Missing Bill King...

by princemilo on Oct 5, 2006 8:40 AM PDT

Last night I was re-watching the Kevin Costner flick, "For Love of the Game" with my dad -- not a great movie, but it has some good baseball moments (and some really awkward ones -- especially by the usually capable actor, John C Reilly who I just simply did not buy athletically or poetically in this role). Watching it with my dad made me appreciate the movie more than I did the first time as baseball carries tremendous significance for my Dad and I (see my site about my documentary, "Boys of Summer", http://www.baseballdoc.com, for those who want more info on that).

What really struck me about and attracted me more deeply to the movie was the voice of Vin Scully. There's a way he talks and spreads the table out before you when he's describing a moment, like an old friend who's invited you to a delicious picnic, that literally has me leaning closer to the radio (or in this case TV) when he talks. I want more.

That's how I always felt about Bill King. I know lots has been written about Bill here and the A's have done an admirable job of honoring him this year. In the midst of the A's tremendous playoff glow and physically feeling the transition to my favorite of all of the seasons, I am, once again, overwhelmed by the magic of the game.

And, breathing in this warmth, I suddenly wanted my old friend back Bill there to set the table for me. I wanted to hear Bill describe, with sharp contempt, the nasty dome. I would love to listen to what Bill has to say about the way the Big Hurt put the boys on his shoulders in game one. And I can hear him calling Kotsay rounding the bases in game two, building to a hyper-pitched but still intelligible and fascinating level of excitement punctuated by his signature (say it with me):

"Holy Toledo!" -- as Kots slid into home.

I think Bill would have been really proud of this team. I think he would have enjoyed sharing his artistic storytelling of the game with us all as he watched these muppets. I am very thankful to have had his voice in my life. I will happily hold his color, humor and intelligence in my ears for all my days.

And I say Thankya.

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me too

His voice was the sound of baseball for me, really. Because I love to listen to a game on the radio, and he was like my favorite uncle for all those games over the years, ups and downs, etc. He'd love this team...

rudi fan from reggie's regiment...

by Humboldt As Fan on Oct 5, 2006 10:18 AM PDT reply actions

I miss that radio voice way too much....

tdwclark

by tdwclark on Oct 5, 2006 3:10 PM PDT reply actions

I miss Bill too.

And it makes me all the more glad that we even had the opportunity to listen to him for so many years. He was absolutely unique and a real treasure that we A's fans truly cherished. Even a meaningless game with a blowout score would be fun to listen to if Bill was broadcasting it. So I say, it's okay to feel sad and to miss him, but don't forget to feel happy that we got to enjoy him for so long!

Good pitching beats good hitting. And vice versa.

by TheBigO on Oct 5, 2006 3:46 PM PDT reply actions

there will never be another Bill

The knowledge, the extracurricular references mixed in at 10 miles a minute, the voice like no other, conveying nuances no one else would have even noticed (no less articulated). To listen to Bill call a game was like sipping a fine wine, or an well-aged bourbon where you can taste the barrel, or the best single malt scotch ever... there was something super-sophisticated he brought, almost beyond sports, somewhere near the point where mere entertainment acquires the substance and the depth it needs to become Art. He will be the platinum standard by which I will forever measure broadcasters of sporting events.

I cried for days on end when he passed.

This postseason is for you, Bill.

1972...1973...1974...1989...2006

by emperor nobody on Oct 5, 2006 4:53 PM PDT reply actions

I Miss Bill, Too

It's ridiculous, but when they do those tributes at the game, in the 4th inning I think, I usually end up watery eyed. How pathetic is that, usually after watching the same highlight for the 10th time? I didn't even realize what a seemingly permanent part of my life he was. I spent a couple hours with Bill half of each year for a decade.

Al Davis seldom says anything that isn't ridiculous, but he did extend to Bill his "cloak of immortality." Just right.

by solotar on Oct 5, 2006 5:11 PM PDT reply actions

We'll said Milo

the greatest tragedy in A's history was the passing of the great one. We'll never know another announcer like the King.

Friends don't let friends read HalosHeaven

by BruceBochte on Oct 5, 2006 9:27 PM PDT reply actions

Bill has been with me all year:

When he passed it truly was a moment that I looked around and said..."Nahhhhh...Bill cannot be dead?!?!?"...And he was.

