Sportscaster, Journalist. Born Myron Sydney Kopelman he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1951 and immediately began his sports writing career as a part-time correspondent for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Following a brief stint at the Erie Times in Erie, Pennsylvania, he returned to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a general assignment reporter. During the 1960s several of his freelance sports articles were published in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and Sports Illustrated. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Sports Illustrated selected his profile of Howard Cosell as one of the fifty best pieces ever published in the magazine. In 1968 a radio station in Pittsburgh hired him to do a brief sports show during morning commute hours. In 1970 he was hired as a color analyst for Pittsburgh Steeler radio broadcasts and he worked in that capacity until his retirement in 2005. During that time he authored several books and invented the good-luck symbol of the Steelers, the "Terrible Towel". Though his voice was not considered "radio friendly" (one description of it was "mid-range sandpaper"), Cope and his catchphrases such as "Yoi!" and "okel dokel" became part of the Pittsburgh culture. He is also acknowledged as being the creator of Steeler phrases such as "Steel Curtain" and "Immaculate Reception". His professional awards include the E.P. Dutton Prize for "Best Magazine Sports Writing in the Nation." In 2005 Cope received the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Award for "long time exceptional contributions to pro football in television and radio". That same year he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Sportscaster, Journalist. Born Myron Sydney Kopelman he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1951 and immediately began his sports writing career as a part-time correspondent for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Following a brief stint at the Erie Times in Erie, Pennsylvania, he returned to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a general assignment reporter. During the 1960s several of his freelance sports articles were published in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and Sports Illustrated. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Sports Illustrated selected his profile of Howard Cosell as one of the fifty best pieces ever published in the magazine. In 1968 a radio station in Pittsburgh hired him to do a brief sports show during morning commute hours. In 1970 he was hired as a color analyst for Pittsburgh Steeler radio broadcasts and he worked in that capacity until his retirement in 2005. During that time he authored several books and invented the good-luck symbol of the Steelers, the "Terrible Towel". Though his voice was not considered "radio friendly" (one description of it was "mid-range sandpaper"), Cope and his catchphrases such as "Yoi!" and "okel dokel" became part of the Pittsburgh culture. He is also acknowledged as being the creator of Steeler phrases such as "Steel Curtain" and "Immaculate Reception". His professional awards include the E.P. Dutton Prize for "Best Magazine Sports Writing in the Nation." In 2005 Cope received the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Award for "long time exceptional contributions to pro football in television and radio". That same year he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Bio by: Melanie
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