The Penguins had 43 shots on goal during their game in Columbus on Sunday. The last time they had 43+ shots on the road while playing the second of back-to-back games was November 2, 2017 at Calgary in a 2-1 overtime loss. Did you also know that the win in Columbus was their first when trailing by three on the road since January 17, 2022, which was a 5-3 win in Las Vegas? Finally, did you know that was just the third all-time afternoon game between Pittsburgh and Columbus and the first since April 4, 2015? How do I know these rather intricate stats? Well, I follow the ONLY person on Twitter that would know them.
That person is Bob Grove. Bob has been on both the broadcast and journalistic side of Penguins coverage for more than three decades. He is the preeminent Penguins historian. If Bob cannot find the statistic, then it does not exist. I recently had an amazing opportunity to interview Bob. I had about a million questions, but I settled on those below. From listening to out-of-town games on AM radio growing up to how he prepares for a game and updates all of his statistics, Bob’s answers are nothing short of fascinating.
When did you start recording statistics for Penguins games?
“I began charting game-by-game numbers for the 1988-89 season with a pencil and graph paper. This included injury information, healthy scratches, roster movement, goals, assists and goalies’ shots and saves. So it was fairly rudimentary back then. The data wasn’t made available on a game-by-game basis like this by the league or the team, and I did it solely to help me think about trends that were emerging and to develop column or story ideas for the Washington Observer-Reporter.”
You were the Penguins radio pregame, intermission, and post-game host for many years. How did you get involved with that?
“The radio work was completely unexpected. They had called me back around 1999 to fill in a few times for Mark Madden as the intermission host when he was out of town, and later producer Ray Walker asked me to join Tab Douglas on a somewhat regular basis on his pre-game and post-game shows from about 2001-04. In the summer of 2005 the team asked me if I wanted to go solo for the pre-game, intermission and post-game. I thought to myself, ‘How much do I have to pay you?’ I kept my full-time job, but I worked the Pens’ broadcasts from 2005-2015, and of course I was joined later in the post-game by the Old Two-Niner. We had a blast.
I had grown up at a time when following the Pens meant listening to most games on the radio, not watching them, and I developed an affinity for listening to hockey games and would often listen to, among others, Lloyd Pettit and the Black Hawks on WMAQ, Dan Kelly and the Blues on KMOX and sometimes Gene Hart and the Flyers on WCAU when the Pens weren’t playing. I’ll never forget listening to Hart when Buffalo’s Gerry Meehan scored with :04 left to knock the FIyers out of the 1972 playoff chase and put the Penguins in. I was just fascinated by pulling in these out-of-town stations at night and remember often getting Cincinnati Stingers games from the WHA.
Of course, there were a ton of Penguins’ memories tied to the radio. I was listening when Syl Apps scored in his first game with the Pens in 1971 against Toronto, when the Pens scored 5 goals in 2:07 in 1972 against the Blues, when the Blues’ Mike Crombeen scored in double OT to knock Pens out of the 1981 playoffs. So when I had a chance to work regularly in radio, it was an honor and in many ways didn’t seem real that I was now part of an NHL broadcast. Walker helped me a lot and so did Paul Steigerwald and Mike Lange, who was nothing short of amazing in providing advice and feedback. It was the best job I ever had, probably because it never felt like a job.”
What does a typical game day look like for you as far as how you watch the game and how you record the stats you need to record?
“To formulate my posts on Twitter and Bluesky, I do most of my work the day before a game. I spend about 1.5-2 hours updating all the numbers from the previous game, then probably another 90 minutes researching and composing posts of things I find interesting. Some of them can be quirky, but I find them interesting at any rate. Then I post them on Twitter the night before as scheduled posts, set to begin one hour before the game starts, although I will adjust a couple of things if there’s news about starting goaltenders or callups or whatever. My Bluesky posts are live. I don’t track anything during a game; I’m just listening or watching. Unless I have something going on that keeps me away from the game, which is pretty rare, I post during and after the game on numbers I’m seeing or opinions I’m drawing from the game.”
