List of Oakland Athletics broadcasters
Current Broadcasters
Bill King has been the radio voice of the Athletics since 1981. From 1996 through the present, his co-announcer has been Ken Korach. King was paired in the booth with Lon Simmons from 1981 through 1995. Former A's catcher Ray Fosse has served as the broadcast team's analyst since 1986. A's games are broadcast on 18 radio stations in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Hawaii. KFRC in San Francisco is the network's flagship station.
King, a native of Bloomington, Illinois, is perhaps the most well-known sports announcer in the Bay Area, having previously handled play-by-play work for football's Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders (1996-1992) and basketball's San Francisco and Golden State Warriors (1962-1983). His trademark catchphrase, "Holy Toledo!" has been familiar to Northern California sports fans for over forty years.
Glen Kuiper, Tim Roye, and Hank Greenwald, the Athletics' television play-by-play announcers, are relatively new in this role, having started calling A's games in 2004. Greenwald, like King, has been a long-time fixture as a Bay Area sportscaster, for many years the radio and TV voice of the San Francisco Giants. From 1991-2003, the team's primary TV play-by-play announcer was Greg Papa. A's games are broadcast on station KICU in San Jose, Fox Sports Net Bay Area, and other stations on the Athletics' TV network.
Robert Buan has held the position of Athletics broadcasting manager since 1995. Additionally, he hosts the "After 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 held in a local bar or restaurant before a live audience.
Previous Broadcasters
When the Athletics moved to Kansas City for the 1955 season, Billy Ray and Merle Harmon were hired as play-by-play announcers. Harmon remained the voice of the A’s until 1962, when then-owner Charles O. Finley replaced him with Monte Moore, an Oklahoma native. Moore came west with the team’s move to Oakland in 1968, remaining the team’s principal radio and television voice until his retirement in 1978. He came out of retirement in 1988 to handle TV play-by-play on a part-time basis until 1992.
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 and star player Ken Harrelson were fired by Finley as a result. Moore consistently denied all such allegations.
During Moore’s tenure, he had a number of co-announcers with him in the booth, including Harry Caray, Bob Elson, Al Helfer, Red Rush, and Jim Woods, all of whom had achieved fame as major-league broadcasters elsewhere before joining the A’s. Former major league players Curt Flood, Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, and Jim Piersall served as A’s announcers at one time, as did former manager Bill Rigney.
On September 16, 1964, Betty Caywood, then a television weather analyst, was hired by owner Finley to join the broadcasting crew, becoming the first woman play-by-play broadcaster in major league baseball. She did not return in 1965.
Broadcasters through the Years
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(List does not include Philadelphia broadcasters.)