Famed Pirates broadcaster Frattare retires

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Lanny Frattare, noted broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has officially retired after 33 years of covering the MLB team, a co-worker says.

Greg Brown, who has worked with Frattare for 15 years, said the so-called Voice of the Pirates will no longer serve as the Pirates' play-by-play announcer for radio and TV broadcasts, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said Thursday.

"A couple of generations have grown up listening to Lanny Frattare," Brown said of Frattare's retirement announcement Wednesday. "I'm one of them. I became a Pirates fan listening to him."

Frattare, 60, said in a statement that ending his career as the longest-tenured Pirates announcer wasn't an easy decision.

"The decision to retire ... was something I have been thinking about and have discussed for some time, but (it was) a decision I did not make until after the final road trip of the season," he said. "It was a difficult and emotional decision, but, in the end, I decided it was time."

The Tribune-Review said Brown will serve as the Pirates' senior announcer starting next season.