Voice of the Kings Gets Royal Treatment at Last

Listen to the Kings’ next telecast.

Don’t watch. Listen. And let Bob Miller’s voice paint a word picture as vivid as any high-tech, multi-camera production could ever be.

“I’ve told him many times I could turn my head and know, from the inflection of his voice, where the puck is and if a goal might be scored soon,” said Jim Fox, Miller’s color commentator for 11 seasons. “From a broadcasting standpoint, I don’t know anyone who carries the emotion of a game better than Bob.

“He understands the flow of a game and as you listen, you can’t help but pick that up. It’s a pleasure listening to him.”

King fans have listened to Miller for more than 2,300 games over 28 seasons, the first 17 on simulcasts. He has outlasted four owners, six general managers, five broadcast partners, 13 coaches and one arena.

He has survived the meddling of owner Jack Kent Cooke, the peculiarities of General Manager George Maguire, bad years and good, to become an enduring symbol of the Kings and win the admiration of his peers.

The NHL Broadcasters Assn. on Monday presented Miller the Foster Hewitt Award for outstanding contributions to hockey and his profession, and he will have a plaque in the media wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Named for the broadcaster who pioneered hockey play by play on radio, it’s the highest accolade a hockey broadcaster can receive.

“It’s a great honor for me,” Miller said Monday as he put on his Hall of Fame jacket. “I like the way it fits.”

Also honored Monday were Joe Mullen and Denis Savard, inducted into the Hall in the players’ category, and Walter Bush Jr., inducted as a builder. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal received the Elmer Ferguson memorial award for contributions to print journalism.

Miller, 62, isn’t under contract for next season, although the Kings have promised him lifetime employment. He’s having too much fun to retire.

“I’m often asked how I keep my enthusiasm,” he said. “I think it’s because when you go to work, you never know what you’re going to see. It could be a record of some kind, especially in the Wayne Gretzky era. There are nights you don’t want to go, but you get caught up in the atmosphere of being at a live sporting event.

“That’s one of the best things: It’s a live event. I still enjoy the fact it’s live, not on tape, and you can’t say, ‘Let’s stop the tape and do it again.’ You can’t take it back, so let’s do it right.”

His dedication and professionalism make him a worthy recipient of the Hewitt award, his fellow broadcasters say.

“It wouldn’t be Dodger baseball without Vin Scully, Laker basketball without Chick Hearn or Kings’ hockey without Bob,” said Jiggs McDonald, the Kings’ announcer their first five seasons. McDonald, now the radio voice of the Florida Panthers, won the Hewitt award in 1990 and is a member of the selection committee.

“I remember talking to Vin once, and he said it was his job to take the fan at home and bring that fan to the ballpark. Bob does that,” McDonald said. “Bob has endeared himself to fans with his knowledge of the game, his ability, and his knack of bringing the player to the fan, of humanizing the player. He has a sense of humor too, and that’s important.”

Miller’s sense of humor served him well during Cooke’s tenure.

Miller, who grew up in Chicago listening to Lloyd Pettit’s Blackhawk broadcasts, started calling hockey games at the University of Wisconsin when Bob Johnson’s Badgers were an NCAA powerhouse. When a friend in California told him in 1972 that McDonald would soon be leaving, Miller sent some tapes to Hearn, who was in charge of broadcasting for Cooke. Hearn promised to recommend him to Cooke, but the next word Miller got was a friend saying the Kings had hired Roy Storey.

“You never went into Jack Kent Cooke and said, ‘This is my pick,’ because he wanted you to know he was in charge and he’d pick someone else,” Miller said. “I was pretty disappointed, but I stayed in Wisconsin and they won the NCAA championship, so that was fun.”

A year later, though, the Kings were looking again. Miller sent new tapes to Hearn and decided to plead his case to Hearn in Chicago, where the Lakers were playing the Bulls. He arrived at the Lakers’ hotel three hours before the team, and he almost didn’t wait. His patience was rewarded.

“I went up to Chick and said, ‘I’m Bob Miller and I just wanted to say hello,’ and he told me, ‘We may have something for you,’ ” Miller said. “Chick’s the fastest guy in the world from check-in to his room, so the meeting was about a minute and a half. On the way home I was thinking, ‘Did I just waste a couple of hours?’

“As it turned out, they had me come out there in June and I signed in July [1973].”

He had no idea what he had signed up for. Cooke, who’d brought the NHL to Los Angeles in 1967, had a finger in every aspect of the club’s operations. Perched in his box high above one end of the Forum ice, his transistor radio on and binoculars trained on Miller, Cooke would call Miller to berate him during games.

“I’ve never worked for anyone as hands-on as Mr. Cooke,” Miller said. “No one at Wisconsin ever said, ‘Don’t do this.’ It was a real shock. He was on you constantly. Two months into the season, I remember driving to a game and thinking, ‘I’m going to do the game to the best of my ability and not worry if every word out of my mouth pleases Mr. Cooke.’ You can’t do your job that way.

