Rich King (born 1947 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

) is an American

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

who worked for CW affiliate and national

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superstation ''Superstation'' (alternatively rendered as "super station" or informally as "SuperStation") is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a broadcast television sign ...

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...

in Chicago, Illinois. He served as sports anchor for the station's 9 p.m. newscast on Saturday and Sunday evenings, and filed sports reports for the station's Sunday through Thursday evening newscasts. He retired on June 15, 2016, after 48 years in the business.

Career

King was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, near

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a ballpark in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-south side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Built by Wh ...

. He attended the

De La Salle Institute De La Salle Institute is a private, Catholic, coeducational high school run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by Brother Adjutor o ...

and is a graduate of the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

. King started his broadcast career in 1968 as an intern for WGN, who hired him as a writer and producer the following year. In 1970, Rich moved to radio station

WBBM (AM) WBBM (780 kHz) – branded ''Newsradio 105.9 WBBM'' – is a commercial all-news AM radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Audacy, Inc., its studios are located at Two Prudential Plaza in the Chicago Loop, while the station' ...

as a writer and producer, before becoming the assistant news director and managing editor two years later in 1972. In 1974, King became an on-air sportscaster along with being a color commentator and play-by-play announcer for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

baseball club for the 1980 and 1981 seasons. In January 1985, he was promoted to sports director at WBBM radio and remained in that position until he joined

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an network af ...

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's CBS network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington St ...

. King returned to WGN-TV in an on-camera position as a sports reporter and anchor in August 1991. After a 1994 reader poll, the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported that viewers appreciated the "down-to-earth, no-hype styles" of King and his fellow WGN sports anchor Dan Roan.

Other work

King has served on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and the communications committee of the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

"My Maggie"

King also authored a novel entitled ''My Maggie'', which was published in October 2007 under King Books. The book centers on the story of King's late wife and childhood sweetheart Maggie Smith, who was diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of four, and whom he referred to as "an awkward tomboy with hearing aid wires tangled in her dress at the play lot" and later "a blossoming beauty." King and Smith married in 1970; they and were married for 32 years until she died as a result of cancer in 2002, after having fought the disease two previous times. 75% of royalties from the book went to the American Cancer Society and the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind.

Back in the Game

In 2015, King's second book, ''Back in the Game'', was published by Eckhartz Press. The book is about his second wife and life after Maggie.

Awards and recognition

King was recognized for his achievement in sportscasting. In 1989, he had the highest approval rating (75%) among local television and radio sports reporters in a ''Chicago Sun-Times'' readers poll. He was named "Sportscaster of the Year" by the Illinois Broadcasters Association in 1991. He also won awards from the Illinois chapters of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

for his sportscasts. In 1998, King was honored with a Regional Emmy for his coverage of the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

basketball team.1997 to 1998 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Winners
. National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Chicago/Midwest. Retrieved on November 13, 2012.

References

External links

Official website for ''My Maggie''
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Rich 1947 births Living people American sports announcers American television reporters and correspondents American male non-fiction writers Television sports anchors from Chicago Chicago White Sox announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Mass media people from Chicago University of Illinois Chicago alumni