Harry Caray
Encyclopedia
Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, (March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American
baseball
broadcaster on radio
and television
. He covered four Major League Baseball
teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St. Louis Cardinals
, then the Oakland Athletics
(for one year) and the Chicago White Sox
(for eleven years), before ending his career as the announcer for the Chicago Cubs
.
and Romanian parentage in one of the poorest sections of St. Louis
. He was an infant when his father died. His Romanian mother, Daisy Argint, remarried, but after her death when Caray was just eight, he went to live with his aunt Doxie at 1909 LaSalle Street in a tough, working-class section of St. Louis. As a young man, Caray played baseball at the semi-pro level for a short time before auditioning for a radio job at the age of 19. He then spent a few years learning the trade at radio stations in Joliet
, Illinois
and Kalamazoo, Michigan
. Caray did play-by-play for the St. Louis Hawks professional basketball team (now the Atlanta Hawks
), the University of Missouri football team and he announced three Cotton Bowl games.
and, according to several histories of the franchise, proved as expert at selling the sponsor's beer as he'd been in selling the Cardinals on KMOX. (Caray and broadcast partner Gabby Street
also called games for the St. Louis Browns in 1945
-46
.) Caray was also seen as influential enough that he could affect team personnel moves; Cardinals historian Peter Golenbock
(in The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns) has suggested Caray may have had a partial hand in the maneuvering that led to the exit of general manager Bing Devine
, the man who had assembled the team that won the 1964 World Series
, and of field manager Johnny Keane
, whose rumored successor, Leo Durocher
(the succession didn't pan out), was believed to have been supported by Caray for the job. Caray, however, stated in his autobiography that he liked Johnny Keane as a manager, and didn't want to be involved in Keane's dismissal. As the Cardinals' announcer, Caray broadcast three World Series
(1964, 1967
, and 1968
) on NBC. In November 1968 Caray was nearly killed after being struck by an automobile while crossing a street in St. Louis; he suffered two broken legs in the accident, but recuperated in time to return to the broadcast booth for the start of the 1969 season
.
After the 1969 season, Caray was unexpectedly fired as the Cardinals' lead broadcaster (his broadcast partner Jack Buck
replaced him). Golenbock, other Cardinal historians, and Caray's former wife have suggested the cause was a purported affair Caray had with the daughter-in-law of Cardinals owner August A. Busch, Jr. (who also owned Anheuser-Busch
brewery, the club's broadcast sponsor); Caray first called it a business grudge while never necessarily denying or affirming the rumors. He was with the St. Louis Cardinals for 25 years, his longest tenure with any sports team.
broadcasting for the Athletics before, as he often told interviewers, he grew tired of owner Charles O. Finley
's interference and accepted a job with the Chicago White Sox
. (Apparently the feeling was mutual; Finley later said "that shit [Caray] pulled in St. Louis didn't go over here.") Finley wanted Caray to change his broadcast chant of Holy Cow to Holy Mule.
However, there were some reports that Caray and Finley did, in fact, work well with each other and that Caray's strained relationship with the A's came from longtime A's announcer Monte Moore
; Caray was loose and free-wheeling while Moore was more conservative.
and ex-Major League catcher J. C. Martin
, among others. But in 1976
, during a game against the Texas Rangers
, Caray had former outfielder Jimmy Piersall
(who was working for the Rangers at the time) as a guest in the White Sox booth that night. The tandem proved to work so well that Piersall was hired to be Caray's partner in the White Sox radio and TV booth beginning in 1977
. Piersall and Caray became very popular.
Among many of Caray's experiences during this time with the White Sox include Disco Demolition Night
. On July 12, 1979, what began as an effort to sell seats at a White Sox
/Detroit Tigers
double-header turned into tens of thousands of eager fans storming the outfield at Comiskey Park
in between the games of the double-header. Caray tried to calm the crowd by leading the park in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” but order could not be restored. Eventually the White Sox were forced to forfeit the second game of the double-header.
. In contrast to the "SportsVision
" concept, the Cubs' own television outlet, WGN-TV
, had become among the first of the cable television
superstation
s, offering their programming to providers across the United States for free, and Caray became as famous nationwide as he'd long been on the South Side and, previously, in St. Louis. In fact, Caray had already been affiliated with WGN for some years by then, as WGN actually produced the White Sox games for broadcast on competitor WSNS-TV
, and Caray was a frequent sportscaster on the station's newscasts. Caray succeeded longtime Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse
, himself a beloved announcer and Chicago media fixture.
The timing worked in Caray's favor, as the Cubs ended up winning the National League East
division title in 1984
and radio station WGN
's nationwide audience. Millions came to love the microphone-swinging Caray, continuing his White Sox practice of leading the home crowd in singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game
" during the seventh inning stretch, mimicking his mannerisms, his gravelly voice, his habit of mispronouncing or slurring some players' names (which some of the players themselves mimicked in turn), and even his trademark barrel-shaped wide-rimmed glasses which were prescribed by Dr.Cyril Nierman O.D.
In February 1987 Caray suffered a stroke while at his winter home in California, just prior to spring training for the Cubs' 1987 season
. This led to his absence from the broadcast booth through most of the first two months of the regular season, with WGN featuring a series of celebrity guest announcers on game telecasts while Caray recuperated.
Caray's national popularity never flagged after that, although time eventually took a toll on him. Nicknamed "The Mayor of Rush Street
", a reference to Chicago's famous tavern-dominated neighborhood and Caray's well-known taste for Budweiser
, illness and age began to drain some of Caray's skills, even in spite of his remarkable recovery from the 1987 stroke. There were occasional calls for him to retire, but he was kept aboard past WGN's normal mandatory retirement age, an indication of just how popular he really was.
singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game
" began during his tenure with the White Sox. In the broadcast booth, Caray made a habit of privately singing along with the song while long-time Comiskey Park
organist Nancy Faust
was playing it for the public. One afternoon, Caray was singing to himself when WMAQ radio producer/broadcaster Jay Scott decided to open the booth mics without letting Caray know that he was doing this. (Some years before, Scott had suggested the idea in a memo, but Caray rejected this. He accepted the idea once it caught on with the home fans.) For the rest of his career, Caray enthusiastically led the song's singing during the seventh-inning stretch, using a hand-held microphone and holding it out outside the booth window.
