- Ken Wilson (sportscaster)
Infobox Person
name = Ken Wilson
caption =
birth_date = 1947
birth_place =Detroit, Michigan
education = B.A.,University of Michigan
occupation =
residence =Portland, Oregon
nationality = American
spouse = MarleneKen Wilson (born
1947 ) is an Americansportscaster and formerplay-by-play hockey announcer for the St. Louis Blues on FoxSports Net Midwest andKPLR-TV .cite web|url=http://www.stlouisblues.com/news/0001/000728b.html |title=Chris Kerber, Kelly Chase Introduced As New Blues Radio Broadcast Team On KTRS |accessdate=2007-01-05 | publisher=St Louis Blues Online] 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 broadcastingMajor League Baseball games. He was also theVoice of the NHL on bothESPN andSportsChannel America .Life and career
Quote box
quote =“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.”
source =Ken Wilson
width = 33%
align =leftBorn inDetroit, Michigan , Wilson earned a degree in journalism from theUniversity of Michigan , then attended business school inHonolulu, Hawaii . During this seven year stretch living in Hawaii, he did play-by-play for the Triple A baseball Hawaii Islanders, became sports director of theNBC affiliate in Honolulu, and even developed the second ever sports talk radio show in the United States. In1976 he received acclaim asHawaii Sportscaster of the Year . Later Wilson became the first announcer for theSeattle Mariners , along withDave Niehaus , from by|1977-by|1982. Moving on from Seattle, Wilson did games for theChicago Blackhawks , and then from by|1983-by|1985 play-by-play for theCincinnati Reds TV Network.t. Louis Blues era
Quote box
quote = 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!
source = Ken Wilson calls Doug Wickenheiser's overtime goal during the Monday Night Miracle, May 12, 1986 [http://www.stlouisblues.com/fanstuff/blues_multimedia/video/Monday_Night_Miracle/mondaynight.html] ]
width =33%
align = leftIn 1984, Wilson was approached by
Anheuser-Busch , then part owner of theSports Time Cable Network, to not only announce the Reds games, but move from covering the Blackhawks during the 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. During the 1985 baseball season, Ken Wilson, working withJoe Morgan , calledPete Rose 's 4192nd hit that brokeTy 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 hockey work, he continued his work in baseball, announcingSt. Louis Cardinals games between 1985 and 1990, California Angels' games from by|1991-by|1995, and games for the Oakland A’scite web|url=http://www.stlcommercemagazine.com/archives/april2004/spotlight.html |title=KEN WILSON: Bleeding Blue for 20 Years |last=Jones |first=Pam Droog |date=April 2004 |accessdate=2008-01-04 |publisher=St. Louis Commerce Magazine] from1996 -1998 .In 1997, Wilson purchased the Zanesville (Ohio) Baseball Club of the independent Frontier League and moved the club to the western suburbs of St.Louis. He formed an investor group and served as managing partner of the
River City Rascals , until selling his interest in 2004. He helped form a second group that purchased a Frontier League expansion team in 2000. That club began play in 2001 in the eastern suburbs of St. Louis as theGateway Grizzlies . Wilson retains an ownership interest in that club.Wilson continued announcing for the St. Louis Blues earning the
Missouri Sportscaster of the Year award in2001 along with fourMid-America Emmy Awards for play-by-play. After the2003-04 NHL season , when his contract was not renewed by the Blues, he moved back toHonolulu , where he opened Mama's Island Pizza in2005 . [cite web |url=http://www.hawaiidiner.com/reviews/review.php?review=90 |title=Mama's Island Pizza - Mama Makes Great Pizza and Wings |accessdate=2008-03-04 |last=Jennings |first=Gail |date=January 2006 |publisher=Hawaii Diner] Along with his wife, Wilson operated the restaurant until February 2008. During this time, Wilson also did play-by-play for theHawaii Winter Baseball League in2006 and2007 .cite web|url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/dancaesar/story/51A79A737243676A862572310014256E?OpenDocument |title=Media Views: Holy Cow! Caray and Buck CDs are winners |accessdate=2007-02-02 | publisher=STL Today] Most recently Wilson became President of theWest Coast Collegiate Baseball League and moved to the league's headquarters inPortland, Oregon . [cite web|url=http://www.wccbl.com/about.php? |title=About WCCBL |last=Wilson |first=Ken |accessdate=2008-07-16 |publisher=West Coast Collegiate Baseball League] Wilson returned to the Seattle Mariners television booth on July 27, 2008 to fill in for for his former partner Dave Niehaus, who was being inducted to the Hall of Fame on the same day.During his career, Ken Wilson broadcast 2,154
Major League Baseball games and 1,556National Hockey League games.References
Persondata
NAME=Wilson, Ken
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American sports announcer
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.