PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — When the Flyers open the regular season Friday night, a familiar voice will greet fans at the Wells Fargo Center. Lou Nolan is beginning his 50th year as the Flyers’ public address announcer.
He began his career in the Flyers public relations department at the team's inception in 1967 and took over public address duties in 1972.
"All I wanted to do was last a year. I was happy to get through that," Nolan told KYW Newsradio. "This is incredible. You just don’t think that things can happen like this."
As an original Flyers employee, Nolan has seen it all. His top memory? May 19, 1974, when the Flyers won the first of two consecutive Stanley Cups. Nolan recalled the moment that the Bruins' Bobby Orr picked up a holding penalty late in the third period of Game 6.
"I think the Stanley Cup win, when Orr got the penalty right near the end," he said, "and I'm thinking to myself, 'You know, we've got a shot here. We could win this game and the Cup!'"
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Positioned between the penalty boxes, Nolan for years had a unique view of hockey's biggest personalities. "I worked without glass at that time, so I was in the middle of everything that happened," he said.
"Schultz was great," Nolan said as he remembered legendary Flyers enforcer "The Hammer” Schultz. "When he would have a fight, his eyes would be like golf balls. Dave would be, by the time he got to the box, almost out of control."
Occasionally, the banter between opposing players serving penalties can be surprising to the casual fan. "Sometimes they thank the guy for the fight," Nolan said.
"Like, a young guy will thank Donald Brashear, back when he was here. 'Hey Brash, thanks for the fight. I appreciate it.' And he says, 'Sure. No problem.' It’s all set up for them to gain the reputation that they need."
Because of the pandemic, Nolan now does his work from the press level at the top of the Wells Fargo Center.
Nolan, 75, has announced goals by everyone from Bob Clarke to Claude Giroux, but his signature call began more than 20 years ago.
"Anthony Gioia, who was my boss, he called me and he said, 'We got a sponsor now for the power play. So I want you to say, 'We're going on the PECO Power Play. I said, 'Okay, fine,'" Nolan recalled. "So the first one, you know, 'Hey, we're going on the PECO Power Play.' Well, on the headset he says, 'You need more juice!'"
And so, "The Flyers are going on the PEEEEECOOOOO Power Play!" was born. "Eventually we gave it enough juice that it suddenly started to get its own life," Nolan said.
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Nolan is the longest-tenured PA announcer in the National Hockey League. "I've been lucky," he told KYW Newsradio. "I've been to two Stanley Cup parades. Taking the Stanley Cup to work? I did that when I worked for a bank. So I have – I've lived the dream a lot and it's pretty neat. But I don't take anything for granted, you know? It's a business."
"I thank all the fans for allowing me to make 50 years here and not getting booed too much," he shared. "I get 'Loooued' once in a while. But booed? As long as I don't mess up, I think I'll be okay."