Many of these performances began with Caray speaking directly to the baseball fans in attendance either about the state of the day's game, or the Chicago weather, while the park organ held the opening chord of the song. Then with his trademark opening, "All right! Lemme hear ya! Ah-One! Ah-Two! Ah-Three!" Harry would launch into his distinctive, down-tempo version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". During his tenure announcing games at Comiskey Park
and later Wrigley Field
, he would often replace "root, root, root for the home team" with "root, root, root for the White Sox (Cubbies)". For the lyrics "One, Two, Three, strikes you're out...." Harry would usually hold the microphone out to the crowd to punctuate the climactic end of the song. And if the visitors were ahead in that game, Harry would typically make a plea to the home team's offense: "Let's get some runs!"
The seventh-inning stretch routine became Caray's best-remembered trademark; after his death, the Cubs began a practice of inviting guest celebrities, local and national, to lead the singing Caray-style. The use of "guest conductors" continues to this day.
During the 2009 NHL Winter Classic
at Wrigley Field
, as the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings on New Year's Day 2009, former Blackhawks players Bobby Hull
, Stan Mikita
, and Denis Savard
and former Cubs players Ryne Sandberg
and Ferguson Jenkins
sang a hockey-themed version of the seventh-inning stretch; "Take Me Out to the Hockey Game" used lines such as "Root, root, root for the Blackhawks" and "One, two, three pucks, you're out." The Blackhawks would do this again in during the White Sox – Cubs game at Wrigley Field. This time, it was members of the Stanley Cup winning team
.
, his first partner with the Cubs, who felt Caray had pushed him out in St. Louis in the mid-1950s. Hamilton was fired by WGN in 1984; he claimed that station officials told him that the main reason was that Caray didn't like him.
Caray's longtime St. Louis partner, Jack Buck
, was guarded in his comments about Caray in his own autobiography, while acknowledging that he sometimes felt held back by Caray. However, Caray also didn't lack for broadcast companions who played well with and off him. With the White Sox, his longest-lasting partner was Jimmy Piersall
; with the Cubs, he was teamed for 14 years with former pitcher Steve Stone.
Caray was known for his unabashed homerism. While advertisers played up his habit of openly rooting for the Cubs from the booth (for example, one Budweiser
ad described him as "Cub Fan, Bud Man" in a Blues Brothers-style parody of "Soul Man"), he had been even less restrained about rooting for the Cardinals when he broadcast for them. He said later that his firing from the Cardinals changed his outlook and made him realize that his passion was for the game itself, and the fans, more than anything else. He was also well known for his frequent exclamation of "Holy Cow!"
As he noted in interviews and in his autobiography Holy Cow!!, he trained himself to use this expression, to avoid any chance of using profanity on the air. Caray also avoided any risk of mis-calling a home run, using what became a trademark home run call: It might be . . . it could be . . . it IS! A home run! Holy cow! In Holy Cow!, Caray said he first used the "It might be..." part of that expression on the air while covering a college baseball tournament in Kalamazoo, Michigan
, in the early 1940s. He also said that was probably the first time he said "Holy cow!" on the air.
In 1987, the Cubs
had Ryne Sandberg
, Jim Sundberg
, and Scott Sanderson
on the roster. Caray had suffered a stroke in February and often confused these names and it was not uncommon for him to refer to "Jim Sandberg", "Ryne Sanderson", or "Scott Sundberg". He also once pronounced pitcher Jason Isringhausen
as "Jason....Ice-ring-hoisen." Caray was intrigued by unusual names, and one of his frequent on-air bits was to try to pronounce a multi-syllabic name backwards. This bit became more challenging for him in the 1987 season but he kept on trying, even poking fun at himself. Two player names he took delight in pronouncing backwards were Toby Harrah and James 'Truck' Hannah. Even short names sometimes amused him: once, when Manny Mota had just lined out to a Cardinals fielder who did not even need to move his feet to make the catch, Harry proclaimed: "'Mota' spelled backwards is 'atom' ... and that's where he hit it, right at 'im'!"
Caray had a reputation for mastering all aspects of broadcasting - writing his own copy, conducting news interviews, writing and presenting editorials, covering other sports such as University of Missouri
football
, and hosting a sports talk program.
He was considered a fan's broadcaster above all, along the lines of such announcers as New York/San Francisco Giants
legend Russ Hodges
or Pittsburgh Pirates
legend Bob Prince
, and that didn't always earn him respect to equal his popularity. However, Caray never pretended to be the kind of objective announcer that such broadcasters as Red Barber
and Vin Scully
prided themselves on being regardless of their team attachments.
football
as well as St. Louis Billikens
, Boston Celtics
and St. Louis Hawks
basketball
in the 1950s and '60s. Additionally, he broadcast eight Cotton Bowl Classic games (1958–64, 1966) on network radio.
, along with his primary residence in Chicago. As discussed in Steve Stone's 1999 book, Where's Harry?, Caray was at a Rancho Mirage
restaurant on February 14, 1998, celebrating Valentine's Day
with his wife Dutchie, when he collapsed, in the process allegedly hitting his head on the side of a restaurant table, and was rushed to nearby Eisenhower Medical Center
. He never regained consciousness, dying of cardiac arrest
with resulting brain damage
four days later. Caray's funeral took place in downtown Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral on February 27, two days before he would have turned 84. Many celebrities and athletes were in attendance, including Sammy Sosa
and former Chicago Bears
head coach Mike Ditka
.
At his funeral, the organ played "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Harry Caray's body is interred in All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois
.