“He’d call during a broadcast and say, ‘You’re not doing what I told you to do.’ He wanted me to sell season tickets. I liken it to Pavlov’s dog, where the dog associated a bell with feeding time, and every time a bell rang, the dog salivated. Every time I heard a phone ring, I did a season-ticket plug. It could have been four rows back in the press box, but I’d hear a phone and figure it was him and say, ‘Remember folks, season tickets are available.’ ”

Cooke also threatened to fire him.

“Mr. Cooke called me into the office and said he wanted me to mention our sponsor more,” Miller said. “Our main sponsor then was Datsun. He said, ‘For instance, you’ll say, “There’s Marcel Dionne scooting down ice like a Datsun.” What do you think of that?’

“I told him I couldn’t think of saying it once, let alone every game, and he went berserk. He said, ‘Get out of my sight. You’re this close to being fired,’ and he held up his thumb and forefinger close together. ‘Do you know how many people would love to have your job?’

“I worked for him for six years. The only reason I lasted is, he was out of town for four of those years.”

Maguire, the Kings’ general manager from 1977 until Jan. 30, 1984, also made strange requests. Once, with Cooke in Las Vegas, Maguire asked Miller not to mention the name of defenseman Bob Murdoch. Puzzled, Miller asked if Murdoch had been benched. Maguire said Murdoch would play, but he didn’t want Cooke to know because the owner didn’t like Murdoch.

“George said Cooke would listen to the game and see how many times Murdoch’s name was mentioned and chew him out,” Miller said. “I said, ‘George, that’s unreasonable.’ As it happened, in that game, Murdoch was blocking shots and playing well and I was saying, ‘What a great play by Murdoch,’ and every time I mentioned his name, George was cringing.

“At times, George was not too happy with the things I said on the air. My philosophy has always been to do an honest broadcast. I’ve never singled out a player and really gotten on him. I might say, ‘He missed a check,’ but that’s part of the broadcast. If the team is losing, 7-1, I’m going to say they’re losing. The fan knows as well as I do if the team is playing poorly. If we’re losing, 7-1, for me to say it’s the referee’s fault is absurd. I hate hearing that and I won’t do that.”

Although Miller is paid by the Kings, who are reimbursed by Fox Sports for his broadcast work, he isn’t a homer.

“If the other team scores a great goal, the emotion is there and the inflection is there as much as if a King scores a goal,” Jim Fox said. “Other broadcasters don’t show respect for the other team that Bob does. I’ve listened to other broadcasters who, when their team does something, make it sound like it’s the best thing in the world and if the other team does something, it’s the worst.”

Miller’s preparation is another trademark.

“He pays great attention to detail,” said Pete Weber, who worked with Miller from 1978-81 and is now the Nashville Predators’ play-by-play voice. “I never saw him at a point where he didn’t do a tremendous amount of work before each game. . . . It’s unfair that he’s been overshadowed by Scully and Hearn. He’s easily one of the best play-by-play guys I’ve ever listened to, with Bob Wilson [former voice of the Boston Bruins] and Lloyd Pettit in Pettit’s early days.”

Said McDonald: “I’ve always maintained that although you’re paid by the cable company or team, your real employer is the fans. If they don’t like your approach to the game, you’re going to be in trouble. He’s loved by the fans.”

Although the Kings have never won the Stanley Cup, they’ve given Miller many fond memories. Their 1982 “Miracle on Manchester” playoff triumph is high on his list, as are their 1993 conference final victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs and appearance in the Cup finals. Describing the plays on which Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s goal and point records were also personal highlights.

“Those are moments that when you get into this, you think, ‘I’d like to be able to be there to call that play,’ ” Miller said.

He hopes he will call many more like that.

“The Kings have been great to me,” he said. “In the summers, I can do as I please and it kind of rejuvenates me. By the middle of August, I’m always eager and thinking, ‘Let’s get going. Let’s get on the air.’ As long as that’s still there, I’ll keep doing this.”

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Mr. Steady

Since Bob Miller was hired as the Kings’ announcer in 1973, he has been one of the franchise’s few constants.

Miller’s broadcast partners: Jim Minnick, Dan Avey, Rich Marotta, Pete Weber, Nick Nickson, Jim Fox*

King owners during Miller’s tenure: Jack Kent Cooke, Jerry Buss, Bruce McNall, Jeffrey Sudikoff-Joe Cohen, Philip Anschutz-Ed Roski Jr.*

King general managers during Miller’s tenure: Larry Regan, Jake Milford, George Maguire, Rogie Vachon, Nick Beverley, Sam McMaster, Dave Taylor*

King coaches during Miller’s tenure: Bob Pulford, Ron Stewart, Bob Berry, Parker MacDonald, Don Perry, Rogie Vachon**, Roger Neilson, Pat Quinn, Mike Murphy, Robbie Ftorek, Tom Webster, Barry Melrose, Larry Robinson, Andy Murray*

*Incumbent; **Had three terms as interim coach.

*

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