[As mentioned below, Mr. Cope spent a large portion of his speech stumping for Andy Russell's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame...Mr. Russell's absence is one of a number of egregious errors that should be corrected by the HOF. L.C. Greenwood, Donnie Shell and Jack Butler also deserve to be so honored.]
By Rick Starr
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Media Service
Sunday, August 7, 2005
CANTON, Ohio -- For the first time in his career, Myron Cope got the hook.
Six weeks after throwing in the towel on his radio career, Cope picked up the NFL's highest broadcasting honor.
However, he never had the chance to finish his speech or thank anybody after he was handed the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award on Saturday night at the annual enshrinees dinner.
"When I was informed I would be receiving the award, they informed me I was permitted one guest and I was told I could speak a maximum of two minutes," Cope said.
Cope then spent the next 10 minutes of his 13-minute speech campaigning for former Steelers captain Andy Russell to be inducted into the hall as a veteran who had retired more than 25 years ago.
"That's one minute," Cope said after speaking for about four minutes.
Hall of fame officials cut Cope's locally-televised acceptance speech short by playing music and finally escorted him back to his seat.
Cope, 76, served as a color analyst for Steelers football games for 35 years before announcing his retirement June 21.
Cope's screechy voice once described as landing on ears like china crashing from shelves was missing from Canton's Memorial Civic Center. Instead, he spoke in hoarse tones after battling back from a series of non-life-threatening health issues, including throat surgery.
Cope's speech ended before he had a chance to say anything about anybody other than Russell.
The Rozelle Award recognizes long-term exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football. Previous recipients of the award include television network heavyweights like Curt Gowdy, Pat Summerall, Frank Gifford, Dick Enberg and John Madden. Strangely missing from the list is Monday Night Football broadcaster Howard Cosell.
"For three and a half decades, Steelers fans have had the pleasure of listening to Cope," said presenter John L. Muhlbach, Jr., the chairman of the halls board of trustees. "His voice will live on in football lore."
Mixing witty observations with blunt honesty, Cope was honored for his unique style of describing Steelers blunders and big plays with unique words and phrases including okel-dokel, you betcha, that ain't kosher, hmm-hah, dumbkopf, yoi and double yoi.
He also invented nicknames like The Bus for Jerome Bettis and Emperor Chaz for Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll. Cope tagged the Dallas Cowboys the cryboys and the Washington Redskins the redfaces.
"Dan Marino is not the only Western Pennsylvania icon being honored this week in the hall of fame," master of ceremonies Rich Eisen said. "Myron Cope doesn't have a cookie-cutter voice, he has a voice that cuts through everything."
After Cope's speech, Eisen cracked, "Well folks, that's our show."
Cope's gold Terrible Towel became a nationwide symbol of the Steelers Super Bowl success in the late 1970s. He created it in 1975 before a game against the Baltimore Colts and gave the towels trademark to the Allegheny Valley School, a Coraopolis facility for mentally challenged youths, in 1996.
He never claimed to be an objective observer when it came to the Steelers. During Cope's tenure as a Hall of Fame selector from 1985-94, eight Steelers were voted in, including Noll and players Mean Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Mel Blount, Jack Lambert and John Henry Johnson.
The Steelers have designated their Oct. 31 (Halloween) Monday night game against the Baltimore Ravens as Myron Cope Night.
Rick Starr can be reached at rstarr@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4691.
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