The Steelers will be without play-by-play announcer Bill Hillgrove for the first two games of the 2020 season due to a suspension.
Hillgrove was involved in a drunk driving incident in June and will serve a two-game suspension because of that incident, meaning he will not call the team’s games against the Giants Sept. 14 on the road and their home opener the following week against the Broncos.
Hillgrove has been the Steelers’ play-by-play announcer since 1994 when he took over for longtime announcer Jack Fleming.
Rob King, who filled in for Hillgrove at the end of the 2019 season when he was out following back surgery, is expected to call the Steelers games in his place.
It also is expected to be a different feel for the team’s radio broadcast crew in 2020, as well. Because of the pandemic, the team’s radio broadcast crew will not call the games in stadium this year.
Per sources, all game broadcasts will be done from media partner iHeartMedia’s studios in Greentree, Pa. There is some hope, however, that the radio crew of Hillgrove, color man Tunch Ilkin and sideline analysts Craig Wolfley and Missi Matthews will be able to resume calling the games in stadium sometime around midseason.
It’s not known at this time whether the University of Pittsburgh, for which Hillgrove also does play-by-play for the football and men’s basketball programs, will also be taking any action against him.