Lou Gellermann, who earned legendary status at the University of Washington on two entirely unrelated fronts, has passed away. Gellermann was 79 years old.
A member of Washington's 1958 eight-oared crew that rowed to an historic victory in the USSR, Gellermann went on to serve as the popular public address announcer at Husky Stadium, where his opening line, "Hello Dawg Fans!" is still remembered fondly.
Gellerman, born August 18, 1936, passed away on Friday, May 13.
In 1958, Gellermann and the UW varsity eight traveled to England for the Henley Royal Regatta, where the Huskies lost to the Leningrad Trud Club. A rematch was arranged and the Husky eight traveled on to Moscow, where they beat the Soviets in the first sports event ever broadcast back to the United States from behind the Iron Curtain. The victory made international news and marked one of the biggest moments in the illustrious history of UW rowing.
In 1984, the '58 crew was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame.
A Seattle native who attended Roosevelt High School, Gellermann rowed for four seasons at the UW and earned a degree in communications in 1958. He attended the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome as an alternate for the coxed four.
Gellermann served as rowing coach at the U.S. Naval Academy (his '65 freshman eight won an Intercollegiate Rowing Association championship) before returning to Seattle in 1968 to coach the freshmen for three seasons under his former UW '58 classmate, Dick Erickson. In 1969, his freshman eight finished in an unprecedented dead heat with Penn to share the IRA crown.
Also in 1968, he began a job as the UW football internal (press box) announcer before taking over as the public address announcer in 1986. He held that position (he also worked men's basketball games for many seasons) before retiring in 2007. At the start of each football and basketball game, Gellermann began with the iconic "Hello Dawg Fans," to which the fans always responded, "Hello Lou!"
Gellermann is survived by three sisters (Margaret Hays, Joan Nykreim, NancyLou Patterson), son Kurt, daughter Casey McSweyn (Matt) and grandchildren Grady and Hattie.
