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Date Posted: 06:56:46 11/12/08 Wed
Author: Pretzel Winner
Subject: Re: Bob and Nellie
In reply to: JM 's message, "Re: Bob and Nellie" on 15:05:37 11/11/08 Tue

I grew up listening to Ed and Wendy, and their voices were often the last I heard before drifting into dreamland. I vaguely remember Ed's illness and his final show, and was shocked to learn of his death, since I had heard him on the air just days before.

Would it be possible to learn more about the treatment he received from the brass-tards at KD? Please tell.


>Dave, I say this with all due respect because you were
>at KDKA when it happened, but the idea to fire Bob and
>Nellie started at Gateway Center. I covered the story
>when it happened and have had extensive conversations
>on and off the record with the principle characters in
>the ensuing years.
>
>Ed Wallis and Bill Hartman loathed Prince after years
>of personal conflict. They wanted not only to get him
>off the air, but also to cut his heart out and
>humiliate him. The Pirates had grown disenchanted with
>Prince because he was wandering away from the games
>and refused to heed their instructions to stay on
>topic. The Pirates were exasperated with Prince, and
>they endorsed the idea to fire him. Nellie was caught
>in the crossfire because he had been so closely
>associated with Prince. In fact, the Pirates devised
>to plan to protect Nellie. They created a job in the
>front office (speakers bureau) for him with the idea
>that he'd stay off the air for a season or two until
>the storm passed. Then they would get him back on the
>air. But Nellie was so wounded by the firing that he
>wanted nothing to do with the Pirates. The opportunity
>at Duquesne presented itself and he took it, which
>worked out well. His three daughters were all able to
>get degrees tuition-free because he was an employee.
>Nellie served Duquesne exceptionally well in multiple
>roles for more than 20 years.
>
>Prince's "angels" in the past had been general manager
>Joe L. Brown and Tom Johnson (minority partner of the
>Galbreaths in the ownership). They had always smoothed
>over the problems with KDKA. This time, though, they
>became convinced that Prince had become impossible to
>work with and they agreed that he should go. Joe Brown
>has said it was the biggest mistake he ever made, but
>Prince also said in his later years that he was so far
>out of control that he deserved to be fired. Maybe
>there was some sort of compromise available there, but
>none seemed to be evident in 1975.
>
>KDKA took some heat, but their ratings and revenue
>weren't affected. Those were the days when they were
>still getting overall shares of 25+. The Pirates took
>the biggest hit, and that was especially critical at a
>time the Steelers were taking over the town. One
>aspect they didn't consider was Prince did hundreds of
>banquets and appearances throughout the area. The
>Pirates were always represented when Prince was there.
>(Nellie also did the same thing on a smaller scale).
>They threw away that connection. A lot of players
>passed through town in the 28 years that Prince did
>the games, but the Gunner was a constant. He WAS
>Pirates baseball. They lost that connection when they
>fired him.
>
>The craziest thing about the Prince/King firings: It
>was one of the few times a broadcasting decision was
>not driven solely by dollar signs.
>
>Again, to illustrate where the power was when it came
>to Pirates radio under the terms that existed back
>then: Milo Hamilton left for Chicago after the 1979
>season. The Pirates wanted to hire John Gordon, who
>was doing the minor league games in Columbus. KDKA
>said they would not hire anyone who didn't have major
>league experience. They chose Dave Martin, who had the
>Red Sox and Indians on his resume. But Martin hadn't
>done baseball in several years and was ill-equipped
>for the job. The poor guy had vision problems and
>sometimes couldn't follow the ball. He was fired after
>one season, and Lanny became a de facto No. 1. Gordon
>got a break somewhere else and has done major league
>games since then for a number of teams. But when push
>came to shove, KDKA had the muscle to make the call.
>
>As it's noted in the photo caption, Prince got jobs
>with ABC and the Astros, but he flopped in both. ABC
>bumped him to the No. 2 team on Monday Night Baseball
>during the season (Al Michaels moved up) and the
>Astros dropped him after one season. He was
>essentially done as a baseball broadcaster. Some of
>the stuff he did after that was embarrassingly
>small-time: Penguins TV at a time when the Pens did
>not have much of a mainstream following, Carnegie
>Mellon football on WIXZ, a talk show on a "network" of
>suburban stations. KDKA and the Pirates tried to bring
>him back for a part-time role in 1985, but he was
>terminally ill and unable to work more than one
>weekend.
>
>As I'm sure you recall, Bill Hartman had a cruel
>streak. There were favorite hangouts in town where he
>used to brag openly about what talent he planned to
>fire -- and we won't even get to the appalling
>treatment of Ed King.
>
>
>
>
>
>>>>Actually, it wasn't KDKA but the Pirates who made
>the
>>>>final decision to fire Bob and Nellie. However,
>since
>>>>they were heard on KDKA, the station took the heat.
>I
>>>>was assigned to cover their tribute parade for KDKA
>>>>Radio, and I knew then-Westinghouse Area
>>>>Vice-President Ed Wallis was glued to the radio,
>>>>listening to every word. Both Bob and Nellie were
>>>>friends of mine, and I was sweating bullets, but Ed
>>>>later complimented me on the fairness of my
>coverage.
>>>>Whew!
>>
>>
>> Dave, Do you think you could enlighten us
>>as to the events that led up to and decision making
>>that led to Bob and Nellie's dismissal's. 33 years
>>later I still miss them.

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