Following his death, during the entire 1998 season
the Cubs wore a patch on the sleeves of their uniforms depicting a caricature
of Caray. Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa
dedicated each of his 66 home runs that season to Caray.
Caray had five children, three with his first wife, Dorothy, and two with his second wife, Marian. He married his third wife Delores "Dutchie" (Goldmann) on May 19, 1975. His son Skip Caray
followed him into the booth as a baseball broadcaster with the Atlanta Braves
until his death on August 3, 2008, and his son Chris had a long career with Maritz Travel before passing away at an early age from brain cancer. His daughter, Patricia, worked for Coca-Cola
in Atlanta before retiring to Bradenton, FL, where she currently resides.
Caray's two daughters with wife Marian both opted for careers in the healthcare field. Michele lives in St. Louis, MO and works as a registered nurse with OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions, a division of UnitedHealth Group. On August 5, 2010, at the St. Louis premiere of the Will Ferrell
and Mark Wahlberg
comedy, The Other Guys
, Michele was invited to the red carpet with Ferrell, since he is well known for his comedic impressions of her father. Daughter Elizabeth lives in Phoenix, AZ and works as a pharmaceutical representative for Novo Nordisk
.
Caray's broadcasting legacy was extended to a third generation, as his grandson Chip Caray replaced Harry as the Cubs' play-by-play announcer from 1998 to 2004. Chip later returned to work with his father Skip on Atlanta Braves
broadcasts, where he had worked for a while in the early 1990s. In what Harry Caray said was one of his proudest moments, he worked some innings in the same broadcast booth with his son and grandson, during a Cubs
/Braves
game on May 13, 1991. On-air in a professional setting, the younger men would refer to their seniors by their first names. During 1998, Chip would refer to the departed Harry in third person as "Granddad". His half-brother Josh
is a broadcaster and producer for WLAQ radio in Rome, Georgia
, calling the Class A Rome Braves baseball and Rome High School football.
Another of Caray's grandsons, Eric Stanger (son of Patricia Caray) is also enjoying a very successful career in the radio business, as Director of Talk Programming for ABC Radio Networks, and Director of Affiliate Relations for the syndicated radio personality Sean Hannity
.
, a Chicago Landmark
building that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. There are now six restaurants, and an off-premises catering division which bear the Harry Caray name. The original restaurant has received numerous awards for its food and service, and features many items of memorabilia, even a statue of a "Holey Cow" (complete with holes) wearing the trademark Harry Caray eyeglasses.
In 1989, the Baseball Hall of Fame presented Caray with the Ford C. Frick Award for "major contributions to baseball." That same year, he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
Hall of Fame. He also has his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame
.
On June 24, 1994, the Chicago Cubs
had a special day honoring Harry for 50 years of broadcasting Major League Baseball. Sponsored by the Cubs and Kemper Insurance, pins were given out to some unknown number of fans in attendance that day. The pins had a picture of Harry, with writing saying "HARRY CARAY, 50 YEARS BROADCASTING, Kemper MUTUAL FUNDS" and "HOLY COW".
In 1994, Caray was the radio inductee into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Caray's style became fodder for pop culture parody as well, including a memorable Saturday Night Live
recurring sketch featuring Caray (played by Will Ferrell
) as a host of a space and astronomy TV talk show, in which his questions to scientists and professors included whether or not they would eat the moon if it were made of spare ribs and turning hot dogs into currency (20 hot dogs would equal roughly a nickel, depending on the strength of the yen). The sketch continued after Caray's death. When asked by Joan Allen
(impersonating NASA
flight director
Linda Ham
) about his death, Will Ferrell
as Caray replied, "What's your point?" The Bob and Tom Show also had a Harry Caray parody show called "After Hours Sports" which eventually became "Afterlife Sports" after Caray's death. and the Heaven and Hell Baseball Game, in which Caray is the broadcast announcer for the games. On the Nickelodeon
series Back at the Barnyard
, news reporter Hilly Burford bears a strong resemblance to Caray, both in appearance and speech. In 2005, the cartoon Codename: Kids Next Door
had two announcers reporting a baseball game. One was a parody of Caray, the other, Howard Cosell
. Another Caray impersonation was done by Chicago radio personality Jim Volkman, heard most often on the Loop
and AM1000
. Also, comedian Artie Lange
, in his standup, talks about Caray.
Caray can be briefly heard in the 1986
film Ferris Bueller's Day Off
, as a Cubs game is shown on a TV in a pizza parlor.
In 2008 a series of Chicago-area TV and radio ads for AT&T
's Advanced TV featured comedian John Caponera
impersonating the post-stroke version of Harry Caray. However, AT&T soon withdrew the spots following widespread criticism and a complaint by Caray's widow.
Ryan Dempster
, Chicago Cubs
pitcher, is known for his Harry Caray impression, most notably, he announced the Cubs' starting lineup while speaking like the post-stroke version of Caray before a nationally televised baseball game on Fox Sports.
Atlanta Braves
pitcher Will Ohman
performed a Harry Caray impersonation when announcing the starting lineup for the Atlanta Braves during a Fox Game of the Week in 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
broadcaster on radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He covered four Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, then the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
(for one year) and the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
(for eleven years), before ending his career as the announcer for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
.
Personal life
Caray was born Harry Christopher Carabina of ItalianItalian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
and Romanian parentage in one of the poorest sections of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. He was an infant when his father died. His Romanian mother, Daisy Argint, remarried, but after her death when Caray was just eight, he went to live with his aunt Doxie at 1909 LaSalle Street in a tough, working-class section of St. Louis. As a young man, Caray played baseball at the semi-pro level for a short time before auditioning for a radio job at the age of 19. He then spent a few years learning the trade at radio stations in Joliet
Joliet
There are several people and things named Joliet:*Louis Jolliet, a 17th century explorer of North America*Joliet, Illinois, United States, a city named after Louis Jolliet**Joliet Prison*Joliet, Montana, United States...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Kalamazoo, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Caray did play-by-play for the St. Louis Hawks professional basketball team (now the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
), the University of Missouri football team and he announced three Cotton Bowl games.
