The Green Weenie doesn't go back that far in Pirate lore.
"During a 1966 game against Houston, Pirate trainer Danny Whelan screamed at Astros' pitcher Dave Giusti, "You're gonna walk him!" while waving a green rubber hot dog in the direction of the mound. Giusti, thus jinxed, indeed proceeded to walk the batter and eventually lose the game. Prince noticed this from the broadcast booth, and the next day he grilled Whelan about it on the air. And thereby the legend of the Green Weenie was born...."
(source)
I must be getting waaaaaaay to old. My mind is tricking me. Thanks for the correction on the weenie.
BTW, as soon as I brought up the green weenie thing, the Pirates lost. Oh well.
My mother, a huge fan from the 30's until her death, would never watch a game on TV...... she thought it was bad luck....... I'm nuts too....... and I love it! Go Buccos!
Have you ever noticed how many vocabulary words you learned through listening to his broadcasts? ---- sartorial splendor (referring always to travelling Sec. Rice), inclement weather, ..........and I'm having a mental block now, but there are dozens of words that I first heard from his mouth. He was the greatest, and very intelligent.
As I've said before, when he was broadcasting back in the 50's and 60's, the rain delays, with all the great stories he would tell, were better than the game itself. He was the BEST in an age of great RADIO broadcasters.
He and "The Possum", Jim Woods, were great together...........two old pros!