All year the Holy banner has hung there in his honor and Bill has been there in spirit.

Your cry out to Bill has led me to miss his voice. Not only his voice, but, his wit.

His wit as a description that only Bill would lend to my mind.

I too miss you Bill, You are/were,,as Dennis Eckersley termed you,,"Simply the Best"...

"And Kotsay hits a ball to medium center field...It my drop in..AND OH MY!!! TORII HUNTER DIVES AND MISSES THE BALL!!! Kendall is rounding second and heading to third as the ball heads toward the wall....Kotsay is now chugging toward second and the A's may take the lead!!! OH MY...Torii is still down in Center Field and Kendall is going to score...There is still noone in sight as Kotsay heads around second and is heading toward third...Kotsay may go all the WAY!!!! Cuddyer is too late to the ball and his throw is coming in off line!!!! Kotsay is going to score!!! HOLY TOLEDO!!!!! The A's are back up 4-2!!!!!!!!! Can lightning strike twice in the dome...I think it can!!!!"

"I think we just feel that now is our time." - Nick Swisher

by saint @ Athletics Nation on Oct 5, 2006 9:58 PM PDT reply actions

Reading that call..

and hearing Bill King's voice in my head. I started to well up. Thank you for that moment!

I'm not a big wine guy... Where do you grow the BEER?

by str8tarrow on Oct 6, 2006 9:52 AM PDT up reply actions

Great diary

and great, heart-felt postings.

I recently read an interview with two great, and very different musicians, Flea and Charley Haden. They agreed that once an artist attains a certain skill level, becoming a great artist is inextricably tied to becoming a fulfilled human being. Bill King's greatness as a broadcaster is a direct result of his full life and diverse interests. I do so miss him.

by fritzgrooves on Oct 5, 2006 10:27 PM PDT reply actions

Or...realistically...

"Line drive center field, Hunter coming on, dives, and makes the catch! Hunter, stretched out made a--NO! He missed it! I beg your pardon! And now, here's Ellis in to score...followed by Kotsay! Holy toledo!!! Did I say Ellis? I meant Kendall, of course. And I should take a moment to mention that interleague play sucks!"

I did love Bill King, but the eyes...not so 20/20 by the end.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Oct 5, 2006 10:31 PM PDT reply actions

Ah, Nico, that's WRONG!

But only because there's a large grain of truth. Heck, an entire field of grain of truth.

But lay off the King - it would have been Korach's inning.

by Dog Days on Oct 6, 2006 8:00 AM PDT up reply actions

Holy Toledo!

I became an A's fan in 2000, when I moved here from Oregon. I never really appreciated Bill King when I was listening to his broadcasts. He was just always the guy who did their games.

Now that he's gone, I realize how great he was. No offense to the current announcers, but they lack the je ne se qua that Bill King brought to the game. His way of speaking and choice of words was second to none.

Now, I wish I'd been able to appreciate him while he was still with us. But maybe Bill King is a lot like your childhood: you can't really understand what you had until its over.

by limecat on Oct 6, 2006 1:22 AM PDT reply actions

People can laugh

at you for getting all teary eyed, but if you really think of it, I've spent more time with Bill King than many, many other people. A couple hours a day, 162 days a year. I've never known baseball without Bill King until this year, and I really really miss him.

by LWilliams on Oct 6, 2006 5:34 AM PDT reply actions

Not enough time

While I know that I am lucky for the time that I have had listening to the great Bill King, I can't help but feel cheated. I was just beginning to understand what a talent he was and how much he meant to Bay Area sports. I never got much of a chance to study his style, appriciate his wealth of knowledge (not only in sports but many other areas as well) and just sit back to enjoy the game as he called it. It is very hard to make the memories last a lifetime when you don't realize how important they are until they are gone. So now I cling to the calls that I can remember and the A's bottle opener with Bill King calling the winning home run.

by twinkle toes on Oct 6, 2006 9:09 AM PDT reply actions

According to Wikipedia

today was Bill's birthday. I'm not sure if it's 100 percent correct, but I'm trying to double check it. It wouldn't have surprised me if Bill had a little hand in today's outcome.

I miss you, Mr. King.

by Tyler Bleszinski on Oct 6, 2006 10:11 PM PDT reply actions