St. Louis Cardinals/St. Louis Browns
Caray caught his break when he landed the job with the Cardinals in 19451945 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 64th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 54th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 95-59 during the season and finished 2nd in the National League.-Offseason:...
and, according to several histories of the franchise, proved as expert at selling the sponsor's beer as he'd been in selling the Cardinals on KMOX. (Caray and broadcast partner Gabby Street
Gabby Street
Charles Evard “Gabby” Street , also nicknamed "The Old Sarge", was an American catcher, manager, coach and radio broadcaster in Major League Baseball during the first half of the 20th century. As a catcher, he participated in one of the most publicized baseball stunts of the century's first decade....
also called games for the St. Louis Browns in 1945
1945 St. Louis Browns season
The 1945 St. Louis Browns season involved the Browns finishing 3rd in the American League with a record of 81 wins and 70 losses.- Regular season :Coming off their first pennant in 1944, St...
-46
1946 St. Louis Browns season
The 1946 St. Louis Browns season involved the Browns finishing 7th in the American League with a record of 66 wins and 88 losses.- Notable transactions :...
.) Caray was also seen as influential enough that he could affect team personnel moves; Cardinals historian Peter Golenbock
Peter Golenbock
Peter Golenbock is a sports journalist and author. He is best known for the 1975 book Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949–1964 about the Yankees of that era...
(in The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns) has suggested Caray may have had a partial hand in the maneuvering that led to the exit of general manager Bing Devine
Bing Devine
Vaughan Pallmore "Bing" Devine was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. In the prime of his career, as a general manager, the executive who is responsible for all baseball operations, Devine was a major architect of four National League champions and three World Series...
, the man who had assembled the team that won the 1964 World Series
1964 World Series
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St...
, and of field manager Johnny Keane
Johnny Keane
John Joseph Keane was an American manager in Major League Baseball. Born in St. Louis, Missouri and known as a patient manager of young players, Keane participated in one of the strangest turns of events in baseball history in , his final season at the helm of the St...
, whose rumored successor, Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
(the succession didn't pan out), was believed to have been supported by Caray for the job. Caray, however, stated in his autobiography that he liked Johnny Keane as a manager, and didn't want to be involved in Keane's dismissal. As the Cardinals' announcer, Caray broadcast three World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
(1964, 1967
1967 World Series
The 1967 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 1946 World Series, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall...
, and 1968
1968 World Series
The 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...
) on NBC. In November 1968 Caray was nearly killed after being struck by an automobile while crossing a street in St. Louis; he suffered two broken legs in the accident, but recuperated in time to return to the broadcast booth for the start of the 1969 season
1969 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1969 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 88th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 78th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 87-75 during the season and finished fourth in the newly-established National League East, 13 games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series...
.
After the 1969 season, Caray was unexpectedly fired as the Cardinals' lead broadcaster (his broadcast partner Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
replaced him). Golenbock, other Cardinal historians, and Caray's former wife have suggested the cause was a purported affair Caray had with the daughter-in-law of Cardinals owner August A. Busch, Jr. (who also owned Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
brewery, the club's broadcast sponsor); Caray first called it a business grudge while never necessarily denying or affirming the rumors. He was with the St. Louis Cardinals for 25 years, his longest tenure with any sports team.
Oakland Athletics
He spent one season1970 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's finishing secnd in the American League West with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. In 1970, owner Charlie Finley officially changed the team name from the Athletics to the "A's"...
broadcasting for the Athletics before, as he often told interviewers, he grew tired of owner Charles O. Finley
Charles O. Finley
Charles Oscar Finley , nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, moving it to Oakland in 1968...
's interference and accepted a job with the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. (Apparently the feeling was mutual; Finley later said "that shit [Caray] pulled in St. Louis didn't go over here.") Finley wanted Caray to change his broadcast chant of Holy Cow to Holy Mule.
However, there were some reports that Caray and Finley did, in fact, work well with each other and that Caray's strained relationship with the A's came from longtime A's announcer Monte Moore
Monte Moore
Monte Moore is a former radio and television broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland Athletics baseball teams.-Voice of the Athletics:...
; Caray was loose and free-wheeling while Moore was more conservative.
Chicago White Sox
Caray joined the Chicago White Sox in 1971 and quickly became popular with the South Side faithful and enjoying a reputation for joviality and public carousing (sometimes doing home game broadcasts bare-chested from the bleachers). He wasn't always popular with players, however; Caray had an equivalent reputation of being excessively critical of home team blunders and for continuing criticism of certain players after even one on-field mistake. During his tenure with the White Sox, Caray was teamed with many color analysts who didn't work out well, including Bob Waller, Bill MercerBill Mercer
Bill Mercer is an American sportscaster, educator and author, originally from Muskogee, Oklahoma, who now lives in Richardson, Texas. In 2002, he was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.-Personal:...
and ex-Major League catcher J. C. Martin
J. C. Martin
Joseph Clifton Martin is a former Major League Baseball player. The left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing Martin played for the Chicago White Sox from 1959-1967, New York Mets in 1968 and 1969 and Chicago Cubs from 1970-1972.Martin was scouted by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1956...
, among others. But in 1976
1976 Chicago White Sox season
The 1976 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 76th season in Major League Baseball, and its 77th season overall. They finished with a record 64-97, good enough for sixth place in the American League West, 25.5 games behind the first-place Kansas City Royals.- New ownership :In 1975, White Sox...
, during a game against the Texas Rangers
1979 Texas Rangers season
The 1979 Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing 3rd in the American League West with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses.- Offseason :...
