Nelson J. King
Former Pirates pitcher/broadcaster Nellie King dies Wednesday, August 11, 2010 By Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Post-Gazette Nellie King, former Pirate pitcher and broadcaster at the last Pirates game at Three Rivers Stadium in 2000. Nelson Joseph “Nellie” King, a former Pirates pitcher and broadcaster and Duquesne University sports information director and broadcaster, died today. His death was confirmed by Duquesne University athletic spokesman Dave Saba. He was 82. In recent years, Mr. King, who was born on March 15, 1928, battled colon cancer and pneumonia. Mr. King pitched for the Pirates from 1954-57, constructing a 7-5 record as he was used largely as a relief pitcher, playing alongside Pittsburgh greats Roberto Clemente, Dick Groat and Bill Mazeroski — but that’s not where he made his most indelible mark in baseball. It was in the broadcast booth where Mr. King is remembered most, first working for smaller stations in Latrobe, Kittanning and Greensburg from 1960-67, covering mainly high school sports. In 1967, his biggest break came, as Mr. King joined the three-man Pirates broadcast team, alongside veterans Bob Prince and Jim Woods, announcing Pirates games on radio and television until 1975. That position came open when Don Hoak, a former Pirates player and Pittsburgher, moved from the broadcast booth to the dugout to take a position as a coach. During his tenure in the booth for the Pirates, Mr. King was behind the microphone for some of the Pirates’ brightest days, as he described action for teams that won the National League Eastern Division championship five times and, most notably, a 1971 World Series dominated by his former teammate, Clemente. Mr. King, who graduated from Milton Hershey High School in Hershey, Pa., in 1945, also put together morning sports reports on WWSW and KDKA and weekend sports on local television stations WTAE and KDKA. He served as color commentator for one final game in the nostalgia-filled 2000 season for the Pirates, the final year before Three Rivers Stadium was imploded. After his career as a media personality was largely finished, Mr. King moved into a sports communications role at Duquesne University in 1975, undertaking those duties until his retirement from that post in 1992. In addition to his sports information director position at Duquesne, Mr. King served as publicity director for the Eastern Eight Conference (now the Atlantic 10) and coached Duquesne’s men’s golf team for almost two decades. But, even as he was the sports information director and golf coach, Mr. King still found a way with that hectic schedule to keep a part of him involved where he felt most comfortable — behind the microphone. For 24 seasons, he was the color commentator for Duquesne men’s basketball games alongside play-by-play man Ray Goss. Most recently, Mr. King wrote the 2009 book, titled “Happiness is like a Cur Dog: The Thirty-Year Journey of a Major League Baseball Pitcher and Broadcaster” in which he spins numerous yarns that only a man who made the voyage from a minor leaguer, to a major-leaguer to a big league broadcaster can tell. The book’s visibility spiked in popularity when television personality and noted baseball lover Keith Olbermann, who hosts Countdown on MSNBC, made mention of it during a telecast. Mr. King is survived by his wife, Bernadette, and three daughters, Laurie, Leslie and Amy. Colin Dunlap: . Read more: Obituary: Nellie King / Former Pirates pitcher, broadcaster Thursday, August 12, 2010 By Robert Dvorchak and Colin Dunlap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Martha Rial/Post-Gazette Former Pirates pitcher Nellie King attends the team’s last game at Three Rivers Stadium in 2000. On the radio, Nellie King learned that the key to broadcasting sports events was to get through the microphone and into the listener’s living room. As a Pirates’ pitcher, he made his way into the hearts of fans and teammates with his sense of humor. “We were about to come home from Philadelphia when Dale Long was in the midst of hitting eight home runs in eight games in 1956, and Nellie lay down in front of the team bus. He said, ‘This bus isn’t going anywhere until Dale gets on,’ ” former teammate ElRoy Face recalled with a chuckle. “We were both in the minors in New Orleans in 1954 when all the lights went out during the game. I went out to the mound and played my guitar, another guy played the wash tub and Nellie sang to entertain the fans and keep them from leaving,” Mr. Face added. “He was a great guy. You don’t find them any better.” Nelson Joseph “Nellie” King, who served as sports information director and broadcaster at Duquesne University after pitching in the big leagues and sharing the Pirates’ broadcast booth with Bob Prince, died early Wednesday at the age of 82 surrounded by his three daughters in the Family Hospice Center in Mt. Lebanon. In recent years, he had fought a protracted battle with colon cancer, complicated by pneumonia. He was a longtime resident of Mt. Lebanon but in recent years lived in an assisted living facility in Upper