The world of sportscasting has had its share of legends, but arguably the biggest name of all was a man named Harry Caray.
Harry Caray was born in St. Louis to Italian and Romanian parents. The year was 1914. Caray’s mom passed away when he was 14, and his dad went off to fight World War I when Caray was just a pup. Sports filled the void, and baseball was Caray’s game. He was a talented high school player, too, good enough to get a scholarship offer from the Crimson Tide.
Caray turned down the offer for financial reasons, and his desire to follow in his dad’s footsteps (joining the military) didn’t work out either (poor eyesight was the reason). So once again, Caray turned to baseball and sports, this time using his voice to get broadcast jobs in the fledgling field of radio sports broadcasting. After having stints with a variety of stations–honing his style all the while–Caray went pro in 1945 with his hometown St. Louis Cardinals.
The great Harry Caray (photo, Reddit)
That was the beginning of what turned out to be a 50+ year career with five different MLB teams.
Caray is best known as the voice of the Chicago Cubs and, even more, for his in-game tradition (during the 7th inning stretch), singing Take Me Out To The Ball Game. The tradition continued after Caray’s death in 1998.
There isn’t any question that Harry Caray made a huge impact in sports and on pop culture, too. A well-known and beloved Chicago restaurant carries his name, and multiple actors have imitated his voice and style. Here’s one example, Will Ferrell, who has performed multiple skits about Caray on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