, Caray had former outfielder Jimmy Piersall
Jimmy Piersall
James Anthony Piersall is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. Between 1950 and 1967, he played for the Boston Red Sox , Cleveland Indians , Washington Senators , New York Mets , and Los Angeles/California Angels .While he had a fairly good professional career as a center...
(who was working for the Rangers at the time) as a guest in the White Sox booth that night. The tandem proved to work so well that Piersall was hired to be Caray's partner in the White Sox radio and TV booth beginning in 1977
1979 Chicago White Sox season
The 1979 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 80th season overall, and their 79th in Major League Baseball. They finished with a record 73-87, good enough for fifth place in the American League West, 15 games behind the first-place California Angels....
. Piersall and Caray became very popular.
Among many of Caray's experiences during this time with the White Sox include Disco Demolition Night
Disco Demolition Night
Disco Demolition Night was a promotional event that took place on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, during which a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. It was held during the twi-night doubleheader baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and...
. On July 12, 1979, what began as an effort to sell seats at a White Sox
1979 Chicago White Sox season
The 1979 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 80th season overall, and their 79th in Major League Baseball. They finished with a record 73-87, good enough for fifth place in the American League West, 15 games behind the first-place California Angels....
/Detroit Tigers
1979 Detroit Tigers season
The 1979 Detroit Tigers finished in fifth place in the American League East with a record of 85-76, 18 games behind the Orioles. They outscored their opponents 770 to 738. The Tigers drew 1,630,929 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1979, ranking 7th of the 14 teams in the American League. The season is...
double-header turned into tens of thousands of eager fans storming the outfield at Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
in between the games of the double-header. Caray tried to calm the crowd by leading the park in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” but order could not be restored. Eventually the White Sox were forced to forfeit the second game of the double-header.
Chicago Cubs
Caray increased his renown after joining the North Side Cubs following the 1981 season1981 Chicago White Sox season
The 1981 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 81st season in the major leagues, and their 82nd season overall. They finished with a record 54-52, good enough for 3rd place in the American League West, 8.5 games behind the 1st place Oakland Athletics...
. In contrast to the "SportsVision
Sportsvision
Sportsvision was a subscription TV service founded by Chicago White Sox owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn, and media mogul Fred Eychaner. The service broadcast live sporting events....
" concept, the Cubs' own television outlet, WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
, had become among the first of the cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
s, offering their programming to providers across the United States for free, and Caray became as famous nationwide as he'd long been on the South Side and, previously, in St. Louis. In fact, Caray had already been affiliated with WGN for some years by then, as WGN actually produced the White Sox games for broadcast on competitor WSNS-TV
WSNS-TV
WSNS-TV, channel 44, is an owned-and-operated station of the Spanish-language Telemundo network, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This station is owned by NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of Telemundo...
, and Caray was a frequent sportscaster on the station's newscasts. Caray succeeded longtime Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse
Jack Brickhouse
John Beasley "Jack" Brickhouse was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983...
, himself a beloved announcer and Chicago media fixture.
The timing worked in Caray's favor, as the Cubs ended up winning the National League East
National League East
The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...
division title in 1984
1984 Chicago White Sox season
The 1984 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 84th season in the major leagues, and their 85th season overall. They finished with a record 74-88, good enough for 5th place in the American League West, 10 games behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals....
and radio station WGN
WGN (AM)
WGN is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is the only radio station owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns the flagship television station WGN-TV, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago magazine locally. WGN's transmitter is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois...
's nationwide audience. Millions came to love the microphone-swinging Caray, continuing his White Sox practice of leading the home crowd in singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song. The song is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of...
" during the seventh inning stretch, mimicking his mannerisms, his gravelly voice, his habit of mispronouncing or slurring some players' names (which some of the players themselves mimicked in turn), and even his trademark barrel-shaped wide-rimmed glasses which were prescribed by Dr.Cyril Nierman O.D.
In February 1987 Caray suffered a stroke while at his winter home in California, just prior to spring training for the Cubs' 1987 season
1987 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. The team finished last in the six-team National League East with a record of 76-85, 18½ games behind the division and pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals.- Spring training :...
. This led to his absence from the broadcast booth through most of the first two months of the regular season, with WGN featuring a series of celebrity guest announcers on game telecasts while Caray recuperated.
Caray's national popularity never flagged after that, although time eventually took a toll on him. Nicknamed "The Mayor of Rush Street
Rush Street (Chicago)
Rush Street is predominantly a northbound one-way street in the Near North Side community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States...
", a reference to Chicago's famous tavern-dominated neighborhood and Caray's well-known taste for Budweiser
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
, illness and age began to drain some of Caray's skills, even in spite of his remarkable recovery from the 1987 stroke. There were occasional calls for him to retire, but he was kept aboard past WGN's normal mandatory retirement age, an indication of just how popular he really was.
The seventh-inning stretch
His famous seventh-inning stretchSeventh-inning stretch
The seventh-inning stretch is a tradition in baseball that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of any game – in the middle of the seventh inning. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes walk around. It is a popular time to get a late-game snack as...
singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song. The song is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of...
" began during his tenure with the White Sox. In the broadcast booth, Caray made a habit of privately singing along with the song while long-time Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
organist Nancy Faust
Nancy Faust
Nancy Faust is the popular former long-time stadium organist for Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox.-Early life:...
was playing it for the public. One afternoon, Caray was singing to himself when WMAQ radio producer/broadcaster Jay Scott decided to open the booth mics without letting Caray know that he was doing this. (Some years before, Scott had suggested the idea in a memo, but Caray rejected this. He accepted the idea once it caught on with the home fans.) For the rest of his career, Caray enthusiastically led the song's singing during the seventh-inning stretch, using a hand-held microphone and holding it out outside the booth window.
