While Mike Tomlin will still be on the sideline, the 2024 season will mark a new era for the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Thursday, longtime Steelers radio play-by-play announcer Bill Hillgrove announced his retirement from the role he’s occupied for the past 30 years.
“Bill Hillgrove’s contributions to both the Steelers Radio Network and the Steelers organization have spanned nearly three decades that included him serving as our play-by-play announcer for four Super Bowl appearances and countless other memorable games during his tenure,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “He has played a major role in broadcasting to our amazing fans on our radio network, but he also found time to be part of so many special events since he began working alongside the great Myron Cope on the airwaves in 1994. Bill will truly be missed by Steelers Nation, but we are excited for him and his family to enjoy his retirement.”
Rooney had handpicked Hillgrove to succeed longtime Steelers radio play-by-play announcer Jack Fleming in 1994. In addition to the legendary Cope, he has worked alongside a number of former Steelers players in the booth, including Merrill Hoge, Tunch Ilkin, and most recently Craig Wolfley and Max Starks.
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A Pittsburgh native, Hillgrove graduated from Duquesne University, where he got his start in broadcasting. The former WTAE-TV sports director and anchor has also been a staple of Pitt Panthers football and men’s basketball radio broadcasts since the late 1960s — duties that he’ll continue despite his retirement from the his role with the Steelers.
“As to the next chapter of my life, I’ll do Pitt football, and I’ll do Pitt basketball because my brother is the engineer, and we room together on the road,” Hillgrove said. “Like we did as kids growing up in Garfield, we’re sharing the same bedroom, only this one’s bigger. I have all of July almost all of August to myself now. Every once in a while if the Steelers aren’t playing on Sunday, I can get on a boat and enjoy the fall foliage at Conneaut Lake, which I was never able to do before. So it’s all very positive in that way. And frankly, my wife, Rosette, is battling depression, and she probably needs me at home more now than she ever did. So there are a lot of various forces at play here.”
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.