R.I.P. El Paso's ‘The Mouth’ Paul Strelzin Dead At 75

Paul Strelzin

Paul Strelzin, former educator, KROD Sports ESPN 600AM and KRHO-AM radio host and sports announcer who earned the nickname "The Mouth" for his antics as an announcer for the El Paso Diablos, has died.

Strelzin, a Brooklyn native, died in his sleep on Friday. He was 75, reports elpasotimes.com.  The cause of his death was not immediately known, said his daughter Sandra Strelzin Lewis. She said her father had suffered from heart problems several years ago and had to undergo quadruple bypass surgery.

"He had such a large booming voice that was so intimidating," said radio host Steve Kaplowitz. "And yet, if you peel back the layers, he was like a big teddy bear. He was a real lovable guy, and he was a guy that always wanted people to respect him for the job he did. But more than anything else, he lived for his wife and three daughters, and, later on, his grandchildren."

Strelzin came to El Paso in 1967 and began teaching in the El Paso Independent School District. He was a teacher and a coach at Hillside Elementary School, according to El Paso Times archives.

About a year after arriving in El Paso, he got his first sports announcing job handling public address at the University of Texas at El Paso track meets. In 1969, he became the Miners' football and basketball announcer.

He also announced for the Diablos, where he was nicknamed "The Mouth" for his controversial comments.

During a 1988 game against the Diablos and the Jackson Mets, El Paso Diablos runner Joe Mitchell was called out on a close play at home during the fifth inning according to El Paso Times archives.

Strelzin did not agree with the call, and he played "Three Blind Mice" at Dudley Field, which angered the umpires who ordered him to stop it. Strelzin did, Paul said, but then went on to play Linda Ronstadt's "When Will I Be Loved?" The opening lines of the song are, "I've been cheated, been mistreated."

Strelzin began hosting "Back Talk," on KROD-AM in 1999, and his controversial comments resulted in backlash from his employers and a lawsuit from lawyer Theresa Caballero in 2003. Caballero claimed Strelzin made slanderous comments about her. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2004 after the parties reached a settlement. The terms of the settlement were not made public.

He quit the radio show in 2009.

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