Islanders radio play-by-play voice, Chris King returned to the booth over the weekend after missing a broadcast for health reasons.
Thursday morning, King felt tightness in his chest which is something he will never ignore after his father died from a heart attack in 2009. King checked into the Good Samaritan Hospital emergency room where he underwent a series of tests, all of which offered good news for the Islanders announcer, but after six hours passed, King realized he wasn’t going to make that night’s game against the Devils.
The last time King missed a broadcast was in 2009, when his father passed away. In 25 years working on Islanders radio, Thursday was the first time King was unable to attend a game for illness or injury, but it allowed him the rare opportunity to sit home and enjoy hearing others on the call. Thursday also happened to be the same night WFAN’s morning show co-hosts, Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti, were behind the mic for the Devils broadcast
“It was very strange,” King told Newsday’s Neil Best. “It was a unique experience to be able to watch the game on MSG Plus and see the great job they do, which I never see, listen to my own broadcast, which I wasn’t on, which was surreal, then to have Boomer, who I grew up with, doing the game with Gio.
“It was probably the perfect night to have it happen, if you will, in that I could sit there and rotate through the three audio sources in my bedroom as I watched it on TV.”
King went to his cardiologist on Friday for more tests and will continue to be monitored in the coming weeks. The Islanders announcer also stressed how important it is that no one should take possible heart attack symptoms lightly.
After returning to the booth on Saturday, King is hopeful he can start a new 25-year streak of health not playing a factor in missing the job he loves. The longtime radio announcer was grateful for how many people reached out with concern and well wishes.
“The reason I have a job is people like to listen to Islanders hockey,” King told Best. “[The fans] mean everything to me . . . It makes you realize how much people value the work that you do, and it was a great feeling, it really was.”
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.