Back in 1976, the Pittsburgh Pirates stunned local baseball fans and the sports community at large by firing long-time broadcaster Bob Prince. Public outcry was so great, a parade and rally were held downtown in support of “the Gunner” in an effort to pressure the Pirates into hiring him back, to no avail.
Nineteen at the time and an avid baseball fan, I was crestfallen. Listening to Prince describe the games on radio in his inimitable style was an integral part of my youth. Among my enduring memories, a family picnic at Riverview Park on Labor Day circa 1966 and playing catch with a cousin while the Gunner’s gravelly voice blared from a nearby radio.
While the recent dismissals by FSG of Penguins play-by-play announcer Steve Mears and color analyst Bob Errey didn’t hit with the same freight-train force, they came as a shock nonetheless. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised…change seems to be the watchword for the Pens these days and society in general. I grew up in a more paternalistic world where players spent their entire careers with one team and announcers for the most part did, too.
I’m not saying those days were better. Just different.
On a personal level, I thought Mears was fine. He’s knowledgeable in an understated way and possesses a smooth voice and easy delivery. Kind of like sippin’ whiskey. I confess, I found Errey a bit too bubbly and schmaltzy at times, but there’s no denying he knows the game and has a fine eye for detail. Remarkably so when it came to detecting deflections and offsides plays. And when the situation called for it, he wasn’t the least bit afraid to call a spade a spade.
To digress for a moment, these guys don’t have an easy job. They have to bring energy, positivity and insight each and every game while toeing a tightrope between being too gushy and overly critical. I can tell you from covering the Pens on a semi-professional basis it can be taxing. There are times when I really don’t feel like writing. I’m sure it’s the same for announcers. It would be doubly hard for them to cover for a lack of enthusiasm or an off night because their voices are going out over the airwaves. There’s no safe haven…nowhere to hide.
It takes a special breed to do that.
I feel especially bad for Errey. Judging by his touching, heart-rending letter to us fans, it’s clear how wedded he felt to the team and community. Since arriving in the ‘burgh as a fresh-faced, 19-year-old rookie in the fall of ’83…some 40 years ago…“Bibs” has been part of the fabric of the team in one form or another. You get the sense he has a Penguins logo tattooed over his heart. Which makes this a very painful breakup, indeed.
For those who never saw him in action, I’m going to switch tracks and describe Errey the player. On the heels of a 53-goal season in junior (fueled largely by his center Steve Yzerman), the Pens took the Montreal native with the 15th overall pick in the 1983 Entry Draft.
Any illusion that Errey’s scoring touch would translate to the NHL quickly evaporated. After managing nine goals as a rookie in ’83-84 and a paltry two assists in 16 games the following season, he was farmed out to Baltimore of the AHL.
Honestly, I thought at the time that’s the last we’d see of him.
Faced with the realization he might never make it as a goal scorer, Errey worked hard to transform. Blessed with tremendous speed and desire, he developed into a tenacious forechecker who was capable of filling a checking role. A veritable ball of energy along the lines of Brandon Tanev. By the time he rejoined the Pens during the ‘85–86 season, he’d totally remade his game.
Seeking a two-way performer for his top line, coach Gene Ubriaco slotted Errey next to Mario Lemieux and high-scoring Rob Brown. With the gritty left wing serving as the line’s defensive conscience, the trio exploded for 160 goals in ‘88–89—including a career-best 26 by Errey.
The Bibster reached the 20-goal mark in each of the next two seasons while helping the Pens to a Stanley Cup in ‘91. During the ‘92 Prince of Wales Conference Semifinals he enjoyed perhaps his finest hour. With the Pens down 3–1 to Washington and facing almost certain elimination, coach Scotty Bowman handed Errey the daunting task of shadowing feisty Dino Ciccarelli.
It was like being asked to check the Tasmanian Devil. Not only was Ciccarelli a one-man wrecking crew—he’d scored four goals in Game 4—but he was nasty to boot.
Never afraid to get his fingernails dirty, Errey dove into his assignment with unbridled enthusiasm and aggression. In Game 5, he held the Capitals’ winger without a shot on goal while scoring two huge goals of his own. With Ciccarelli completely neutralized, the Pens rallied to beat the Caps in seven games and went on to win a second Cup.
Errey was traded to Buffalo in March ’93 for defenseman Mike Ramsey. Perhaps it’s instructive and not the least bit coincidental that we stopped winning Cups after Bibs and fellow golden grinders Phil Bourque and Troy Loney departed. In many ways they were the team’s emotional pulse…its heart and soul.
That’s how I’ll remember Errey as both a player and a color man.
Heart-and-soul.
They say when a door closes, God opens a window. I pray that’s the case for Bibs and Mearsy. They’re both deserving.
I love Mears and Bob…gonna miss them