Kim King dies at age 59

Kim King, a legendary figure in Tech athletics, first as a player and then as the Yellow Jackets’ long-time color analyst and as a philanthropist, died Tuesday morning after a battle with leukemia. He was 59.

“We’ve lost a great person. Personally, he was responsible for bringing me back to Georgia Tech,” Athletic Director Dave Braine said.

King began his long association with Tech when he enrolled at the Institute in the fall of 1963. “The Young Lefthander” was a three-year starter at quarterback from 1965-67, leading the Jackets to berths in the Gator and Orange Bowls. One of the highlights of his career came when he helped the Jackets to a victory over No. 8 Tennessee in 1966, and he was named National Back of the Week by Sports Illustrated magazine. He finished his career as Tech’s all-time leading passer.

Also an outstanding student, King earned his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Management from Tech in 1968, launching a successful business career. In 1972 he founded Kim King Associates, Inc., one of Atlanta’s foremost commercial real estate development firms. His firm developed numerous properties all over Atlanta, including the Centergy complex adjacent to the Tech campus at Technology Square.

“For so many people, he embodies what Georgia Tech is-you play, you compete, you win, but you do it the right way,” Tech’s play-by-play voice Wes Durham said.

At the Yellow Jackets’ most recent home football game against Miami on Oct. 2, Tech honored King by officially dedicating the Kim King Football Locker Room at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field.

“He is such a significant piece of Georgia Tech legend, lore and history,” Durham said. “He was such a comforting voice on Saturday afternoons for so many people. And I’m so happy that we were able to honor him at the Miami game, and he was able to see what he has meant to so many Georgia Tech fans.”

A man with a strong sense of civic responsibility and personal giving, King’s accomplishments extend well beyond the Tech community.

“Kim had, as his basis, that most rare combination of honesty, compassion and an indefatigable drive to win,” former Tech Coach Bill Curry said. “His capacity for loyalty, whether to his alma mater or to a friend, was limitless.”

King served as finance chair for former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes and as chairman of the board of Georgia Public Broadcasting. He was active in fundraising activities for cancer research as well as for the Bobby Dodd Charities Foundation, Inc.

After leaving the field in 1967, King became a force for Tech athletics behind the scenes. He chaired the initial feasibility study for what ultimately became the Arthur B. Edge Center, which houses Tech’s athletics offices. At the time of its completion in 1982, the Edge Center was a significant move by the Institute toward a commitment to intercollegiate athletics. In 1988 he was a driving force behind an agreement between the Board of Regents and the Grant family heirs to add the name of Bobby Dodd to Tech’s home field.

Generations of Yellow Jacket fans knew King for his role as the color analyst on Tech’s radio broadcasts. He joined the radio broadcast team in 1974 as the partner of legendary play-by-play voice Al Ciraldo.

Durham, Tech’s current play-by-play voice, began working with King in 1995.

“Kim King is Georgia Tech, and I’m honored that I had the chance to know him and work with him for the last 10 years,” Durham said.

Head Football Coach Chan Gailey said, “Kim King is the true Tech man, from the way he played on the football field to his successful business career, and most importantly, in the way he lived his life.”

King was originally diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer, in 1999. Last May, he was diagnosed with secondary acute myelogenous leukemia.

A public memorial service is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the Tech campus.

King is survived by his wife, Gail, daughters Angela and Abby, son Beau, and two grandchildren.