List of Oakland Athletics broadcasters
Encyclopedia
Radio
Oakland AthleticsOakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
' games are broadcast on flagship radio station KGMZ 95.7 FM - San Francisco. The A's radio network of 18 stations (3 stations are Nights/Weekends only) reach baseball fans in Northern California and Nevada.
The Athletics radio broadcast team consists of Ken Korach
Ken Korach
Ken Korach is a play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics. He has been with the organization since 1996. During the 2005 season, the Oakland Athletics radio team, including Korach, Bill King and Ray Fosse, was ranked as 2nd best in the American League by USA Today...
, Vince Cotroneo
Vince Cotroneo
Vince Cotroneo is a radio play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics. He signed a two-year contract with the A's on January 13, 2006 to fill a void in the broadcast booth left by the sudden death of longtime lead announcer Bill King...
and occasionally Ray Fosse (radio only broadcasts). Korach, A's play-by-play announcer since 1996, moved up to the lead position with the death of Bill King
Bill King
* For the British author and games designer see, William King * For the British naval officer, yachtsman and author, see Commander Bill King*For the Australian rugby league footballer, see Bill King ...
. Cotroneo has had 13 years of major-league experience, most recently with the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
. King, who died October 18, 2005, was the lead radio voice of the Athletics for 25 years, from 1981 through 2005, the longest tenure as an A's announcer since the team's games were first broadcast in 1938. King was paired in the booth with Lon Simmons
Lon Simmons
Lon Simmons born on July 19, 1923, in Elko, Nevada, is an American baseball and football broadcaster, and is currently broadcasting part-time for the San Francisco Giants.-Career:...
from 1981 through 1995. Former A's catcher Ray Fosse
Ray Fosse
Raymond Earl Fosse is a former professional baseball player who was a catcher in the Major Leagues. He was drafted in the first round of the 1965 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians. Fosse also holds the distinction of being the Indians' first ever draft pick, as 1965 was the first year of the...
has served as the broadcast team's analyst since 1986. Since 2001, Steve Bitker
Steve Bitker
Steve Bitker is a sports broadcaster for KCBS All News 740 AM in San Francisco. Steve has been the morning sports anchor since 1991. He is also married to former Alameda County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker....
has served as a back-up play-by-play announcer, averaging about 20 games per season. He has had limited appearances in 2006, filling in when Korach was on vacation.
Robert Buan has held the position of Athletics broadcasting manager since 1995. Additionally, he hosts the "Extra Innings" radio post-game show, in which fans may call in to talk about the A's with Buan or a guest. The show is often from the stadium or in a studio. Select shows are broadcast from local bars or restaurants before a live audience. He continues to broadcast internet only play by play of Spring Training games.
King, a native of Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
, was perhaps the most well-known sports announcer in the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, having previously handled play-by-play work for football's Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1966-1992) and basketball's San Francisco and Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
(1962-1983). His trademark catchphrase, "Holy Toledo!" was familiar to Northern California sports fans for over forty years. King and his fellow Athletics radio announcers, Ken Korach
Ken Korach
Ken Korach is a play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics. He has been with the organization since 1996. During the 2005 season, the Oakland Athletics radio team, including Korach, Bill King and Ray Fosse, was ranked as 2nd best in the American League by USA Today...
and Ray Fosse
Ray Fosse
Raymond Earl Fosse is a former professional baseball player who was a catcher in the Major Leagues. He was drafted in the first round of the 1965 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians. Fosse also holds the distinction of being the Indians' first ever draft pick, as 1965 was the first year of the...
, were ranked as the 2nd best broadcast team in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
by USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
in 2005.http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-07-26-announcers-al_x.htm
Television
Glen KuiperGlen Kuiper
Glen Alan Kuiper is a broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. He is the younger brother of Duane Kuiper, a former Major League player and current broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants...
