Rob King to take over for Bill Hillgrove as Steelers’ radio play-by-play voice
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The role of replacing a legend was fit for a King.
Rob King will take over as radio play-by-play broadcaster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced via media partner iHeart on Thursday. King succeeds longtime voice of the team Bill Hillgrove.
King, who will team with returning color analyst Craig Wolfley in the booth, has been working in the Pittsburgh market for almost a quarter century and spent the past 10 seasons as part of the Steelers Radio Network’s pregame show.
“I am humbled,” King said during a Thursday morning appearance announcing the hire on the Steelers’ flagship station, 102.5 FM. “It’s sort of a humbling moment in your career when that happens. I am grateful to Art Rooney II and the Pittsburgh Steelers for giving me this opportunity.
“There’s the old Muhammad Ali saying, before a fight he told his opponent, ‘If you ever even dream of beating me, you better wake up.’ To me, to even dream about something like that almost felt too big. You think about it, you dream about it — and when it comes, it’s humbling and it’s exciting.”
In February, Hillgrove announced he was stepping down after 30 seasons of Steelers play-by-play duties. The 83-year-old remains on Pitt broadcasts.
King long worked for Pittsburgh’s regional sports network that has gone through a series of name changes over the years. In recent seasons, he has been more ubiquitous around the Steelers, particularly this spring when he was a regular at organized team activities and minicamp and often conducted interviews of players on behalf of the team for publication on the team website and social-media channels.
“Rob has done a great job in his 25-year career in the Pittsburgh market and is very respected among his peers in the business,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “We are excited for Steelers Nation to hear his unique perspective and excitement of making our fans feel they are in the stadium witnessing the action on the field. He has big shoes to fill with the legendary broadcasters that have come before him, but we are thrilled to have Rob step into his new role to bring Steelers football to our fans across the world.”
Rob King has been named the Play-By-Play Voice of the #Steelers game audio broadcasts.
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— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 18, 2024
The Steelers had only two play-by-play announcers over the past six-plus decades, with Jack Fleming the predecessor to Hillgrove.
King for a decade broadcast high school football games alongside Wolfley. He filled in for Hillgrove on Steelers broadcasts for four games in 2019 and a pair of games the following season. When King first arrived professionally in Pittsburgh in 2000, initially the intention of his employer was to make it a temporary spot until a full-time role was ready for King to take over in St. Louis.
“I told my wife in 2000,” King said, “if I ever get a chance to stay in Pittsburgh, I am staying.”
King hasn’t left the city since.
The new #Steelers play-by-play voice joins Randy Baumann and the ‘DVE Morning Show at 8:45am! Listen on the free #iHeartRadio app or at https://t.co/JGPbo52Zdv. #HereWeGo
— 102.5 WDVE (@DVERADIO) July 18, 2024
Though he perhaps was most known to local sports fans as pre- and post-game host for Pirates and Penguins games over the years on Fox Sports/FSN/ROOT Sports/AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, King more recently has been part of the Steelers Audio Network and the broader Steelers Media Network. He will continue in those roles.
“We are thrilled for him to bring his passion for game calling into the booth and create an exciting radio broadcast for our audiences,” iHeartMedia Pittsburgh president Tim McAleer said in a statement.
King’s debut will come Aug. 9 during a preseason game against the Houston Texans. The Steelers’ regular season opens Sept. 8 at the Atlanta Falcons.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s different,” said King, a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. “It just is. It’s different. I am sure that every play-by-play guy is grateful for the ability to call NFL games. There’s only (32) jobs… That’s it. It doesn’t matter at some level if you are doing Jacksonville or the Chicago Bears with their lineage or if you’re doing the Green Bay Packers or Houston Texans — there’s only so many jobs. But, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s a little different.”