Former Utica Sportscaster Just Got Hired by an NFL Team

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a new play-by-play broadcaster and he is a familiar face to many in Upstate New York.

Utica has had several big names get their start in our little city. Tim Roye used to work for WIBX and is now the voice of the Golden State Warriors. Brendan Burke called games locally for the Utica Comets and is now the voice of the New York Islanders. He also occasionally calls games for the New York Yankees on WFAN radio. Jim Jackson used to be a sports guy for WIBX and now does the TV play-by-play for the Philadelphia Flyers. Now there is someone else who joins the ranks of former Utica sports voices on to bigger and better things.

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced on Thursday, July 18th, 2024 that their new radio play-by-play anchor would be Rob King. King who is a graduate of Cooperstown High School used to be the sports guy for WUTR, the ABC affiliate in Utica. According to the Pittsburgh Steelers website,

What had started out for Rob King as a stopover in a city because of a job that was neither well-defined nor permanent has turned into a professional and personal dream come true.

He has been selected as the replacement for Bill Hillgrove, who announced his retirement on Feb. 29th. The Steelers organization announced King's first game behind the microphone will be on Friday, August 9th, 2024 when the Steelers open their preseason against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. King says,

I worked in upstate New York, and I worked in St. Louis, kind of going back and forth and my job in 2000 brought me to Pittsburgh during a stopover on my way to St. Louis. But I was here for three months and I immediately thought, 'If I ever have a chance to stay in Pittsburgh … And I was somebody who liked St. Louis, too, but I just loved Pittsburgh from the first minute I was here.

It will be exciting for the abundant number of CNY Pittsburgh Steelers fans to hear a possibly familiar voice on the radio broadcasts for the steel city NFL team. Congratulations to King and we wish him all the best.