of the Pirates as a championship-caliber team. Indeed, it was roughly halfway through Woods's debut season when Prince—inspired by Pittsburgh's dramatically improved showing after nearly a decade mired deep in the National League's second division—first dubbed Forbes Field "The House of Thrills." It was Woods who first referred to Prince as "The Gunner." Some say this was because of his staccato, rapid-fire style, others claim it was the result of an incident with a jealous, gun-toting husband. Woods allegedly recounted to an interviewer in Cleveland that two decades ago, during Woods' first spring-training with the Pirates in Fort Myers, Florida (1958), Prince had had a narrow escape from an encounter with a jealous husband who was packing a gun. To be sure, no one bled black and gold like Prince did before or since. Invariably, when his Buccos were trailing in the late innings by two runs, he'd say, "We need a bloop and a blast!" If calling for three runs, he would say, "We need a bleeder, a bloop and a blast!" His partisanship slipped over into Woods' style as well, and by the mid-'60s, The Possum would be announcing the presence of pinch-hitter (and reserve catcher) Jesse Gonder with, "Let's go up yonder with Jesse Gonder." (The two would continue working together through the season, after which the flagship station KDKA refused to match a higher salary offer from KMOX in St. Louis for Woods to join Jack Buck in the Cardinals' booth; that partnership only lasted two seasons.) Prince was more of a rooter than a homer, in that he always showed respect to opponents and the game alike. Like the vast majority of broadcasters of his time, he rarely second-guessed players or managers. He was especially close friends with Milwaukee Braves pitchers Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette. Prince would reunite with Woods on two separate occasions for the USA Network. The first was on July 26, 1979 for a game between the Pirates and Cincinnati Reds in Pittsburgh. The second occasion was on August 28, 1980 for another Pirates game in Pittsburgh against the Reds. "The Green Weenie" In 1966, Prince popularized a good-luck charm known as the Green Weenie, a plastic rattle in the shape of an oversized green pickle that Pirates fans used to jinx opponents. "Never underestimate the power of the Green Weenie," he liked to assure listeners. At the height of the