, brother of San Francisco Giants broadcaster Duane, is the A's television play-by-play announcer. For over two decades former major league catcher, Ray Fosse
Ray Fosse
Raymond Earl Fosse is a former professional baseball player who was a catcher in the Major Leagues. He was drafted in the first round of the 1965 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians. Fosse also holds the distinction of being the Indians' first ever draft pick, as 1965 was the first year of the...
has analyzed the games. When not doing so in the television booth, Fosse adds to the radio broadcast team. From 1991-2003, the team's primary TV play-by-play announcer was Greg Papa
Greg Papa
Greg Papa is an American sportscaster working in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been broadcasting for most of the Bay Area professional sports franchises for 21 years, covering the Oakland Raiders, Oakland Athletics, Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants.Currently, he is best known as...
. A's games are only broadcast on Comcast SportsNet California.
Stadium announcer
Roy Steele has been the Athletics' official stadium announcer at the Coliseum every year since the team's move to Oakland in 1968. His booming baritone voice has earned him the Voice of God moniker among A's fans, although it was first bestowed upon him by sports announcer Jon MillerJon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
after a visit to the Coliseum as a fan sitting in the stands. Steele had been an independent Baptist minister for 17 years before being named stadium announcer and finds the name "a little overpowering". From 1968 through 2004, Steele had missed fewer than ten home games, but in September 2005, an illness (achalasia
Achalasia
Achalasia , also known as esophageal achalasia, achalasia cardiae, cardiospasm, and esophageal aperistalsis, is an esophageal motility disorder involving the smooth muscle layer of the esophagus and the lower esophageal sphincter...
, a rare disorder of the esophagus
Esophagus
The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...
) prevented him from announcing several games including most of the final homestand. The 73-year-old Steele was ill for most 2006, and remained at his home in Auburn, California
Auburn, California
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history.Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area.- History :...
while recovering. His interim replacement was Dick Callahan
Dick Callahan
Dick Callahan is an American public address announcer. He has served as arena/stadium voice for the Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, as well as California Golden Bears football and various sports at Saint Mary's College of California....
, who also announced for the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. Steele returned behind the microphone beginning with the A's exhibition game vs. the Giants on April 1, 2007. However health issues sidelined Steele for the entire 2009 season, with Callahan returning to the post. Steele made another return on his own Bobblehead Giveaway Day on April 17, 2010 with the A's facing the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, announcing every inning (with the exception of the visiting half of the first inning) and throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Philadelphia years
In 1938, a young Texan named Byrum SaamBy Saam
Byrum Fred "By" Saam, Jr. was an American sportscaster. His primary focus in his career was announcing baseball and football games in Philadelphia.-Early life:...
became the first radio voice of the A’s. Saam, later joined by Claude Haring, broadcast all the Athletics’ home games on station WIBG
WNTP
WNTP 990 is a politically conservative talk radio station which serves the Philadelphia area. It is owned by Salem Communications, along with a number of similar channels in various markets. Some of those whose programs are run by WNTP include Michael Medved, Dennis Prager, Dennis Miller, Michael...
. Because Saam and Haring also broadcast Phillies’
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
home games as well, A’s road games were only broadcast when there was no conflict with a Phillies home game. Even so, the team's road game broadcasts were what were called “ticker tape games” in that era. Saam and Haring would broadcast from studios in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, reconstructing the game from telegraphic feeds brought in by assistants. Beginning in 1950, the Athletics began broadcasting all games, home and away, on WIBG with Saam and Haring accompanying the team on road trips. (The Phillies hired their own announcers in 1950 and broadcast their games on a different radio station.) Their tenure as A's broadcast announcers came to an end after the 1954 season, when the team was sold and moved.
Kansas City years
When the Athletics moved to Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
for the 1955 season, Merle Harmon
Merle Harmon
Merle Reid Harmon was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play voice for five Major League Baseball teams, two in the American Football League and the World Football League's only full season of nationally syndicated telecasts.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Salem, Illinois,...
and Billy Ray were hired as play-by-play announcers. Harmon remained the voice of the A’s until 1962, when then-owner Charles O. Finley
Charles O. Finley
Charles Oscar Finley , nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, moving it to Oakland in 1968...
replaced him with Monte Moore
Monte Moore
Monte Moore is a former radio and television broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland Athletics baseball teams.-Voice of the Athletics:...
