The Pittsburgh Pirates inducted Lanny Frattare into their Media Wall of Fame on Wednesday, honoring him for his 33 years of service as their play-by-play announcer.
Frattare was the voice of the Pirates from 1976 through his retirement in 2008. Only former Pirates pitcher Steve Blass, who was color analyst for 34 years, spent more time in the broadcast booth for the Pirates.
“In the proud history of the franchise, nobody has described action of Pittsburgh baseball longer than Lanny Frattare,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “With the countless number of appearances he made in the community, Lanny’s positive impact on the Pirates and the Pittsburgh community has reached far beyond the broadcast booth. It is with great honor that we are able to recognize his outstanding contribution with this tribute.”
Frattare joined Waynesburg University as an assistant professor in communications and the faculty adviser of its radio station, WCYJ-FM. He is the play-by-play announcer for the PONY League World Series and the TV voice of the West Virginia Mountaineers home baseball broadcasts on ESPN+. He also was part of the TribLive High School Sports Network’s team of broadcasters, doing play-by-play and color commentary.
The Pirates “Media Wall of Fame” is displayed in the press box at PNC Park. The initial group of honorees from 1989 included Charles “Chilly” Doyle, who covered the Pirates for the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph from 1914-57; Charley Feeney, the Hall of Fame sportswriter who covered the club for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 1966-86; Art McKennan, who was the public address announcer at Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium from 1948-86; Sally O’Leary, who was a member of the public relations staff for over 40 years; Bob Prince, the “Voice of the Pirates” from 1948-75; and Rosey Rowswell, the Pirates first radio broadcaster, who did the games from 1936-54.
In 1993, the Pirates added two more members to the Wall of Fame: Al Abrams, who served as the sports editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 1947-74; and Les Biederman, who covered the Pirates for the Pittsburgh Press from 1938-69. The most recent additions to join the “Media Wall of Fame” were Stan Savran, who spent 45 years as a broadcaster and host of SportsBeat, and Bob Smizik, who covered the Pirates as a beat writer for the Pittsburgh Press before serving as a sports columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 1993-2015.
