It was 1994, the telephone rang, and as he had done throughout his professional life both literally and metaphorically, Bill Hillgrove answered the call.
“At the time, Tony Quatrini was the sales manager at WTAE radio. He called me and said, ‘Mr. (Dan) Rooney keeps asking for your (audition) tape,’” said Hillgrove about that conversation. “I said to Tony that I never submitted one. He said, ‘Well, he has a tape of you, and he’s using it to compare you to the other applicants.’”
Following the 1993 NFL season, Jack Fleming’s retirement after decades as the team’s play-by-play announcer had created an opening, and the Steelers were conducting a search for his replacement. Yes, there was a job opening, but Bill Hillgrove already had a job. Several jobs, in fact.
“Maybe a week-and-a-half later, I got another call, this one from (Steelers Director of Football Operations) Tom Donahoe, who said, ‘We had a meeting last night, and things are looking good for you.’ And I thought, my goodness, I’m a candidate for a job I never applied for. Apparently, Dan Rooney listened to a few tapes and said, ‘Let’s go with Hillgrove. He’s
