The death of radio and CNN talk-show icon Larry King Saturday morning at age 87 resonated with the Buffalo Bisons, who were planning to have King as part of their ownership group if they were awarded a franchise by Major League Baseball in 1991.
Larry King, the suspenders-sporting everyman who interviewed world leaders, movie stars and ordinary Joes for a half-century, died Saturday. He was 87.
The club paid tribute to King on its website Saturday with some memories of his visits in the early years of then-Pilot Field.
King narrated the club's video, "Buffalo: A Natural for Expansion" that was presented to the National League Expansion Committee in 1990. He had visited the ballpark for its ceremonial opening in May, 1988 and was invited to throw the first pitch and sit in the radio booth that night with Bisons announcers Pete Weber and John Murphy. From that point, he regular checked in with owner Bob Rich Jr., his wife, Mindy, and club officials.
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"Larry was a big believer in professional baseball in Buffalo and a trusted friend to our organization as we made our pitch for a Major League expansion franchise,” Bob Rich Jr. said Saturday in a statement through the team.
"Larry shared our passion for this team and for the fans of Western New York and he would’ve been an instrumental piece to our success," said Mindy Rich, president of Rich Entertainment Group. "Bob and I want to express our condolences to Larry’s family during this difficult time."
Tweeted Rich Baseball President and longtime Bisons GM Mike Buczkowski: "One of the highlights of my early days with the Bisons was answering the phone and hearing the legendary Larry King’s voice, just calling to check in on how the team was doing. Rest In Peace Larry."
King's interview with Weber and Murphy was interspersed with him filling in play-by-play gaps as the Bisons-Syracuse game was going on.
"It’s infinitely nicer than I thought it would be," King said of the ballpark in one memorable moment that night on WBEN Radio. "It’s a Major League ballpark and I have a feeling I am in an older ballpark which is what a … pitch is high and away."
You can listen to that interview in the YouTube link below:
On the day he threw a ceremonial first pitch at Pilot Field, Larry King also stepped to the mic to call a little play-by-play with #Bisons broadcasters @PeteWeberSports and @murph_bills.🎙️: https://t.co/NyPkhEPTSU pic.twitter.com/3ARIcimvks
— Buffalo Bisons🦬 (@BuffaloBisons) January 23, 2021
