Bill King is the legendary voice of the Oakland Athletics. King, who passed away at age 78 in 2005, broadcast Athletics games for 25 seasons, beginning with the "Billy Ball" teams of the early 1980s, continuing with the "Bash Brothers" era that saw the A's make three consecutive World Series appearances from 1988-90, and completing his tenure with the talented Oakland clubs that earned four consecutive playoff berths (2000-03) earlier this decade.
With the likes of network announcers Al Michaels, John Madden, and Jon Miller counted among his great admirers, King was that rare play-by-play voice for three major sports franchises in the same market, spending 25 years with the Oakland A's along with 27 years with the Raiders and 21 years with the Warriors.
Miller, the long-time ESPN announcer, once said about King, "He's the Tony Bennett of broadcasters. They say Tony Bennett is the entertainer's entertainer. Bill is the broadcaster's broadcaster."
King's passion for painting a visual account of the action made his broadcasting style an art form. His trademark exclamatory phrase, "Holy Toledo," became a familiar part of the Bay Area sports scene for more than 40 years.