cope Calls it Quits After 35 Years
By Rob Rossi
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Myron Cope knew sports. He knew football. He knew Steelers football. But more than anything else, Myron Cope knew how to make football, Steelers football, fun.
That will be his legacy.
That and his famous scratch-throat-voiced delivery, his unique spin on the English language and his creation of a certain piece of gold cloth.
Cope, 76, announced his retirement from the Steelers Radio Network yesterday after 35 years as the club's color commentator.

He indicated at a news conference at the Steelers' South Side practice facility that continuing health issues played a part in preventing him from broadcasting at the high standard he had maintained for most of three decades.
Currently, Cope is undergoing voice and physical therapy. Various health ailments turned the Steelers' successful 2004 campaign into what Cope termed "The worst year of my career in terms of difficulty."
Still, he stressed doctors assured him that he would be healthy enough to broadcast during the 2005 season.
But return he won't.

A conversation Cope had with former Steelers public relations director Joe Gordon at his home June 10 convinced him that his days in the radio booth should come to an end.
"Myron is a pro, his standards are so high," Gordon said. "I told him that he wasn't meeting those standards."

Cope's departure marks the end of an era in Pittsburgh broadcasting.
"He's the voice of Pittsburgh," said Karen Ellis, 48, of New Brighton. "It won't be the same, because I don't think anybody could replace him. When you think of Pittsburgh sports, you think of Myron."

Cope had always pledged to leave his radio duties behind when his skills began to noticeably diminish. Gordon, a longtime friend, tried to convince him of as much over a series of phone conversations on the days leading up to that June 10 conversation.
Once the two met face-to-face, however, Cope needed "about 10 seconds" to decide he was done.
"I'm totally OK with the decision," Cope said. "When Joe left the house, I thought about it all night. I thought about it ever since. ... I have been OK since because Joe was telling me the truth. I worked that out in my mind. Sure, I am OK with it -- totally."
Added Gordon: "I went to Myron's house that day with a very specific purpose in mind. He was very receptive, which was the only thing that mildly surprise me."

Cope leaves the Steelers as one of the most identifiable figures in their storied history. Former coach Chuck Noll, the only man in NFL history to guide his team to four Super Bowl victories, called Cope "the voice of the franchise. ... Pretty much the image of the Steelers, no question."
Cope was an acclaimed newspaper and magazine writer prior to entering the broadcasting profession in 1968, when WTAE Radio invited him to contribute a daily morning sports commentary. He started providing color commentary for Steelers games on the team's flagship radio network in 1970. Three years later, he began serving WTAE Radio as host of a nightly sports talkshow called "Myron Cope on Sports," which aired for 22 years.

His unique delivery style -- a combination of honesty and witty humor by way of a screech-fueled voice -- won over Steelers fans and Pittsburghers immediately. Cope became an instant celebrity amongst local media personalities as the Steelers rose to prominence in the NFL.
In 1975, however, Cope's professional life changed forever when he invented "The Terrible Towel" at the behest of a WTAE Radio executive. It has since become a nationally recognized good luck charm for the Steelers.

Since its inception, the Steelers estimate hundreds of thousands of "Terrible Towels" have been sold worldwide. Cope owns the trademark, which in 1996 he turned over to the Allegheny Valley School, an institution for the profoundly mentally and physically disabled. According to a spokesperson for the school, "The Terrible Towel" has brought in more than $840,000 since 1996, including $275,000 during the past year.
"It was a big thing," Noll said of Cope's cloth creation. "It became something that everybody in Pittsburgh could rally around."
Cope, who yesterday described his desire to be remembered as a writer, joked that the headline above his obituary will likely read: "Creator of Towel Dead!"
According to the Steelers, Cope will not be replaced on their broadcast team for the 2005 season. Bill Hillgrove, the Steelers Radio Network's play-by-play announcer and Cope's broadcast partner since 1994 (when he replaced the late Jack Fleming), said such a decision is a no-brainer.
"We're into uncharted territory here," an emotional Hillgrove said. "You're talking about a guy who is irreplaceable."
Or, as Gina Farzati, 27, of Beaver, said, "It's going to be hard to watch a game without him."

Staff writer Sandy Tolliver contributed to this report
Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5635.