SEATTLE -- With his grandkids crawling all over his bronzed

likeness, the Seattle Mariners honored late Hall of Fame

broadcaster Dave Niehaus on Friday with the first statue in

franchise history.

The sculpture sits on the right field concourse of Safeco Field

and the radio booth where Niehaus called hundreds of games serves

as the backdrop.

At the unveiling of a statue honoring the late Mariners play-by-play announcer Dave Niehaus, longtime broadcast partner Rick Rizzs leans down to kiss Marilyn Niehaus. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

"When I first saw the pictures of the clay version of this

amazing statue, I cried with a smile on my face," Niehaus' widow,

Marilyn, said during Friday's ceremony.

"He would be humbled by this honor," she continued. "I know

his family is."

The image created by Chicago artist Lou Cella is of Niehaus, who

was the Mariners' lead broadcaster from the first game in franchise

history through the end of the 2010 season, sitting behind a desk

wearing a headset, with a scorebook and microphone on the desktop.

There are other little features specific to the Mariners'

fixture throughout the statue. The tie around Niehaus' neck was one

of his favorites and his son Andy wore that exact tie for Friday's

ceremony.

The scorebook on the desk is open to the page of Seattle's

memorable Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees in the 1995

American League Divisional Series.

The setting also has an empty seat next to Niehaus allowing fans

to sit next to the statue, and the custom railings around the

sculpture features some of Niehaus' famous tag lines, including

"My Oh My!" and "Fly Away!"

"The thing that hit me was the word appreciation," former

Mariners catcher Dan Wilson said. "... As fans we really

appreciated how Dave could tell a story."

Niehaus died of a heart attack last November. The beloved

broadcaster was the 2008 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award and

inducted into the broadcaster's wing of the Hall of Fame.

He had called Diego Segui's first pitch in franchise history on

April 6, 1977, through the end of the 2010 season, all told 5,284

of the Mariners' 5,385 games. He helped teach the game to a region

void of the major league with the exception of the Seattle Pilots'

one-year experiment in 1969.

Adults and kids regularly tuned in on summer evenings to hear

Niehaus try to put his best spin on what were among the worst teams

in baseball during much of the club's history.

"Nobody had a better relationship with the fans than Dave,"

broadcast partner Rick Rizzs said.

The placement of the statue in right field also is a nod toward

Niehaus' affinity with the trains that would pass just outside the

stadium.

Seattle previously honored Niehaus this season with a large sign

above his press box radio booth and a patch the team has worn all

season.