Holy Toledo!
San Francisco Bay Area residents who heard Bill King on the radio during his five-decade career would have thought nothing on earth could silence the eloquent broadcaster's voice.
Nothing but death, that is.
I was driving home from a meeting today when I heard about the passing of Bill King at the age of 78, from complications following hip surgery. For nearly 50 years, King's unmistakable pipes delivered the play-by-play of Bay Area professional sports into our homes and automobiles. At one time or another, King served on the broadcast team of almost every local franchise. The radio voice of the Oakland Athletics since 1981, King was also the longtime lead broadcaster for the Oakland Raiders, and even held down a brief stint in the San Francisco Giants' booth a few decades ago.
But I remember Bill King best as the familiar voice of the Golden State Warriors, back when I first began following NBA basketball in the mid-'70s. King would never have been considered a "homer," but he had no qualms about laying into the officials when a call didn't go the way he thought it should. For Warriors fans, King was as much a part of the franchise as any player or coach. When he and the Warriors parted company in the early '80s, it was the end of an era. It might be coincidence that the W's have rarely been any good since King's departure... but it might not be.
In an era where most broadcasters are indistinguishable from one another, King was a true original. From his legendary handlebar moustache and goatee to his polysyllabic vocabulary, Bill King walked his own path and cut his own stamp into the games he covered.
Holy Toledo, we'll miss him.
Nothing but death, that is.
I was driving home from a meeting today when I heard about the passing of Bill King at the age of 78, from complications following hip surgery. For nearly 50 years, King's unmistakable pipes delivered the play-by-play of Bay Area professional sports into our homes and automobiles. At one time or another, King served on the broadcast team of almost every local franchise. The radio voice of the Oakland Athletics since 1981, King was also the longtime lead broadcaster for the Oakland Raiders, and even held down a brief stint in the San Francisco Giants' booth a few decades ago.
But I remember Bill King best as the familiar voice of the Golden State Warriors, back when I first began following NBA basketball in the mid-'70s. King would never have been considered a "homer," but he had no qualms about laying into the officials when a call didn't go the way he thought it should. For Warriors fans, King was as much a part of the franchise as any player or coach. When he and the Warriors parted company in the early '80s, it was the end of an era. It might be coincidence that the W's have rarely been any good since King's departure... but it might not be.
In an era where most broadcasters are indistinguishable from one another, King was a true original. From his legendary handlebar moustache and goatee to his polysyllabic vocabulary, Bill King walked his own path and cut his own stamp into the games he covered.
Holy Toledo, we'll miss him.
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