Nelson Joseph "Nellie" King (March 15, 1928 – August 11, 2010) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and later a member of the Pirates' radio announcing team with

Bob Prince Robert Ferris Prince (July 1, 1916 – June 10, 1985) was an American radio and television sportscaster and commentator, best known for his 28-year stint as the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball club, with whom he earned the ...

. Listed at in height, and weighing , King batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

In 1936, three years after the death of his father during the height of the Depression, King was sent to board at the Hershey Industrial School in

Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey. The community is lo ...

. The school was originally established for impoverished, healthy, male orphans who lived in and worked on Milton Hershey's farm homes and attended school until their graduation. It was here that Nellie learned a vocation, the love of God and man, and wholesome responsibility.

Baseball career

King pitched in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

from 1954 through 1957 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished his career with a 7–5 record and appeared in 95 games, all but four in relief. King was originally signed by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

as an amateur free agent in 1946; however, he was traded to the Pirates after the 1948 season. As a batter, King holds the major league record for most plate appearances (29) without reaching base.

Broadcasting career

After selling municipal bonds following his retirement from baseball, King moved into sports broadcasting in 1959 for radio stations in Greensburg and Latrobe, both small cities near Pittsburgh. He was hired as the third member of the Pirates' broadcasting team for the 1967 season, joining

and Jim Woods. King replaced

Don Hoak Donald Albert Hoak (February 5, 1928 – October 9, 1969), nicknamed "Tiger", was an American professional baseball third baseman and coach. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, ...

, who had moved back onto the field as a major league coach. Woods left the Pirates after the 1969 season and was replaced by

Gene Osborn Gene Osborn (August 10, 1922 – November 27, 1975) was a radio and television sportscaster in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, known primarily as a play-by-play for several major league baseball teams. He also had a substantial career in radio and tele ...

. When Osborn was fired after one year, the Pirates went with a two-man team, Prince and King. The broadcasting duo remained in place until 1975, when Prince and King were told their contracts would not be renewed. Prince had issues with management at KDKA, which held the broadcast rights. King was swept out in the station's desire to start with a completely new team. The Pirates offered King a job heading the team's

speakers bureau A speakers bureau is a collection of speakers who talk about a particular subject, or a company, which operates to facilitate speakers for clients requiring motivational speakers, celebrity appearances, conference facilitators, or keynote speaker ...

, but he declined. He was hired as sports information director at

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

, and started a career that lasted more than 20 years at the university. King also served as color commentator on Duquesne basketball broadcasts and coached the golf team from 1988 until 2004. King continued to do freelance broadcasting work and was employed by various radio stations, including KDKA, WWSW, WEEP, WTAE, and WEDO. He also served as color analyst on radio broadcasts of Carnegie–Mellon football. King returned to the Pirates' broadcast booth as a guest commentator for a game in the final season at

Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Buil ...

on October 1, 2000. In 2009, he published a book titled
Happiness Is Like A Cur Dog: The Thirty-Year Journey of a Major League Baseball Pitcher and Broadcaster
'.

Personal information

King and his wife, Bernadette (d. June 17, 2017), had three daughters and two grandchildren. On August 11, 2010, King died after a battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

References

External links

Nelson King FiledBy Author Site - "Happiness Is LIke A Cur Dog" (Nellie's Autobiography)

Cur Dog Blog (Nellie's Book Blog)
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Nellie 1928 births 2010 deaths Pittsburgh Pirates players Baseball players from Pennsylvania College football announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Hollywood Stars players Denver Bears players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Charleston Rebels players York White Roses players New Iberia Cardinals players New Iberia Pelicans players Anderson Rebels players Geneva Red Birds players Pittsburgh Pirates announcers People from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania Radio personalities from Pittsburgh Milton Hershey School alumni