St. Clair. As a folk historian, the tall and lanky Mr. King didn’t mind laughing at himself. In his 2009 autobiography “Happiness Is Like A Cur Dog: The Thirty Year Journey of a Major League Baseball Pitcher and Broadcaster,” he wrote about the laugh he got when an opponent poked fun at his 6-foot-6, 180-pound physique. “What do you do in the off season — clean the insides of rainspouts?” the player asked as he sulked on the bench, hitless. Mr. King was born March 15, 1928, in the anthracite coal town of Shenandoah, Pa. His father died during the Great Depression, and Mr. King earned his high school diploma from the Milton Hershey School, which was established for orphans and those from single-parent households. Having dreamed of becoming a major league pitcher, Mr. King earned $100 a month at the entry level in the minor leagues. Despite being released outright on two occasions, he compiled an 86-60 record with a 2.80 ERA, winning 15 or more games in a season four times in his minor-league career. He made his major league debut in 1954, striking out future Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer Duke Snider the first time he took the mound. Used primarily as a reliever, Mr. King was 7-5 in three seasons with the Pirates before an arm injury cut short his career. Among his teammates were Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski. After working for radio stations in Latrobe, Kittanning and Greensburg, mostly covering high school sports, Mr. King rejoined the Pirates as an announcer. When Don Hoak left the broadcast booth in 1967 to become a coach, Mr. King teamed with Mr. Prince and Jim Woods. Mr. King’s days behind the microphone coincided with some of the best days of the franchise. In addition to winning five division titles, the Pirates were World Series champions in 1971, with Mr. King calling the action on radio and TV. He described his nine years of partnering with Mr. Prince, who died in 1985, as like a roller-coaster ride at Kennywood Park — “all ups and downs, but never dull.” Mr. King’s contract was not renewed when Mr. Prince was let go in 1975. When Pirates general manager Joe Brown broke the news to him, Mr. King said he was told, “Sometimes water splashes over onto other people.” Steve Blass, who also made the transition from pitching mound to broadcast booth, called Mr. King “as classy a gentleman as you will ever find in the game of baseball. He had the best interview technique I was ever around. He could get the heart of what a player was feeling and not just get the stats. “We’ll never have enough Nellie Kings in the game of baseball,” Mr. Blass added. “I’ll miss his humor and his good nature. He will not be forgotten.” In the final year of Three Rivers Stadium in 2000, Mr. King was brought back for a curtain call behind the microphone. In a career than included stints with KDKA, WWSW and WTAE, Mr. King was sports information director at Duquesne University until his retirement in 1992. In addition to other duties, he also coached Duquesne’s men’s golf team for almost two decades. For 24 seasons, he did color commentary for the Dukes’ men’s basketball team alongside play-by-play announcer Ray Goss, who said that any notion that Mr. King was just a fill-in were quickly dispelled. “He worked so hard at his craft, at being both a public relations man and a radio man. And for that I admired him. I always admired the way he dug in and worked hard to learn new things,” said Mr. Goss. “Just like some of the old-time ballplayers, he was a regular guy. There were no airs about Nellie. You’d walk up and talk to him and he was just like every other guy.” Mr. King’s autobiography is a breezy narrative that speaks of baseball in a different era. On his blog, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann called it a story of the “triumph of perseverance.” “I had spoken to Nellie last Saturday and for what we both knew to be goodbye; the conversation was upbeat and philosophical and there were even some laughs. And though I was the one getting up and going back into the world and not he, the reassurances and the encouragement came from him to me,” Mr. Olbermann wrote. “Farewell, Nellie, and — I know it’s an odd word at a time like this — congratulations.” It was Mr. King’s dream come true to have the book published, according to Sally O’Leary, long-time public relations official with the Pirates. “We lost a real friend,” she said. “He certainly fought the good fight. He told his girls last week that he couldn’t fight anymore and asked them to arrange for hospice care,” she said. “He got his final wish and is at peace.” Mr. King, who was a big supporter of the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, is survived by his wife, Bernadette, and three daughters, Laurie, Leslie and Amy. The late Danny Murtaugh, former Pirates manager, was godfather to his oldest daughter. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Laughlin Funeral Home, 222 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon. Funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon. Colin Dunlap: . Robert Dvorchak: .