King was widely recognized by his distinctive handlebar moustache and Van Dyke beard, as well as his broadcasting catchphrase, "Holy Toledo!"

King was born in Bloomington, Illinois, and was stationed on the island of Guam at the end of World War II when he began his broadcasting career with the Armed Forces Radio Network, converting play-by-play accounts of games as they came in over the wire and broadcasting them in a manner that made it sound as if he were actually at the game.

[1] A major turning point in King's career came in 1962, when the Philadelphia Warriors of the National Basketball Association moved to San Francisco and hired him as their play-by-play announcer.

King announced Warrior games from 1962 to 1983, through the Wilt Chamberlain, Nate Thurmond, and Rick Barry eras and the team's first NBA Championship on the West Coast, in 1974–1975.

[2] Franklin Mieuli, the owner of the Warriors upon their transfer to the Bay Area, had worked with King on Giants baseball on KSFO and the Golden West Radio Network, serving as executive producer for the broadcasts.

[3] In 1966, while continuing to call Warrior games, King was hired as the play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Raiders, then of the American Football League, a post he held until after the 1992 season.

Perhaps King's most famous call came during the Raiders' infamous Holy Roller game against the San Diego Chargers on September 10, 1978.

This one will be relived forever!Another famous call came on November 8, 1970, when George Blanda came off the bench in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns, threw for a tying touchdown with less than 2 minutes left, and kicked the winning field goal as time ran out.

His energy, preparation, his thoroughness, his word choice—he is without peer.King was often described as a Renaissance man who was a voracious reader, loved to watch the ballet and opera in his spare time, and studied Russian history.

which he voiced when Scott Hatteberg hit his walk-off home run against the Kansas City Royals to push the Athletics’ historic win streak to twenty games.

Bruce MacGowan of radio station KNBR also gave a moving speech about how he met King through Lon Simmons and even worked as a Raider statistician in the early 1970s.

A sign was placed above the radio booth with the same logo, and was unveiled Opening Night by colleagues Ray Fosse and Ken Korach.

On Opening Night, a video tribute was played on the Diamond Vision screen, and in lieu of the ceremonial first pitch, Bill King's chair, a baseball, and his headset were on the pitcher's mound.

During the 2017 season at the Coliseum, a sign was installed in the centerfield wall just to the right of the 400 foot marker depicting the worlds "Holy Toledo" in a script font.

When Ken Korach deems a great Oakland A's play Bill King worthy, he presses the button, and the sign flashes.

The Warriors were assessed a technical foul and owner Franklin Mieuli later had to pay a fine to the Federal Communications Commission for the incident.

The lack of knowledge of his exact age was one of the many quirks that made King one of the great characters in Bay Area sports.

[17][18] In September 2013, Wellstone Books released Ken Korach's Holy Toledo – Lessons from Bill King: Renaissance Man of the Mic.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Bruce Jenkins wrote that the book "beautifully captured" King;[19] Lowell Cohn, of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, said it was "soon to be a legend among sports books";[20] and Bay Area News Group columnist Carl Steward called Holy Toledo a "fabulous, engaging read.