Metropolitan King County Council 516 Third Ave., Rm. 1200 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: 206-296-1000 Toll Free: 800-325-6165 TTY/TDD: 206-296-1024 Fax: 206-296-0198 council@kingcounty.gov |
Aug. 25, 2008 Grand Salami Time: County Council honors Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Niehaus“I thank you for letting me become a member of your family”From Diego Segui to Felix Hernandez. From Ruppert Jones to Junior, the Big Unit, Edgar, Bone, A-Rod and Ichiro. From the Kingdome and “The Double” to Safeco Field and 116 wins. For 32 years, Dave Niehaus has been the link between the Seattle Mariners and baseball fans listening on their radios from Seattle to Alaska; from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to central Oregon.
Major League Baseball recognized Niehaus in July with his induction into the “Scribes and Mikemen” wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The Metropolitan King County Council today recognized the “Voice of the Mariners” for his half century of sports broadcasting and his decades of bringing magic to generations of baseball fans throughout King County and the Northwest.
“Dave Niehaus loves the players and he loves the game, but he has never forgotten that his first duty is to the fan sitting at home,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine. “To the radio listener, this excitement and wonder for our national pastime is what makes Dave Niehaus special.”
Niehaus has been at the mike for more than 4,800 Mariners games and his signature calls of “My oh My,” “It will fly, fly away,” and “Break out the rye bread and mustard Grandma, it’s grand salami time” have become part of the language of summer. Niehaus is a three time winner of the Washington State Sportscaster of the Year Award and a member of the Mariners and Washington State Halls of Fame.
“Four weeks ago in Cooperstown was a dream,” said Niehaus. “The first people that I wanted to thank early in my speech were the people of the Pacific Northwest and the people of King County, because without them, I would not have received that award. You’ve welcomed me with open arms these many, many years and that award is as much yours as it is mine.”
Niehaus also made the Council—and all Mariners fans—a promise: “Those magic moments of 1995 will return to Safeco Field. I promise you, they will return.”
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