Bill King Named 2017 Ford C. Frick Award Winner
King was reunited with Simmons when he joined the Athletics’ broadcast team in 1981, and they worked together in the A’s booth through 1995.
Known for his signature handlebar mustache, passionate delivery and his ever-present “Holy Toledo!” exclamation, King called the revitalization of the Athletics during the “Billy Ball” years with manager Billy Martin in the early 1980s, then provided the narrative for the “Bash Brothers” teams that won three American League pennants and the 1989 World Series title from 1988-90.
King passed away on Oct. 18, 2005.
The 17-member Frick Award voting electorate, comprised of the 13 living recipients and four broadcast historians/columnists, includes Frick honorees Marty Brennaman, Dick Enberg, Jaime Jarrin, Tony Kubek, Tim McCarver, Denny Matthews, Jon Miller, Eric Nadel, Felo Ramirez, Vin Scully, Bob Uecker, Dave Van Horne and Bob Wolff, and historians/columnists David J. Halberstam (historian), Barry Horn (Dallas Morning News), Ted Patterson (historian) and Curt Smith (historian).
The list of eight Frick Award finalists was constructed by a subcommittee of the electorate that included Enberg, McCarver, Nadel, Smith and Wolff.
The Ford C. Frick Award is voted upon annually and is named in memory of the sportswriter, radio broadcaster, National League president and baseball commissioner. The complete list of recipients includes:
The annual award is named in memory of Hall of Famer Ford C. Frick, renowned sportswriter, radio broadcaster, National League president and Baseball Commissioner. Past recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award:
- Mel Allen
(1978) - Red Barber
(1978) - Bob Elson
(1979) - Russ Hodges
(1980) - Ernie Harwell
(1981) - Vin Scully
(1982) - Jack Brickhouse
(1983) - Curt Gowdy
(1984) - Buck Canel
(1985) - Bob Prince
(1986) - Jack Buck
(1987) - Lindsey Nelson
(1988) - Harry Caray
(1989) - By Saam
(1990) - Joe Garagiola
(1991) - Milo Hamilton
(1992) - Chuck Thompson
(1993) - Bob Murphy
(1994) - Bob Wolff
(1995) - Herb Carneal
(1996) - Jimmy Dudley
(1997) - Jaime Jarrín
(1998) - Arch McDonald
(1999) - Marty Brennaman
(2000) - Felo Ramírez
(2001) - Harry Kalas
(2002) - Bob Uecker
(2003) - Lon Simmons
(2004) - Jerry Coleman
(2005) - Gene Elston
(2006) - Denny Matthews
(2007) - Dave Niehaus
(2008) - Tony Kubek
(2009) - Jon Miller
(2010) - Dave Van Horne
(2011) - Tim McCarver
(2012) - Tom Cheek
(2013) - Eric Nadel
(2014) - Dick Enberg
(2015) - Graham McNamee
(2016) - Bill King
(2017)