His radio voice stayed strong and true until the end.
Fran Fisher, who died Wednesday night at 91, will be remembered as much for the way he embraced the Penn State community as for being the longtime voice of the Nittany Lions.
The York Daily Record reports in recent weeks he was still writing commercials and ad spots, watching spring football practice and enjoying meals with longtime friends.
Fisher joined the Penn State Football Radio Network as an analyst in 1966 — Joe Paterno's first year as head coach. He went on to call some of the Nittany Lions' most memorable victories, including the 1983 Sugar Bowl. He served as the Lions' play-by-play voice from 1970-82 and returned to the booth from 1994-99, working alongside analyst, sidekick and good friend George Paterno.
"He was around for so many great days," said former assistant coach Jay Paterno. "Every time I saw him, I felt like a piece of my uncle George or my dad was around.
Fisher actually saw his first Penn State game as a kid in 1932, watching Waynesburg upset the Lions at old Beaver Field. He attended Penn State in the 1940s and played saxophone in the Blue Band, but he never graduated after World War II took him away, according to longtime friend Lou Prato, an author and Penn State sports historian.
Fisher, a lifelong Pittsburgh Pirates fan, reportedly met Honus Wagner, saw Babe Ruth hit the final three home runs of his career at Forbes Field and worked the historic Game 7 of the 1960 World Series for a radio station in Greensburg, Pa.
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