NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland >> Holy Toledo, the wait is over.

Bill King, who once lived on a sailboat in Sausalito, will be honored in Cooperstown this July 29 as the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced the news Wednesday morning.

King, the longtime voice of the A’s, was famed for his erudite phrasing and passionate intonations. He died in 2005, but for Bay Area fans his spirit is very much alive.

“Bill King’s enthusiasm for every game he called carried through the airwaves and into the hearts of fans throughout Northern California,” Jeff Idelson, the president of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a release announcing the selection.

“From his distinctive word choices in describing the action to his unabashed love of Oakland and the Bay Area, King crafted a career that became synonymous with the action at the Oakland Coliseum and throughout the sports world.”

King was the A’s radio voice from 1981-2005 and for 25 years captured games in his distinctive style. During that span, the man with the handlebar mustache and theatric delivery narrated “Billy Ball” through “Moneyball” and he was behind the mike for three American League pennant winners, including the 1989 World Series champs.

King is just as famous for his signature sound on the Warriors and Raiders

Ken Korach, the A’s current broadcaster and King’s on-air partner for 10 years, has been beating the drum for his Hall of Fame recognition for much of the past decade.

Along the way, he collected quotes from scores of quotes fellow announcers to reflect King’s impact on the game. Korach’s book on King included this gem from longtime Giants broadcaster Hank Greenwald: “The essence of radio broadcasting is to be able to create the word picture, because when you are sitting at home, that’s all you have. His descriptions were so vivid and colorful that perhaps in your mind you could picture what was going on better than if you were there.”

King was named one of eight finalists for the Frick Award months ago but enthusiasm was tempered by previous disappointments. This was the sixth time King had reached the finalist stage for the award.

This time, he finally broke through, topping a field that also included Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow.

King launched his sportscasting career in the late 1940s in Pekin, Illinois, when he broadcast minor league baseball games, as well as high school football and basketball.

On Wednesday, he reached a new pinnacle.

“Bill, in terms of his own passion, was at the top of the charts,” Korach said in a phone interview. “And it was really gratifying to talk to so many people whose lives he impacted.

“Because, frankly, there are people in our business that just show up. They go to the press room and have dinner. They look at the game notes and they go on the air. Bill would never have done that. He never did do that. He was just so dedicated to his preparation. It was so exemplary.”