For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a sports broadcaster, and that's in large part because of this man. My name is Jack Hill Growth, I'm twenty five years old, and for my entire life, my grandfather has been the voice of my favorite football team, which has been pretty darn cool. Pittsburgh Stealers. Pick it to Pickens, and you have to be here now. I couldn't be more blessed to be able to sit down with him and reflect on his incredible tenure as the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hi pap Hi, Jack, fancy meeting you here?
It is It's definitely a treat. The last thirty years for you have also been a treat, a.
Treat, a good run, a blessing. To work for the Rooneyes is a privilege. The fact that they gave me the opportunity to be one of thirty two announcers on the big stage is certainly a big thing and has made my career. But you know, it's it's gone by fast. But the fact that I did four Super Bowls, a lot of guys in my position don't get that chance,
and I'm grateful for that. The only regret I have is that I'm two and two in Super Bowls, Myron was four and one and Jack Fleming was four and oh so I had some catching up to do, but unfortunately it'll be up to somebody else.
Let's go back to your formative years growing up in Garfield, growing up a Pittsburgh kid. When did you start to realize that you had a love for football in this organization?
You know, through my uncles we'd go to family gatherings and talking about the Steelers and Joe Gary and Jack Butler and Ray Matthews and that peaud my interest. You know, I always love football anyhow, but you know, as a kid who's ten or eleven years old, when your uncles are talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers and talking about them with passion, it's infectious. And it poured over me. And I was very lucky to be able to do games for a franchise I grew up rooting for.
You did games for University of Pittsburgh as well for close to two decades before the Steelers came a calling. Do you recall the first conversation, the first inclination that you had that, oh, my goodness, I might be you know, in the running to replace the great Jack Fleming.
Tony Quatrini, who's retired from the Steelers, was the sales manager at w TAE Radio. He called me and he said, Billy, I just want you to know mister Rooney keeps asking for your tape. And I said, what tape. I didn't submit a tape, and he said, well, they have a tape and they're using it to compare other tapes, and the more he hears yours, the more he likes it. And that was the first angling I said, Oh my goodness, I'm a candidate for a job that I really am
not seeking. But you know, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to become a full time play by play guy. You know, for a kid from Garfield to be able to say that, that's amazing.
And you had a ton of experience calling football games before at Pitt. But do you recall any nerves.
I did the Gene Hackman approach. Remember Hoosiers. Yeah, the baskets ten feet, the lane is fifteen, the football field is one hundred yards fifty three and change wide four downs. There wasn't a whole lot of difference, and I took that approach once I had that sudden jolt of my gosh, you're the voice for the Pittsburgh Steelers that went away long before the season started, and to be paired with Myron, who I knew from previous experience, that was a blessing too.
That was exactly where I was going with my next question. Myron Cope, that was a suddle past Beard to me.
You know, he took it to the old col throw the coal.
It could have been their business. God, what was it like working with him? You obviously had a personal relationship prior to you stepping into the stea dealer's booth. Did that make it maybe easier for you to transition on Sundays?
Yes, it did. I had a preview with Myron. First of all, the very first game I did for pitt after Ed Conway passed away, Johnny Sower was supposed to be the color man, but he had CBS commitments and so they said, well, Myron can do the game with you. And that was nineteen seventy four, So I had a little bit of an inkling in seventy four what to expect. And then in eighty three Johnny Sower had heart problems and he was not given the go by the doctors, so they put Cope in the booth with me for
that whole year and it was fun. He's unique. I've always said, you do three important things in life. You get married, you have a first son, and you meet Myron Cope. And I was blessed to be in all those positions.
I remember the time I met Myron Cope. It's clears day. I was like five years old. He looked down at me, made a wise crack about how I had hair and he didn't, and he tried to rub his head on my head. Did any hair go up with there? And I'm just like no, and then he walked away. But yeah, definitely a unique character. Indeed, you got to work with tun Chilk in the late great Touns Chilkin for a long time too. What was that experience like, Well, he.
Saw the game from an offensive lineman's perspective, as does Craig wolf Lee. They played the game at a high level for a long period of time, and they made me understand that the wins and losses are just about a direct result in football of what's going on up front and whoever wins that battle at the line of scrimmage's chances are, I don't care how many skilled people you have, how accurate your quarterback is, sooner or later, you win a football game. Up front, And they taught me that.
You talked a little bit earlier too, about the fact that you got to call four Super Bowls. Did they feel any different than maybe previous ones or is it just one of those things where it just kind of has the same feeling going into it, a big game kind of feeling.