, an Oklahoma native.
On September 16, 1964, Betty Caywood
Betty Caywood
Betty Caywood is an American sportscaster. She was one of the first female Major League Baseball broadcasters, providing color commentary on radio broadcasts for the Kansas City Athletics in September, 1964....
, previously a television weather analyst, was hired by owner Finley to join the broadcasting crew, becoming the first female play-by-play broadcaster in major league baseball. She finished out the 1964 season, but did not return in 1965.
Since the move to Oakland
Moore came west with the team’s move to OaklandOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in 1968, remaining the team’s principal radio voice through the 1977 season, and its television voice until his retirement in 1980. He came out of retirement in 1985 to handle local TV play-by-play on a part-time basis with Ted Robinson
Ted Robinson (sportscaster)
Theodore "Ted" Robinson is an American sportscaster. He is currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers, having taken over for longtime 49ers announcer, Joe Starkey, following Starkey's retirement in 2009.-Early life:Ted Robinson grew up in Rockville Centre, New York and...
until 1988, and full-time thereafter until Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...
replaced him to start the 1993 season.
Moore was disliked and mistrusted by many of the team’s players over the years. He was often accused of being owner Finley’s “mole,” whose job it was to spy on the players and report back to Finley. In particular, Moore was accused of reporting to Finley an incident which took place on the team’s airline flight from Boston to Kansas City in August, 1967, in which several players allegedly were drunk and making “suggestive” remarks to flight attendants. Manager Alvin Dark
Alvin Dark
Alvin Ralph Dark , nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", is a former shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five National League teams from 1946 to 1960. Named the major leagues' Rookie of the Year with the Boston Braves when he batted .322...
and star player Ken Harrelson
Ken Harrelson
Kenneth Smith Harrelson , nicknamed "The Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is a former All-Star first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball...
were fired by Finley as a result. Moore consistently denied all such accusations.
During Moore’s tenure, he had a number of co-announcers with him in the booth, including Harry Caray
Harry Caray
Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, was an American baseball broadcaster on radio and television. He covered four Major League Baseball teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St...
, Bob Elson
Bob Elson
Robert A. Elson was a pioneering American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Born in Chicago, Elson got into broadcasting by accident. While vacationing in St. Louis in 1928, Elson was touring KWK when a receptionist saw him among 40 men in line for an audition and thought he was going for one...
, Al Helfer
Al Helfer
George Alvin Helfer was an American radio sportscaster.Nicknamed "Mr. Radio Baseball", Helfer worked six World Series, ten All-Star Games, and regular season broadcasts for several teams and the Mutual network...
, Red Rush
Red Rush
Wesley "Red" Rush II was an American sportscaster.A native of Long Beach, California, Rush attended the University of Southern California where he developed his interest in broadcasting. Rush did play-by-play for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Kansas City A's , Chicago White...
, and Jim Woods
Jim Woods
James M. Woods was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work on Major League Baseball broadcasts.-Early life:...
, all of whom had achieved fame as major-league broadcasters elsewhere before joining the A’s, and Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
, who went on to success with the Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
and Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. Former major league players Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
, Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
, Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Clayton Killebrew , nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball , he played for the Washington Senators, a team which later became the Minnesota Twins, and...
, and Jim Piersall served as A’s announcers at one time, as did former player and manager Bill Rigney
Bill Rigney
William Joseph Rigney was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. A native of Alameda, California, he batted and threw right-handed....
.
