Holy Holy Toledo! Bill King is Gone at Age 78!

I just read that Bill King, a sports broadcaster in the Bay Area for almost 50 years has died following complications from hip surgery that he had. I'm totally stunned. The man seemed so completely ageless in his broadcasting and he's been a Bay Area staple for so long.

Wow.

ESPN: Longtime A's radio voice Bill King dies at 78

It was shocking news yesterday as I was talking with my fellow commuters. He was a quirky looking guy and a perky announcer. He was the Raiders in the 70s.

Another Bay Area Icon

He was great and will be missed but ageless? I was surprised to see him standing most of the time. He received an award recently and could barely make it to the stand (bad hip). He is the second sports personality that died while going in for minor (?) surgery. Dick Schapp died also from "complications". Isn't that scary?

This post has been edited by techvbjoe on Oct 19 2005, 12:11 PM

The man had such an energetic and clear way of calling games that you wouldn't have ever guessed his age just from listening to him. I didn't even know that he did Warriors games too and I remember being surprised to hear the guy calling a Raiders game when I was turning the dial one day. What a versatile ageless presence to lose.

Does anyone know how Bill King started using the phrase "Holy Toledo?" I'm curious because I've been to Toledo and lemme tell ya if you've never been there that there's not much to see there. Speaking of "Holy Toledo," Bill King just seemed to have this ability to make repeated one-liners sound like were spontaneously thought up on the spot each time.

Dick Schapp also died from complications of hip surgery. That risk from surgery is always there. Any time you cut open the human body, no matter how minor the procedure, there's always a risk that something dreadfully bad can go wrong.