Well, I guess I talked myself into that, you know the fact that now that the stage is bigger, don't let it bother you, don't let it be become an impediment, don't let it be in your way. And you know that certainly was it, you know, the first four Super Bowls when the Steelers had, to me the greatest dynasty in the history of sports. I was always left back at the station, and so the other guys would get to go cover the Steelers in Miami or Pasadena or
whatever they played. So I had to stay back and I missed those, And so I guess the Lord stepped in and said, Okay, we're going to make that up for you, and you're going to get to do them yourselves. And it started with Super Bowl thirty in sun Devil Stadium. Cope and I took a cab to the stadium and as we get out of the cab, a voice behind us yelled, they'll let anybody in this place. And we turn around and it's Chuck Nole and that memory the fact that they wouldn't let us in the booth until
later in the week. And when we got to the booth, it was hermetically sealed. It was all encased in glass, and Myron objected. He complained to Joe Brown of the league office, and I thought to myself, you know, of the leagues one hundred and twenty five priorities, you're number one twenty six. But sure enough, we walk into the booth game day and they have half of the glass removed. Well, it turns out it was my half and not his,
and we got a chuckle over that. But right before the game started, I heard a voice behind us, mister Cope, is everything in this booth to your liking? And I turned around and it's the commissioner of the National Football League, Paul taglia booth. And I said to myself, Cope swings a heavy stick and he got the league's attention, but it just didn't work out for his benefit. It worked out for mine.
Well. You remember about the two Super Bowls that the Steelers won in Detroit and in Super Bowl forty in Super Bowl forty three as well.
Detroit. Great memory for the week up there. We spent in Pontiac and going back and forth to Detroit. I saw one Seahawks shirt the whole week. That was impressive. And then coming back after the game, the line at the Ohio Turnpike and the toll booth operators looking like, my god, I've never seen anything like this. And I think a lot of Steeler fans, even though they didn't have tickets to the game, went to Detroit just to
be part of the Steelers nation. And of course the Jerome Bettis angle, the fact that they'd go to run on the field and Jerome's running out there and he realizes he's by himself. You see Joey Porter holding back all the teammates. That was pretty special. The special thing about Super Bowl forty three was Ben and how he responded to the fact that the Cardinals had gone ahead
two minutes and change. There was a holding call and every pass he threw on that series was on the Steeler player's hands, and the one that should have been cut was on the left side of the end zone, and he went right back to Santonio in the right side of the end zone. And to me, that was a pretty special moment.
Yeah, it's a call that's gonna live in the annals of Steeler's history, probably for the rest of time. Talk about that play, how you saw it, and ultimately you know, giving us the call that Steelers fans everywhere know and have known for a long time.
One of my mentors, Ed Conway, always told me, watch the official. I'm at Raymond James. I'm at the other end of the field and on the other side of the field. I couldn't even see at Santonio, let alone his feet. But when I saw that official bring those hands up to his waist, I knew they were going up here, and I called touchdown. And I was very fortunate to trust my instincts in that regard. But that to me was a great play, one of the greatest in Steeler's history. But the fact that I was even
an indirect part of it was also a thrill. He scrambles around, throws it back corner of the end zone. Santonio with a touchdown.
Santonio, I don't know how.
We did it.
You think, are there any other moments from games that maybe not have been in the Super Bowl that stick out to you as you know, memorable moments for you in your career.
Ah gosh. Away from the football field, I secretly put a ball in my bag to bring to the game where the bus ran over Brian Erlacker, and after the game, I want to get him to sign it, but they don't like us to approach the athletes directly. They like us to go through the channels. I needed to get this ball signed, and so I kind of stood in front of the bus and my bag and I got the ball out. He saw me pull that ball out.
He pushed me aside. He said, hey, we're family, give me a pen out sign that you know, and those special moments are really easily recalled and enjoyable to this day.
Speaking of family, you've got to share a lot of moments in the press box with my dad, your son with me as I grew up, us helping you out, spotting, you know, do whatever we need to do to make sure that you get the call right. What was that like for you?
It begs the question is the world ready for three generations of hill growth? And I'm not sure about that, but there is so much fun. You know. You started when you were eight years old. You were assistant spotter, and then you of course grew into the main role. But I remember, and I was so pleased when you, at the age of fourteen, said hey, Pat, I think I want to do what you do. And that made me very very happy. And you make me happy.
You make me happy. Here we are, Hey, all these years later, what did the fans add to your experience as the voice of the Steelers? I mean everybody you know, and I'm in this camp too. I think they're the best fans in all sports.
I'm a little bit like the players. I feed off the fans, you know, as the play by play guy. They are unique. The most unique NFL franchise, Steelers Nation is it's the It's almost hard to find, but we see it when we travel because we go to a hotel and whether it's on the West Coast or in Florida, and they have to put stanchions up and have security people to keep the fans away from the players so they can get on the elevators to go up to
their rooms. There's nothing like it elsewhere in the National Football League, but most of it is very, very pleasant and very rewarding.
Do you have a final message to the fans, the organization, the Rooney family for the last three decades.
Two words, thank you.