OXON HILL, Md. (AP) – Former Oakland Athletics announcer Bill King has won the Ford C. Frick Award presented by the Hall of Fame for excellence in broadcasting.
The award was announced Wednesday at the winter meetings. King died in 2005 after 25 years of calling A’s games.
King liked to punctuate big plays with his signature exclamation of “Holy Toledo!” He also was known for his handlebar mustache and beard, making his face as well as his voice familiar with fans.
For nearly a half-century, King called games in the Bay Area. He started out as a fill-in on Giants broadcasts and later did play-by-play for the Raiders and Warriors. He joined the Athletics’ crew in 1981.
New York Mets general Sandy Alderson was the longtime GM of the A’s in the 1980s and ’90s, when the Bash Brothers rose to prominence. Alderson said he enjoyed King’s interest in sports and other fields.