As noted above, the late Bill King
Bill King
* For the British author and games designer see, William King * For the British naval officer, yachtsman and author, see Commander Bill King*For the Australian rugby league footballer, see Bill King ...
announced the A's games on radio from 1981 to 2005. He partnered on A's broadcasts for 15 years with Lon Simmons
Lon Simmons
Lon Simmons born on July 19, 1923, in Elko, Nevada, is an American baseball and football broadcaster, and is currently broadcasting part-time for the San Francisco Giants.-Career:...
, creating an unmatched 1-2 punch of Hall of Fame broadcasters, with Ken Korach replacing Simmons for the 1996 season. Simmons had previously been an announcer for the Giants, the National League "crosstown" (actually cross-Bay) rivals of the American League A's, for many years (since their 1958 arrival from New York); Simmons rejoined the Giants broadcast team on a part-time basis from 1996 to 2002, and again from 2006 to this day.
Broadcasters through the years
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Glen Kuiper Glen Alan Kuiper is a broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. He is the younger brother of Duane Kuiper, a former Major League player and current broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants... 2004-present Jon Miller Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the... 1974 Monte Moore Monte Moore is a former radio and television broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland Athletics baseball teams.-Voice of the Athletics:... 1962-1980, 1985-1992 Greg Papa Greg Papa is an American sportscaster working in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been broadcasting for most of the Bay Area professional sports franchises for 21 years, covering the Oakland Raiders, Oakland Athletics, Golden State Warriors and San Francisco Giants.Currently, he is best known as... 1991-2003 Jim Peterson James Scott "Jim" Peterson, PC is a retired Canadian politician and former Minister of International Trade.Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he has a DCL from McGill University, a Master of Laws from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Ontario... 1978 Larry Ray Larry Dale Ray is a former Major League Baseball player. Ray played for the Houston Astros in the 1982 season. In five games, Ray had one hit in six at-bats, with one RBI. He played Right Field, and batted left and threw right-handed. He was drafted by the Astros in the 4th round of the 1979... 1955-1956 Bill Rigney William Joseph Rigney was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. A native of Alameda, California, he batted and threw right-handed.... 1974, 1983-1984, 1991-1992 Ted Robinson (sportscaster) Theodore "Ted" Robinson is an American sportscaster. He is currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers, having taken over for longtime 49ers announcer, Joe Starkey, following Starkey's retirement in 2009.-Early life:Ted Robinson grew up in Rockville Centre, New York and... 1980, 1985-1987 Tim Roye Tim Roye is a radio play-by-play announcer for the NBA's Golden State Warriors He has been calling Warrior games for KNBR-AM in San Francisco since 1995.-Career:... 2004-2006 Red Rush Wesley "Red" Rush II was an American sportscaster.A native of Long Beach, California, Rush attended the University of Southern California where he developed his interest in broadcasting. Rush did play-by-play for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Kansas City A's , Chicago White... 1965, 1971, 1979-1980 By Saam Byrum Fred "By" Saam, Jr. was an American sportscaster. His primary focus in his career was announcing baseball and football games in Philadelphia.-Early life:... 1938-1954 John Shrader John Shrader is an American sports broadcaster, currently working for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Comcast SportsNet California.He was a sports anchor and fill in host for KNBR , San Francisco, known locally as "The Sports Leader." In addition to his regular duties, Shrader was a sideline... 1988-1989 Lon Simmons Lon Simmons born on July 19, 1923, in Elko, Nevada, is an American baseball and football broadcaster, and is currently broadcasting part-time for the San Francisco Giants.-Career:... 1981-1995 Dick Stockton Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:... 1993-1995 Chuck Thompson Charles L. "Chuck" Thompson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles and the National Football League's Baltimore Colts... 1946-1948 Wayne Walker Wayne Harrison Walker is a former professional football player and sports broadcaster. He played in the NFL for fifteen seasons, from 1958-72 for the Detroit Lions. A starter throughout his career, #55 played in 200 regular season games as a 6'2", 225 lb... 1976-1980, 1985 Jim Woods James M. Woods was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work on Major League Baseball broadcasts.-Early life:... 1972-1973 |