Many of these performances began with Caray speaking directly to the baseball fans in attendance either about the state of the day's game, or the Chicago weather, while the park organ held the opening chord of the song. Then with his trademark opening, "All right! Lemme hear ya! Ah-One! Ah-Two! Ah-Three!" Harry would launch into his distinctive, down-tempo version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". During his tenure announcing games at Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...
and later Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
, he would often replace "root, root, root for the home team" with "root, root, root for the White Sox (Cubbies)". For the lyrics "One, Two, Three, strikes you're out...." Harry would usually hold the microphone out to the crowd to punctuate the climactic end of the song. And if the visitors were ahead in that game, Harry would typically make a plea to the home team's offense: "Let's get some runs!"
The seventh-inning stretch routine became Caray's best-remembered trademark; after his death, the Cubs began a practice of inviting guest celebrities, local and national, to lead the singing Caray-style. The use of "guest conductors" continues to this day.
During the 2009 NHL Winter Classic
2009 NHL Winter Classic
The 2009 NHL Winter Classic, also known as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009, was a specially staged National Hockey League regular-season game played outdoors on January 1, 2009 at 12:36 p.m. CST at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois...
at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
, as the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings on New Year's Day 2009, former Blackhawks players Bobby Hull
Bobby Hull
Robert Marvin "Bobby" Hull, OC is a former Canadian ice hockey player. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game. Hull was famous for his blonde hair, blinding skating speed, and having the hardest shot, earning...
, Stan Mikita
Stan Mikita
Stanislav "Stan" Mikita , is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961, he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.-Early life:Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic...
, and Denis Savard
Denis Savard
Denis Joseph Savard is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1997, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000...
and former Cubs players Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg , nicknamed "Ryno" is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During a 16-year baseball career, he played from 1981–1994 and 1996–97, spending nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best...
and Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...
sang a hockey-themed version of the seventh-inning stretch; "Take Me Out to the Hockey Game" used lines such as "Root, root, root for the Blackhawks" and "One, two, three pucks, you're out." The Blackhawks would do this again in during the White Sox – Cubs game at Wrigley Field. This time, it was members of the Stanley Cup winning team
2010 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2010 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League season. As the culmination of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers faced the Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks...
.
Personality and style
Caray had a number of broadcasting partners and colleagues through the years, some of whom made known their dislike of the man. He had a particularly frosty relationship with Milo HamiltonMilo Hamilton
Leland Milo Hamilton is an American sportscaster, best known for calling play-by-play for seven different Major League Baseball teams since 1953...
, his first partner with the Cubs, who felt Caray had pushed him out in St. Louis in the mid-1950s. Hamilton was fired by WGN in 1984; he claimed that station officials told him that the main reason was that Caray didn't like him.
Caray's longtime St. Louis partner, Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
, was guarded in his comments about Caray in his own autobiography, while acknowledging that he sometimes felt held back by Caray. However, Caray also didn't lack for broadcast companions who played well with and off him. With the White Sox, his longest-lasting partner was Jimmy Piersall
Jimmy Piersall
James Anthony Piersall is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. Between 1950 and 1967, he played for the Boston Red Sox , Cleveland Indians , Washington Senators , New York Mets , and Los Angeles/California Angels .While he had a fairly good professional career as a center...
; with the Cubs, he was teamed for 14 years with former pitcher Steve Stone.
Caray was known for his unabashed homerism. While advertisers played up his habit of openly rooting for the Cubs from the booth (for example, one Budweiser
Budweiser
Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
ad described him as "Cub Fan, Bud Man" in a Blues Brothers-style parody of "Soul Man"), he had been even less restrained about rooting for the Cardinals when he broadcast for them. He said later that his firing from the Cardinals changed his outlook and made him realize that his passion was for the game itself, and the fans, more than anything else. He was also well known for his frequent exclamation of "Holy Cow!"
Holy cow (expression)
"Holy cow!" is an exclamation of surprise used mostly in American and Canadian English.From the Dictionary of American Slang :...
As he noted in interviews and in his autobiography Holy Cow!!, he trained himself to use this expression, to avoid any chance of using profanity on the air. Caray also avoided any risk of mis-calling a home run, using what became a trademark home run call: It might be . . . it could be . . . it IS! A home run! Holy cow! In Holy Cow!, Caray said he first used the "It might be..." part of that expression on the air while covering a college baseball tournament in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
, in the early 1940s. He also said that was probably the first time he said "Holy cow!" on the air.
In 1987, the Cubs
1987 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. The team finished last in the six-team National League East with a record of 76-85, 18½ games behind the division and pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals.- Spring training :...
had Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg , nicknamed "Ryno" is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During a 16-year baseball career, he played from 1981–1994 and 1996–97, spending nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best...
, Jim Sundberg
Jim Sundberg
James Howard Sundberg is a former professional baseball catcher known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era. He played for a number of Major League teams, most significantly the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, with whom we won a World Championship...
, and Scott Sanderson
Scott Sanderson
Scott Douglas Sanderson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for seven teams from 1978 to 1996.-Baseball career:...
on the roster. Caray had suffered a stroke in February and often confused these names and it was not uncommon for him to refer to "Jim Sandberg", "Ryne Sanderson", or "Scott Sundberg". He also once pronounced pitcher Jason Isringhausen
Jason Isringhausen
Jason Derik Isringhausen is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher.-New York Mets:Isringhausen was chosen as a draft-and-follow prospect by the New York Mets in the 44th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft...
as "Jason....Ice-ring-hoisen." Caray was intrigued by unusual names, and one of his frequent on-air bits was to try to pronounce a multi-syllabic name backwards. This bit became more challenging for him in the 1987 season but he kept on trying, even poking fun at himself. Two player names he took delight in pronouncing backwards were Toby Harrah and James 'Truck' Hannah. Even short names sometimes amused him: once, when Manny Mota had just lined out to a Cardinals fielder who did not even need to move his feet to make the catch, Harry proclaimed: "'Mota' spelled backwards is 'atom' ... and that's where he hit it, right at 'im'!"
Caray had a reputation for mastering all aspects of broadcasting - writing his own copy, conducting news interviews, writing and presenting editorials, covering other sports such as University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, and hosting a sports talk program.
