Dave Niehaus (1935-2010) was the play-by-play commentator for the Seattle Mariners from their beginning in 1977 through the 2010 season. His optimistic style and clear love of baseball won him affection from Mariners fans despite the team’s frequent lack of success on the field. Several of his catchphrases became well known, such as “Fly away!” for home runs and "It’s grand salami time!” for a grand slam. Niehaus received multiple honors for his work. He threw the first pitch before the opening game at Safeco Field, and in 2008 he received the Ford C. Frick award for excellence in broadcasting from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. However, Niehaus considered his 2004 citation from the Washington Council of the Blind his most meaningful. After Niehaus’ passing in 2010, a section of 1st Avenue in front of Safeco Field was renamed Dave Niehaus Way and a statue of him with his microphone and scorebook was installed in the park’s concourse.

This image shows Niehaus commentating on a game during the 1980 season, with his scorebook in front of him.

Caption information source: “Niehaus, David Arnold (1935-2010), by Glenn Drosendahl, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://www.historylink.org/File/9985.

Photo caption on verso: Dave Niehaus: "I like the characters in baseball, the lore, the color. Baseball is Americana."