Portland Trail Blazers legend Bill Schonely almost became the voice of the Seattle Mariners, according to an article by Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. The radio broadcaster who coined “Rip City” and several other phrases which live in Trail Blazers lore decades after his retirement got serious interest from Seattle’s Major League Baseball franchise during the mid-1970’s, just before the Blazers’ famous championship run.
"[Mariners President Dick Vertlieb] said, 'You're our guy, but don't say anything right now,'" says Schonely, 88, now founding broadcaster/ambassador for the Blazers and a member of the Naismith Basketball of Fame.