He was considered a fan's broadcaster above all, along the lines of such announcers as New York/San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
legend Russ Hodges
Russ Hodges
Russell Patrick Hodges was an American broadcaster who did play-by-play for several baseball teams, most notably the New York and San Francisco Giants.-Early career:...
or Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
legend Bob Prince
Bob Prince
Robert Ferris Prince was an American radio and television sportscaster and commentator best known for his 28-year stint as the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball club, with whom he earned the nickname “The Gunner” and became a cultural icon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Prince was...
, and that didn't always earn him respect to equal his popularity. However, Caray never pretended to be the kind of objective announcer that such broadcasters as Red Barber
Red Barber
Walter Lanier "Red" Barber was an American sportscaster.Barber, nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", was primarily identified with radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four decades with the Cincinnati Reds , Brooklyn Dodgers , and New York Yankees...
and Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
prided themselves on being regardless of their team attachments.
Non-baseball work
Though best known and honored for baseball work, Caray also called Missouri TigersMissouri Tigers football
The Missouri Tigers football team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team has competed in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
as well as St. Louis Billikens
Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball
The Saint Louis University Billiken's men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Saint Louis University. The school competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Rick Majerus is the current head coach. Chaifetz Arena is home to the Billikens. The Billikens have...
, Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
and St. Louis Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
in the 1950s and '60s. Additionally, he broadcast eight Cotton Bowl Classic games (1958–64, 1966) on network radio.
Death
Caray maintained a winter home in Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, along with his primary residence in Chicago. As discussed in Steve Stone's 1999 book, Where's Harry?, Caray was at a Rancho Mirage
Rancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. In between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the eight cities of the Coachella...
restaurant on February 14, 1998, celebrating Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
with his wife Dutchie, when he collapsed, in the process allegedly hitting his head on the side of a restaurant table, and was rushed to nearby Eisenhower Medical Center
Eisenhower Medical Center
The Eisenhower Medical Center is a not-for-profit hospital located in Rancho Mirage, California. It was named one of the top one hundred hospitals in the United States in 2005 and is adjacent to the world-famous Betty Ford Center....
. He never regained consciousness, dying of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
with resulting brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
four days later. Caray's funeral took place in downtown Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral on February 27, two days before he would have turned 84. Many celebrities and athletes were in attendance, including Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....
and former Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
head coach Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
.
Legacy
Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...
.
Following his death, during the entire 1998 season
1998 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a significant one for the team for several reasons. Firstly, it saw the Cubs reach the playoffs for the first time since 1989 by way of a Wild Card berth, which they clinched after winning a one-game playoff against the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs, however, would...
the Cubs wore a patch on the sleeves of their uniforms depicting a caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
of Caray. Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....
dedicated each of his 66 home runs that season to Caray.
Caray had five children, three with his first wife, Dorothy, and two with his second wife, Marian. He married his third wife Delores "Dutchie" (Goldmann) on May 19, 1975. His son Skip Caray
Skip Caray
Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray, Jr. was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball...
followed him into the booth as a baseball broadcaster with the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
until his death on August 3, 2008, and his son Chris had a long career with Maritz Travel before passing away at an early age from brain cancer. His daughter, Patricia, worked for Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
in Atlanta before retiring to Bradenton, FL, where she currently resides.
Caray's two daughters with wife Marian both opted for careers in the healthcare field. Michele lives in St. Louis, MO and works as a registered nurse with OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions, a division of UnitedHealth Group. On August 5, 2010, at the St. Louis premiere of the Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
and Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
comedy, The Other Guys
The Other Guys
The Other Guys is a 2010 American action comedy film directed and co-written by Adam McKay, starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, and featuring Dwayne Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, and Ray Stevenson...
, Michele was invited to the red carpet with Ferrell, since he is well known for his comedic impressions of her father. Daughter Elizabeth lives in Phoenix, AZ and works as a pharmaceutical representative for Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services. Created in 1989 through a merger of two Danish companies dating back to the 1920s, it has become one of the world's leading companies in diabetes care, where Novo Nordisk pursues research into pulmonary delivery systems;...
.
Caray's broadcasting legacy was extended to a third generation, as his grandson Chip Caray replaced Harry as the Cubs' play-by-play announcer from 1998 to 2004. Chip later returned to work with his father Skip on Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
broadcasts, where he had worked for a while in the early 1990s. In what Harry Caray said was one of his proudest moments, he worked some innings in the same broadcast booth with his son and grandson, during a Cubs
1991 Chicago Cubs season
The 1991 Chicago Cubs season saw the Cubs finish in fourth place in the National League East with a record of 77 wins and 83 losses.-Offseason:* December 6, 1990: George Bell was signed as a free agent by the Cubs....
/Braves
1991 Atlanta Braves season
In 1991, the Atlanta Braves became the first team in the National League to go from last place one year to first place the next. This feat was also accomplished by the 1991 Minnesota Twins...
game on May 13, 1991. On-air in a professional setting, the younger men would refer to their seniors by their first names. During 1998, Chip would refer to the departed Harry in third person as "Granddad". His half-brother Josh
Josh Caray
Josh Caray was the 2009 television play-by-play announcer for 25 games with the Atlanta Braves Class AAA affiliate, the Gwinnett Braves, where he was paired with Brian Jordan. He also calls football games for the Rome High School Wolves....
is a broadcaster and producer for WLAQ radio in Rome, Georgia
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
, calling the Class A Rome Braves baseball and Rome High School football.
Another of Caray's grandsons, Eric Stanger (son of Patricia Caray) is also enjoying a very successful career in the radio business, as Director of Talk Programming for ABC Radio Networks, and Director of Affiliate Relations for the syndicated radio personality Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
.
Honors and special events
On October 23, 1987 Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse opened in the Chicago Varnish Company BuildingChicago Varnish Company Building
The Chicago Varnish Company Building, at 33 West Kinzie Street, was built in 1895 as the headquarters of one of the leading varnish manufacturers in the United States, the Chicago Varnish Company...
