Steelers Hire Rob King To Fill Bill Hillgrove's Legendary Shoes: "It's A Dream Come True"

The Pittsburgh Steelers said goodbye to one of the longest tenured members of their organization during the 2024 offseason. Bill Hillgrove, the radio play-by-play announcer for the Steelers Audio Network, announced his retirement after spending the last 30 years in the role. The search for the next voice of the Steelers seemed long, but Rob King has finally been hired to follow in Hillgrove's footsteps.

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Bill Hillgrove has been the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.

Hillgrove began his tenure in 1994, and wound up calling Super Bowl XXX in just just his second year in the role. Fans will certainly miss hearing his voice, but King has experience in the position and should be able to take over the job rather flawlessly. King has worked within the Pittsburgh sports market for the last 25 years, and now finally gets to take on his dream job. He spoke with Bob Labriola about how he is feeling as he takes on this new gig.

"First of all, it's exciting being a larger part of the Steelers experience. Over the last decade or so, I've been a part of Steelers programming on game days. This will be a continuation of that, and for me, it's at the highest level of game day programming, which is calling the games themselves. In Pittsburgh, it's exciting to be part of the Steelers, and now to be able to do the games is a dream come true."

King will take on a vital role that is a lot different from broadcasting games on TV. He is now responsible for painting the full picture of every play in every listener's mind. He will be joining former Steelers offensive lineman Craig Wolfley on the call, who is the color commentator.

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Rob King (left) and Art Rooney II (right) sit down for an interview.

Steelers' King Remains Humble As He Takes Over For Hillgrove

Taking over a role that has been held by the same individual for 30 years can be daunting, but it is also an honor. King has plenty of experience filling in for Hillgrove in the past, and calling high school games in the area as well. He knows how to prepare for the role, and should be able to go for his first game on August 9th. King spoke more about how he feels taking over for Hillgrove.

"You have to understand you're not replacing anybody. You're following, and if you stop and think about it in that context, it's obviously humbling because you're talking about two phenomenal announcers. I don't feel any pressure, but it's not lost on me that this is a job that has been done extremely well by extremely talented people prior to the first time I'll be calling a Steelers game this August. That's not lost on me."

King understands the legends who came before him, as Hillgrove called four Super Bowls for the Steelers. His predecessor, Jack Fleming, held the role during the 1970s and called many of the most popular moments in the history of the organization. This included the Immaculate Reception and four Super Bowl victories.