Rob King to take over for Bill Hillgrove as Steelers' radio play-by-play voice

The role for replacing a legend was fit for a King.

Rob King will take over as radio play-by-play broadcaster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced via media partner IHeart on Thursday, taking over for longtime voice of the team Bill Hillgrove.

King, who will team with returning color analyst Craig Wolfley in the booth, has been working in the Pittsburgh market for a quarter century and spent the past 10 seasons as part of the Steelers Radio Network’s pregame show.

“Rob has done a great job in his 25-year career in the Pittsburgh market and is very respected among his peers in the business,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement released on the team website. “We are excited for Steelers Nation to hear his unique perspective and excitement of making our fans feel they are in the stadium witnessing the action on the field. He has big shoes to fill with the legendary broadcasters that have come before him, but we are thrilled to have Rob step into his new role to bring Steelers football to our fans across the world.”

King made the announcement during an appearance Thursday morning on WDVE-FM, the Steelers’ flagship station. It was the same way in which Hillgrove announced he was stepping down from Steelers play-by-play duties in February.

Hillgrove, the 83-year-old who remains on Pitt broadcasts, spent 30 seasons calling Steelers games.

King long worked for Pittsburgh’s regional sports network that has gone through a series of name changes over the years. In recent seasons, he has been more ubiquitous around the Steelers, particularly this spring when he was a regular at organized team activities and minicamp and often conducted interviews of players on behalf of the team for publication on the team website and social-media channels.

“The Steelers hold a special place in this community and across the country,” King said in a prepared statement. “I am thankful to Art Rooney II, the Steelers and iHeartMedia for giving me this incredible opportunity to be a meaningful part of one of the greatest organizations in professional sports. I look forward to getting started, doing the job well and bringing the enthusiasm of the games to people around the world. I could not be more excited.”

The Steelers had only two play-by-play announcers over the past six-plus decades, with Jack Fleming the predecessor to Hillgrove.

Though he perhaps was most known to Pittsburgh sports fans as pre- and post-game hosts for Pirates and Penguins games over the years on Fox Sports/FSN/ROOT Sports/AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, King more recently has been part of the Steelers Audio Network and the broader Steelers Media Network. He will continue in those roles.

“We are thrilled for him to bring his passion for game calling into the booth and create an exciting radio broadcast for our audiences,” iHeartMedia Pittsburgh president Tim McAleer said in a statement.

King’s debut will come Aug. 9 during a preseason game against the Houston Texans. The Steelers’ regular season opens Sept. 8 at the Atlanta Falcons.