Pete Van Wieren | WTBS broadcaster, 69

Pete Van Wieren, 69, the bespectacled broadcaster who was part of the landmark team that carried Atlanta Braves games throughout the nation on Ted Turner's "SuperStation," died Saturday after a battle with cancer.

Known as "The Professor" for his encyclopedic knowledge of the game and long hours of research before each broadcast, Mr. Van Wieren spent 33 years with the Braves before retiring in 2008, shortly after the death of longtime partner Skip Caray.

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Mr. Van Wieren had been calling games for the Triple-A Tidewater Tides when the Braves hired him before the 1976 season to join a new three-man broadcast team with Caray and Ernie Johnson.

The trio would soon become known to baseball fans around the nation thanks to Turner, the team's brash owner, who began beaming games via satellite on a once-obscure Atlanta TV station. The three broadcasters were the faces and voices of the game in areas that didn't have their own local broadcasts.

Mr. Van Wieren's talents went beyond baseball. He also called NBA games on TBS and TNT.

Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Elaine, and two sons. - AP