Legendary talk show host Larry King died Saturday at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a statement from Ora Media. The cause of death wasn’t specified.
In addition to hosting “Larry King Live” on CNN for more than 25 years, King was an avid Dodgers fan, starting out rooting for the team in his native Brooklyn and continuing his fandom in Los Angeles, where he was a longtime season ticket holder.
King also had a familial connection to the game, as his sons Chance and Cannon were selected by the White Sox in the 2017 and ’18 MLB Drafts, respectively, though neither signed with the team.
Before the Dodgers moved west, King often attended games at Ebbets Field and was even on hand when Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947.
“When he came out of the dugout, we all knew history was being made that day,” King told PBS in 2016.
Appearing on “The Dan Patrick Show” in 2017, King said he attended his first Dodgers game in 1943.
“I’ll never forget walking into Ebbets Field,” King said. “The only description I’d ever had of it was [from Dodgers broadcaster] Red Barber’s voice. I saw the game through his voice. It was incredible how green the grass was, how brown the dirt was, the white lines."
King’s favorite memory in all of his years as a Dodgers fan was watching them win a World Series title in 1955, finally defeating the rival Yankees after previously losing to them in five Fall Classics ('41, '47, '49, '52, '53).
“The Yankees had beaten us, oh they beat up on us,” King told KTLA in 2018. “And finally 1955 arrived. I was 22 years old, about to leave for Florida to break into radio. We’re playing the Yankees again. It’s the last game of the World Series, Game 7. We’re winning two to nothing in the bottom of the ninth and all Dodger fans are gathered together, as I was with many of them, listening on the radio and all saying, ‘The Yankees are going to win. The Yankees are going to win.’
“And the Dodgers got three straight outs. Johnny Podres whacked 'em down in two minutes and the game was over. Yes, 1955, the Dodgers first World Series victory, is emblazoned in my heart.”