, a Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...
building that is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. There are now six restaurants, and an off-premises catering division which bear the Harry Caray name. The original restaurant has received numerous awards for its food and service, and features many items of memorabilia, even a statue of a "Holey Cow" (complete with holes) wearing the trademark Harry Caray eyeglasses.
In 1989, the Baseball Hall of Fame presented Caray with the Ford C. Frick Award for "major contributions to baseball." That same year, he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of the professional sports broadcaster.-History:In 1980, Louis O...
Hall of Fame. He also has his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame
St. Louis Walk of Fame
The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there...
.
On June 24, 1994, the Chicago Cubs
1994 Chicago Cubs season
The 1994 Chicago Cubs season was the 122nd for the franchise. One of the highlights of the season was Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes hitting three home runs on Opening Day. Rhodes would only hit five more homers that season.-Offseason:...
had a special day honoring Harry for 50 years of broadcasting Major League Baseball. Sponsored by the Cubs and Kemper Insurance, pins were given out to some unknown number of fans in attendance that day. The pins had a picture of Harry, with writing saying "HARRY CARAY, 50 YEARS BROADCASTING, Kemper MUTUAL FUNDS" and "HOLY COW".
In 1994, Caray was the radio inductee into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Caray's style became fodder for pop culture parody as well, including a memorable Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
recurring sketch featuring Caray (played by Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
) as a host of a space and astronomy TV talk show, in which his questions to scientists and professors included whether or not they would eat the moon if it were made of spare ribs and turning hot dogs into currency (20 hot dogs would equal roughly a nickel, depending on the strength of the yen). The sketch continued after Caray's death. When asked by Joan Allen
Joan Allen
Joan Allen is an American actress. She worked in theatre, television and film during her early career, and achieved recognition for her Broadway debut in Burn This, winning a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play in 1989.She has received three Academy Award nominations;...
(impersonating NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
flight director
Flight director
The term flight director can refer to any one of the following:* the flight controller of a space flight* the flight director of an aviation navigation system...
Linda Ham
Linda Ham
Linda Ham is currently the Constellation Program Transition Manager at NASA. She was formerly the program integration manager in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle Program Office...
) about his death, Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
as Caray replied, "What's your point?" The Bob and Tom Show also had a Harry Caray parody show called "After Hours Sports" which eventually became "Afterlife Sports" after Caray's death. and the Heaven and Hell Baseball Game, in which Caray is the broadcast announcer for the games. On the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
series Back at the Barnyard
Back at the Barnyard
Back at the Barnyard is a Nickelodeon CGI animated show that is a spin-off of the 2006 film Barnyard. The debut series premiered on September 29, 2007 on Nickelodeon. The show is produced by Omation Animation Studio, in association with Nickelodeon Animation Studios. The show mainly features pop...
, news reporter Hilly Burford bears a strong resemblance to Caray, both in appearance and speech. In 2005, the cartoon Codename: Kids Next Door
Codename: Kids Next Door
Codename: Kids Next Door, also known as Kids Next Door or by its acronym KND, is an American animated television series created by Tom Warburton and produced by Curious Pictures in Santa Monica, California.. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 6, 2002 and aired its final episode on...
had two announcers reporting a baseball game. One was a parody of Caray, the other, Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
. Another Caray impersonation was done by Chicago radio personality Jim Volkman, heard most often on the Loop
WLUP
WLUP-FM is a commercial classic rock radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Owned and operated by Merlin Media, LLC, WLUP transmits its signal from an antenna located the top of the Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago at a height of with an effective radiated power of 4,000 watts...
and AM1000
WMVP
WMVP is the callsign of a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is owned by ABC. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove. The station broadcasts live sports talk, both locally and nationally. Daily programming consists of talk shows that are both national and local...
. Also, comedian Artie Lange
Artie Lange
Arthur Steven "Artie" Lange, Jr. is an American actor, comedian and radio personality best known for his tenures with the The Howard Stern Show and the comedy sketch series MADtv....
, in his standup, talks about Caray.
Caray can be briefly heard in the 1986
1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
film Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller , who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago...
, as a Cubs game is shown on a TV in a pizza parlor.
In 2008 a series of Chicago-area TV and radio ads for AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
's Advanced TV featured comedian John Caponera
John Caponera
John Caponera is a comedian and actor. He starred in the 1994 TV series The Good Life with Drew Carey as Caponera's co-star. Caponera's Harry Caray impersonation is one of his trademark bits...
impersonating the post-stroke version of Harry Caray. However, AT&T soon withdrew the spots following widespread criticism and a complaint by Caray's widow.
Ryan Dempster
Ryan Dempster
Ryan Scott Dempster is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Dempster bats and throws right-handed. He has been both a starter and a reliever in his career.-Professional career:...
, Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
pitcher, is known for his Harry Caray impression, most notably, he announced the Cubs' starting lineup while speaking like the post-stroke version of Caray before a nationally televised baseball game on Fox Sports.
Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
pitcher Will Ohman
Will Ohman
William McDaniel Ohman is a left-handed pitcher, who is currently a member of the Chicago White Sox. He lives in Agoura Hills, California.-Chicago Cubs:...
performed a Harry Caray impersonation when announcing the starting lineup for the Atlanta Braves during a Fox Game of the Week in 2008.
External links
- Harry Caray's Restaurant website. Includes biographical details and pictures.
- Baseball Hall of Fame - Frick Award recipient
- Preview of "Holy Cow" Harry's Book, and life
- Hello Again Everybody The Harry Caray Documentary
- BudweiserBudweiser (Anheuser-Busch)Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
commercial starring Caray performing a rapRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
(at You Tube). - Harry Caray at Find A Grave
- Chicago Cubs Homepage
- Baseball-Almanac Harry Caray Quotes
- Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" for the White Sox (accompanied by Nancy Faust)