55 Facts About Harry Caray

Harry Christopher Caray was an American radio and television sportscaster.

Harry Caray was 14 when his mother, Daisy Argint, died from complications due to pneumonia.

Harry Caray did not have much recollection of his father, who went off to fight in the First World War.

Harry Caray went to live with his uncle John Argint and Aunt Doxie at 1909 LaSalle Avenue.

Harry Caray possessed the tools to play at the next level; out of high school, the University of Alabama offered Caray a spot on the team.

Related searches

Around this time, World War II was occurring, so Harry Caray tried to enlist into the Armed Forces, but got denied due to poor eyesight.

Harry Caray then spent a few years learning the trade at radio stations in Joliet, Illinois, and Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Harry Caray caught his break when he landed a job with the National League St Louis Cardinals in 1945 and, according to several histories of the franchise, proved as expert at selling the sponsor's beer as at play-by-play description.

Harry Caray teamed with former major-league catcher Gabby Street to call Cardinals games through 1950, as well as those of the American League St Louis Browns in 1945 and 1946.

Immediately preceding the Cardinals job, Harry Caray announced ice hockey games for the St Louis Flyers, teaming with former NHL defenseman Ralph "Bouncer" Taylor.

Harry Caray stated in his autobiography that he liked Johnny Keane as a manager, and did not want to be involved in Keane's dismissal.

Gussie Busch, the Cardinals' president and then-CEO of team owners Anheuser-Busch, spent lavishly to ensure Harry Caray recovered, flying him on the company's planes to a company facility in Florida to rehabilitate and recuperate.

At a news conference afterward, during which he drank conspicuously from a can of Schlitz, Harry Caray dismissed that claim, saying no one was better at selling beer than he had been.

Harry Caray spent one season broadcasting for the Oakland Athletics, in 1970, 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.

Harry 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.

Harry Caray left the White Sox after the 1981 season, replaced by Don Drysdale.

However, the popular Harry Caray was hired by the crosstown Chicago Cubs for the 1982 season.

Harry Caray increased his renown after joining the North Side Cubs following the 1981 season.

In contrast to the "SportsVision" concept, the Cubs' own television outlet, WGN-TV, had become among the first of the cable television superstations, offering their programming to providers across the United States for free, and Harry Caray became as famous nationwide as he had long been on the South Side and, previously, in St Louis.

Harry 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 Harry Caray was a frequent sportscaster on the station's newscasts.

Harry Caray succeeded longtime Cubs broadcaster Jack Brickhouse, a beloved announcer and Chicago media fixture.

In February 1987, Harry Caray suffered a stroke while at his winter home near Palm Springs, California, just prior to spring training for the Cubs' 1987 season.

Toward the end of his career, Harry Caray's schedule was limited to home games and road trips to St Louis and Atlanta.

However, Harry Caray died in February 1998, before the baseball season began, leaving the expected grandfather-grandson partnership in the broadcast booth unrealized.

Harry Caray is credited with popularizing the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Related searches

Scott suggested that Harry Caray's singing be put on the stadium public address system, in the early 1970s, but Harry Caray and station management rejected the idea.

Harry Caray finally agreed to sing it live, accompanied by Faust on the organ, and went on to become famous for singing the tune, continuing to do so at Wrigley Field after becoming the broadcaster of the Chicago Cubs, using a hand-held microphone and holding it out outside the booth window.

Many of these performances began with Harry 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.

Major League Baseball rolled out a holographic rendition of Harry Caray performing the song for the Cubs' 2022 Field of Dreams Game against the Cincinnati Reds in Dyersville, Iowa.

Harry Caray began his broadcasting career in St Louis, where he was the third person at a local radio station.

Harry Caray had a number of broadcasting partners and colleagues through the years.

Harry Caray had a frosty relationship with Milo Hamilton, his first partner with the Cubs, who felt Caray had pushed him out in St Louis in the mid-1950s.

However, Harry Caray did not lack for broadcast companions who enjoyed his work and companionship.

Harry Caray was known for his absolute support of the team for which he announced.

Harry Caray 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.

Harry Caray was one of the first announcers to step out of the booth while broadcasting a game.

When Harry Caray had a stroke in 1987, this did not occur as often as before.

Harry Caray had a reputation for mastering all aspects of broadcasting: writing his own copy, conducting news interviews, writing and presenting editorials, and hosting a sports talk program.

Harry Caray was the uncle of actor Tim Dunigan, known for playing many roles on both the screen and stage.

Harry Caray occasionally made comments that were considered racist against Asians and Asian-Americans.

Rumors that Harry Caray was having an affair with Susan Busch, wife of August Busch III, the oldest son of Cardinals president Gussie Busch, then a company executive and later CEO of Cardinals' owner Anheuser-Busch, began to circulate after she was involved in a single-car accident near her home in the St Louis suburb of Ladue late one night in May 1968.

Harry Caray told police she was returning from a visit to "a friend"; the cause of the accident was never disclosed publicly and no further action was taken.

Harry Caray has only spoken about the alleged affair once since then, denying it.

Harry Caray cited the rumors of the affair as the real reason the Cardinals declined to renew his contract after the disappointing 1969 season.

Harry Caray died on February 18,1998, as a result of complications from a heart attack and brain damage.

Related searches

Harry Caray was rushed to nearby Eisenhower Medical Center, where he never woke up from his coma and died on February 18,1998,11 days away from his 84th birthday.

Harry Caray's funeral was held on February 27,1998, at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

Organist of Holy Name Cathedral, Sal Soria, did not have any sheet music to play the song Harry Caray made famous in the broadcast booth, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", which resulted in him borrowing the music.

Harry Caray is buried at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Harry Caray had five children, three with his first wife, Dorothy, and two with his second wife, Marian.

Harry Caray married his third wife Delores "Dutchie" on May 19,1975.

Harry Caray was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1990, and has his own star on the St Louis Walk of Fame.

In 1994, Harry Caray was the radio inductee into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Harry Caray's style became fodder for pop culture parody as well, including a memorable Saturday Night Live recurring sketch featuring Harry Caray in various Weekend Update segments opposite Norm Macdonald and Colin Quinn.

Harry 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.