The Arizona Diamondbacks say Garagiola died Wednesday. Garagiola, signed by the Cardinals as a 16-year-old before Berra signed with the Yankees, later said, “Not only was I not the best catcher in the major leagues, I wasn’t even the best catcher on my street”.
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In a statement released by his family, Garagiola was described as an fantastic man who was beloved by his family as well as generations of baseball fans. Garagiola reached the World Series as a rookie, hitting.
Garagiola’s career in baseball spanned an incredible eight decades. The Cardinals won the series in seven games, making Garagiola a World Series champion.
It wasn’t really about the numbers during his playing career, though.
-Garagiola was enshrined in Cooperstown as the Ford C. Frick Award recipient in 1991, and was also recognized with the 2014 Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Bud Selig Award for lifetime achievement in 2010. He played eight seasons in the majors, but generations of fans knew him for his 57-year career in broadcasting, including a 30-year association with NBC.
His work as a broadcaster went beyond baseball.
The Broadcast Wing & TV booth at Chase Field was named after Garagiola in 2009 and in 2012, Joe Garagiola Field was dedicated in Flagstaff.
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After leaving NBC in 1988, Garagiola became the commentator for the California Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks until retiring from broadcasting in 2013. His son, Joe Garagiola, Jr., is the former general manager of the D-backs and the current Major League Baseball senior vice president of standards and on-field operations. He also served as the co-host for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show from 1994-2002.