How many spreadsheets do you think you have or is it one gigantic spreadsheet/database?
“OK, you made me look. . . I have more than 4,000 documents I can reference for research, a combination of spreadsheets, word documents and pdfs. Of those, there’s a group of just under 1,000 that could get updated after any game depending on what happens, although the number I wind up updating on an every-game basis or very, very regularly is about 100.”
Do you think there is anyone else out there that has the Penguins historical database that you do?
“I sort of doubt anyone out there is as nerdy as me about this stuff. I mean, I’m tracking Sid’s faceoff record against every player he’s ever taken a draw against. Which I know is a bit weird, because I’m not using the data for a story or a blog or a podcast. But one day a number of summers ago I started wondering about who he does the best (and worst) against, and when that question follows me for a few days, it’s a bad sign because it means I know I’m going to spend weeks (or months) tracking the data and creating a spreadsheet to find out. I remember reading an interview with Irish author Colum McCann where he says, ‘We write towards our obsessions.’ Since I no longer have an outlet to report on or talk about the team and have no access to players or coaches, tracking the numbers and sharing them on social media is a way for me to stay close to the team and game I love.”
What are some of the more unusual or unique things that you track?
“Some of what I guess would be considered unusual things I chart are Pens’ records with each official who has worked their games, Pens’ records against each coach they’ve ever opposed, their record playing at specific afternoon start times, a list of each player who has started a game on Crosby’s line, a spreadsheet on every shootout attempt for and against, a list of every defenseman who has started a game as Letang’s partner, a list of every 5-plus game scoring streak by a Pens’ player and a season-by-season list of Pens’ record when playing in back-to-back games.”
Does being the go-to person for Penguins historical stats come with a certain level of stress?
“Well, it’s always a compliment when anyone asks me for information and I’m happy to help. It’s fun for me to get an inquiry that takes some digging. The only thing I get a little stressed about is making sure I have it right. I do a lot of checking and double-checking, but sometimes I get something wrong, and fans on social will be quick to point it out. Pittsburgh hockey fans know their stuff. The NHL and the Penguins do a great job pushing out tons of info and they are the official sources. In the end, I’m just a guy with a computer who’s trying to put things in a historical perspective and throw out a few opinions.”
Do you ever feel like constantly updating all of these stats becomes a chore?
“There are a couple times each season where I’ll think, ‘I don’t feel like doing this again today,’ but that’s no different than things most everyone faces in their life at times. You get through it.”
You have written books on the Penguins in the past and you have a new a book coming out soon, what is it about, what is the title and where can people find it?
“Triumph Books is publishing Pittsburgh Penguins: A Curated History late this year. It will be available on their website and in local bookstores. I had a ton of fun reconnecting with former players and coaches (and some current players) in writing it, and I’m really looking forward to it hitting the market. In telling the story of the franchise, I decided to keep the focus mostly on the star players, the Stanley Cup teams and the playoff memories that get burned into your brain. For those readers who are a bit younger, I believe it will provide some good historical perspective (spoiler alert: the Penguins weren’t always good).
I also wrote Pittsburgh Penguins: The Official History of the First 30 Years (Taylor Publishing, 1997). I contributed a story on the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets to Total Hockey, Second Edition (Total Sports, 2000). I also contributed a story on Joe Mullen to The Game I’ll Never Forget (Firefly Books, 2002).”
Is there anything you’d like to add?
“Just want to say thanks for taking an interest in my work, and great to see you sharing your perspectives on your site. I’d also like to thank those fans who follow me on social media (@bobgrove91 and @bobgrove91.bsky.social) and interact there. That’s always fun for me. I also have a handle on Threads (bobgrove91), but unfortunately I often don’t have the time to post there regularly.”
So, if you want to know the last time the Penguins had a 5pm Eastern time start on a Monday or the last time they won in Calgary on a Wednesday night, take a look at Bob’s social media because you can be sure he will let you know.
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