Foster, "Bud" Wilson

Born October 27, 1914 in Seattle, Washington, died July 2, 1988 in San Mateo, Ca.. He was 73. Bud worked for KLX Radio owned for three decades by Joseph R. Knowland, owner and publisher of the Oakland Tribune. He was the announcer on Bob Hope and Duffy's Tavern shows. His long career included time behind the mike announcing for the Oakland, Oaks, and Oakland A’s, SF 49ers and Oakland Raiders.  

Bud grew up with ambitions of being a third baseman. He had a tryout with the Rainiers in 1932--but didn't stick--then spent a couple of years at Pacific University in Oregon. In 1934, Foster started in radio. That called him to Alaska, where at 23, he became the youngest station manager in North America. Bud managed two radio stations in Alaska. He built and operated Station KFAR in Fairbanks until the war came. 

Retained as a War Correspondent with NBC from ‘43 to ‘45, he covered the Aleutian Islands Campaign. He was the only reporter on record to fly bombing missions over Japan from both the Aleutians and Marianas. Then Foster, covering the Marines, hit Iwo Jima and Okinawa on respective D-Days. The war ended for him in Okinawa, where he was wounded and hospitalized. He came back in late 1945 and took over the Oakland Broadcasting job, where he is immensely popular. Broadcasting that operated out of the Oakland Tribune tower for 30 years. In 1959 The Oakland Tribune sold the station.