bill king began broadcasting a's games in 1981, coinciding with the beginning of 'billy ball' in oakland. he remained the voice of the team, with his signature exclamation 'holy toledo', for 25 years until his death in 2005. the a's responded by wearing a patch featuring that phrase, a microphone, and king's last name on their right sleeves in his memory during the 2006 season.
it's there on huston street's 2007 fleer ultra card
as well as the big hurt's 2007 upper deck card
but bob geren's 2007 topps card is the one in my binder
i can't say that i heard or knew much about king at all, but it looks to me like he fit in with the a's very well with
his handlebar mustache. he was also the voice of the oakland/los angeles raiders (1966-1992) and the golden state warriors (1962-1983) and even broadcast san francisco giants games in the late 1950's. as such, he would have called games for championship teams in each of those three major sports, and is one of only two broadcasters to have both a super bowl ring and a world series ring. king has been a finalist for the ford c. frick award seven times, but unfortunately has not yet been selected.
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