Radtke, 32, is the radio play-by-play voice of the Reno Aces baseball team and University of Nevada football and men's basketball. He is a rising star in the world of sports radio play-by-play. His announcingcompares to that of King, the legendary Bay Area voice of the Oakland Raiders, Golden State Warriors and Oakland Athletics. King died in October 2005 at the age of 78.

A radio play-by-play announcer must have the ability to quickly convert what he sees into words. He must paint a detailed word picture that enables listeners to visualize the action, frequently give the score and time/inning of the game so the listeners aren't left wondering who is ahead and how much of the game is left to play. His words and vocal inflections must reflect the level of excitement and/or tension at any particular moment so listeners can sense it. He must provide pertinent information about the teams and, when possible, give background information on the team and its players.

A football announcer should give yard line, down and distance to a first down, set the offense and defense and describe the play to it's conclusion. A basketball announcer should tell the listener who has the ball and where it is on the court, what defense is being used and what kind and direction of ball movement is being used, and stay on top of the action so he announces a basket is scored at the same second the crowd's cheering. Baseball announcers should say what the pitch is, keep track of the count, base runners and outs, and mention possible scenarios for the upcoming pitch. They must fill time between pitches with game information, anecdotal stories, statistics and more.

Radtke does all those things and more with precision. The listener has no doubt about what's going on.

In other words, he does the same thing Bill King did for more than 30 years.

Always wanted to do play-by-play
Radtke grew up in Concord, Calif., and attended De La Salle High School, whose football teams became legendary after going undefeated for 12 consecutive seasons from 1992-2004. For as long as he could remember, Radtke wanted to do radio play-by-play. He grew up listening to announcing greats such as King, Hank Greenwald of the San Francisco Giants and Lon Simmons with the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco 49ers (Simmons' lengthy stint with the Giants ended in 1978 when Radtke was only 1.) Listening to them left a strong impression on the young Radtke.

“It was a tremendous influence to listen to those guys, truly some of the giants who have ever worked in this business, Radtke said.

However, it was a chance to sit in the Giants radio booth during a game when he was in high school that spurred Radtke on to career in sportscasting.

“A friend of a friend was engineering the Giants games and arraigned for me to sit in the booth,” Radtke said. “It was a game against the Dodgers and there was a packed house (at Candlestick Park) that night. I sat in the radio booth with Hank Greenwald, Ted Robinson and Mike Krukow.

“Hank Greenwald could not have been nicer. Here I was, this high school kid who was interested in broadcasting, and Hank took the time to talk to me before the game. When it was Ted's innings he talked to me. It was at that moment I thought I'd love the opportunity to be in the position that this guy is, an outstanding broadcaster yet he has time for a high school kid who's interested in going that way. That night I thought ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.'”

He received his first taste of broadcasting while still in high school, calling De La Salle Spartans basketball games on the school's student TV station.

Getting started in Tucson
Radtke attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he hosted a talk show on the student-run radio station. He joined the Wildcats professional broadcasting team in 1998, one year before graduation, serving as host of the pre-game, halftime and post-game shows on football and men's basketball broadcasts through 2008, and second play-by-play voice on baseball broadcasts through the 2002 season.

During that time, he became acquainted with Brett Dolan, then the voice of the Tucson Sidewinders, the Triple-A baseball team that became the Reno Aces. Desiring to be a professional baseball broadcaster, Radtke let Dolan know he would welcome the opportunity to work with him. It was an important contact, one which soon led to the opening he sought.

Two years later, Dolan offered Radtke the job as the Sidewinders second announcer. Radtke worked with Dolan for three seasons, then became the Sidewinders lead announcer in 2006 after Dolan left to take a broadcasting job with the Houston Astros.

“It was an outstanding three years,” Radtke said of his time working with Dolan. “I learned a lot from him. He was a tremendous guy to work with. He didn't have an ego, he let me do my thing and make my mistakes and helped me along the way. I'll always be grateful to him, because without him I wouldn't be in the position I'm in today. He welcomed me into his booth and let me do my thing. It's because of him that I'm where I am today.”

From Tucson to Reno, Wildcats to Wolf Pack
Early in the 2008 baseball season, it became known that the Sidewinders franchise would move to Reno the following season, and Radtke decided to move with them. Meanwhile, the University of Nevada's long-running broadcasting contract with Gustin Sports Productions expired. Learfield Sports of Plano, Texas, outbid GSP for the Wolf Pack's broadcasting rights and didn't retain Dan Gustin as the Wolf Pack's radio play-by-play voice. Radtke soon heard the Wolf Pack was looking for a new announcer.

“I thought ‘boy that would be great if that worked out,' so I got my stuff together and sent it in, Radtke said. “Then last year, when the Sidewinders were in Sacramento, I drove to Reno and went through interviews. A couple weeks later they offered the job.”

Radtke made his Reno radio debut with the Wolf Pack last football season, then became the voice of the Aces in April. He's the youngest broadcaster in Triple A. Like all minor league announcers, he hopes to land a job in the majors someday, but for now he's very happy where he is.

“We would all love to be in the big leagues,” Radtke said. “But you have to be happy with what you are doing and enjoy it on a daily basis. If I wasn't enjoying what I did, I wouldn't be here. So, do I want to get to the big leagues? Absolutely. But I'm also going to enjoy my time in the minor leagues.”

Each sport is challenging
Not many radio announcers simultaneously hold football, basketball and baseball jobs. King did from 1981-1983 with the Raiders, Warriors and A's. Radtke has that rare opportunity now, and he says that each sport has its own set of challenges.

“I don't know if you can say that one is easier or one is harder,” Radtke said. “Baseball provides the biggest challenge on radio because of the length of games, because you're often working by yourself and there's so much going on. Baseball is the one sport that is built for radio. So in that respect I think baseball does offer the biggest challenge.

“Basketball is a fast-paced game, you have to be able to keep up with what's going on. And football is sort of in between because you have the play then you have the dead time. I think that's where your color guy really gets a chance to shine on football broadcasts.

“So, they're all different, they all offer their different challenges, they're all hard in some ways and easy in others. They all offer challenges and they're all fun to do.”

Blessed to be where he is
No announcer lands professional baseball and a major college broadcasting jobs without good fortune, and help from the right people. Radtke understands that, and is thankful for the opportunity and the help.

“I am humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to do what I want to do,” Radtke said. “It's amazing to me, and I'm thankful to all the great people who have helped me along the way. There's no way I'd be where I am today without those people. They've meant so much to me and I'm very appreciative to them for what they've done. And I'm appreciative to be in a great place like Reno and get a chance to be here for the Aces inaugural season, and work with a great program like the Nevada Wolf Pack.

“It's really beyond my wildest dreams. It's a great place to be and I hope I'm here for a long, long time.”

And somewhere, Bill King is listening to Radtke, and smiling.