Ken Wilson (sportscaster)

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Ken Wilson

Born 1947
Detroit, Michigan
Residence Hawaii
Nationality American
Education B.A., University of Michigan
Spouse Marlene

Ken Wilson (born 1947) is an American sportscaster and former play-by-play hockey announcer for the St. Louis Blues on FoxSports Net Midwest and KPLR.[1] His famous catch phrase when calling Blues games was 'Oh Baby!', which he yelled during moments of extreme excitement. Wilson also spent a number of seasons broadcasting Major League Baseball games.

[edit] Life and Career

“I try to be very descriptive. That’s essential on the radio and even on TV because folks have trouble seeing the puck and identifying players.”
Ken Wilson[2]

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Wilson earned a degree in journalism from the University of Michigan, then attended business school in Honolulu, Hawaii.[2] During this seven year stretch living in Hawaii, he did play-by-play for the Triple A baseball Hawaii Islanders, became sports director of the NBC affiliate in Honolulu, and even developed the second ever sports talk radio show in the United States.[2] Later Wilson became the first announcer for the Seattle Mariners, along with Dave Niehaus, from 1977-1982. Moving on from Seattle, Wilson did games for the Chicago Blackhawks, and then from 1983-1985 play-by-play for the Cincinnati Reds TV Network.

[edit] St. Louis Blues era

Here's Ramage, for Federko too far, Federko steals the puck from Reinheart, over to Hunter who shoots, blocked, Wickenheiser scores! Doug Wickenheiser! The Blues pull it off and it's unbelievable!
Ken Wilson calls Doug Wickenheiser's overtime goal during the Monday Night Miracle, May 12, 1986[3]

In 1984, Wilson was approached by Anheuser-Busch, then part owner of the Sports Time Cable Network, to not only announce the Reds games, but move from covering the Blackhawks during hockey season to the St. Louis Blues. Wilson called his first St. Louis Blues game on October 11, 1984, a 4-2 win for the Blues in Calgary.[2] During the 1985 baseball season, Ken Wilson, working with Joe Morgan, called Pete Rose's 4192nd hit that broke Ty Cobb's all time record. Wilson then called one of the greatest games in St. Louis Blues history, known as the Monday Night Miracle, the following year. Wilson's association as announcer for the Blues continued to grow stronger after that. In addition to his work for the Blues, he continued his work in baseball, announcing some St. Louis Cardinals games between 1985 and 1990, California Angels' games from 1991-1995, and games for the Oakland A’s[2] from 1996-1998.

After the 2003-04 NHL season, when his contract was not renewed by the Blues, he moved back to Honolulu, where he opened Mama's Island Pizza.[4] Most recently Wilson did play-by-play for the Hawaii Winter Baseball League in 2006.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chris Kerber, Kelly Chase Introduced As New Blues Radio Broadcast Team On KTRS. St Louis Blues Online. Retrieved on 2007-01-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jones, Pam Droog (April 2004). KEN WILSON: Bleeding Blue for 20 Years. St. Louis Commerce Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ Jennings, Gail (January 2006). Mama's Island Pizza - Mama Makes Great Pizza and Wings. Hawaii Diner. Retrieved on 2008-03-04.
  5. ^ Media Views: Holy Cow! Caray and Buck CDs are winners. STL Today. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
Persondata
NAME Wilson, Ken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American sports announcer
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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