Unfortunately, the early part of this day will be clouded with some extremely sad news. Vince Lascheid, longtime organist for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Penguins, passed away overnight at the age of 85. He worked for the Penguins from 1970-2003, the year he was also inducted into their Hall of Fame. He was still working part-time for the Pirates, where he also started in 1970.

Lascheid will be honored by the Penguins with a moment of silence before tonight's game at Mellon Arena.

I'm sure the vast majority of you are familiar with Lascheid's work. He was the entertainment in the simpler days, before flying hot dogs and pierogi races were deemed a necessary part of the sports experience. His subtle song commentaries, like playing "Three Blind Mice" when NHL refs took the ice, were noticed....so much that the league made him stop. Of course, his art went by the wayside when the Pirates began playing player-selected at-bat songs in 1999, which meant instead of "Brian's Song," Brian Giles took the field to the Black Crowes' "Hard To Handle," and instead of the theme to "Gilligan's Island," Jose Guillen chose Led Zepplin's "Heartbreaker." But regardless of which direction pro sports teams went in for entertainment, we'll always have a soft spot in our Pittsburgh sporting memories for Vince Lascheid's work. Rest in peace.

Longtime sports organist Vince Lascheid dead at 85 [Trib]
Vince Lascheid [Ballpark Tour]

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