term's popularity in 1966, Prince often punctuated the last out of a Bucs' victory by exclaiming, "The Great Green Weenie has done it again!" The pin's shape and color is derived from the pickle-shaped pins distributed to schoolchildren when they toured the H. J. Heinz Company factory in Pittsburgh. By late season, with the Pirates in a terrific pennant race with the Dodgers and Giants, some fans would parade a giant replica of the Green Weenie through the grandstand as a rally symbol. The hex symbol had started in the dugout with trainer Danny Whelan. Prince picked up on it and began talking about it on the broadcasts. No one thought to trademark the Green Weenie, so tens of thousands were sold in 1966, but Prince, Whelan, and the Pirates didn't profit from it. Pittsburgh finished in third place at , three games behind the league champion Dodgers; the Pirates lost their final three games, swept at home by the Giants. Later career Controversial departure from the Pirates Soon after control of the broadcasts changed from Atlantic Richfield to Westinghouse Broadcasting in 1969, Prince had personal conflicts with Westinghouse management. Pirates management often interceded to quell tensions between Prince and KDKA executives. Finally, in 1975, inexplicably, Prince and sidekick Nellie King were fired, a decision that Pirates management did not try to reverse. Pirates fans were shocked by the news. Egged on by competing radio station WEEP, hundreds of supporters held a parade and downtown rally. Several Pirates players also went to bat for him, but rehiring Prince was never a consideration. KDKA hired Milo Hamilton in December and distributed press kits at a news conference that had a cover sticker proclaiming, "The New Voice of the Pirates." Hamilton was never popular with fans and while professional, never could compare with Prince’s charisma. After his time with the Pirates, Prince had stints calling Houston Astros baseball, Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, and ABC's Monday Night Baseball. He was frustrated that ABC wouldn't let him employ his usual style, and was removed from the primary Monday night broadcast team during his first season () before being dropped altogether after the season. He also was released by the Astros after a one-year stay; he later said that Houston didn't agree with him. His work with the Penguins was a cause of consternation for hockey fans because he didn't understand the game and didn't know