While his playing career paled in comparison to Berra’s, Garagiola also reached the Hall of Fame when he was named the victor of the Ford Frick Award in 1991.
Advertisement
“Senator, how can you tamper with a. 250 hitter?”
He cohosted the Today Show from 1967 to 1973 and also substituted as host of the Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was away. Mr. Garagiola put his arm around Truman, knowing that his father would be watching on television.
Garagiola called games for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2012.
Joe Garagiola was known around the globe as a baseball announcer for more than 30 years and member of the broadcasters’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
So later that day, Williams hit a two-run, game-winning home run in the 10 inning over the Padres to give the Diamondbacks some breathing room in the National League West. “He’d bring new words to the booth”. “Instead of saying, ‘A runner nearly slid into the shortstop, ‘ Joe’d say, ‘He nearly stapled him to the bag”‘. He was an ambassador for the game, and will be remembered baseball fans everywhere. “And it worked. Every single time”.
“What I tried to do was talk baseball”.
As he had done in his congressional testimony years before, he continued to find humor in his own foibles. “I just lost my best friend”.
FILE – In this July 18, 1983, file photo, Joe DiMaggio, left, and Joe Garagiola, chat in the dugout at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C., during warm ups for the second annual Cracker Jack Old Timers baseball game.
The street in question is Elizabeth Avenue, which is located in The Hill, an Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis Missouri. The best catcher was Garagiola’s childhood friend, Yogi Berra.
The Cardinals hired Mr. Garagiola as a color commentator for the 1955 season, launching him on a career that would extend well into the 21st century.
That proved the high point of Mr. Garagiola’s on-field career.
He played nine seasons in in the major leagues with the Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants, never attaining the stardom of Berra.
Garagiola’s first broadcast job was alongside the famed Harry Caray with the Cardinals.
Garagiola started doing baseball play-by-play for NBC in 1961 after leaving professional baseball in 1954.
In 1970, he was inducted to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. But for those of us who learned to cherish the game when the designated hitter and free agency were coming into vogue, great moments were more meaningful because you knew another week would pass before you had a chance to experience them again.
The baseball legend leaves behind his wife Audrie, his children Steve, Gina and Joe Jr.as well as his eight grandchildren.
Much of what Garagiola added to broadcasts and telecasts was delivered in a folksy, unaffected way.
Mr. Garagiola had two stints as a host of NBC-TV’s “Today”.
His gregarious personality afforded him opportunities to host a number of game shows in the late 60s and early 70s, including “Sale of the Century” and ‘To Tell the Truth’. Mr. Garagiola was not amused. Our thoughts and prayers go to his family during this very sad time.
In addition to his work in baseball, Garagiola had a notable career in other forms of media. In recent years, he advocated against the use of chewing tobacco.
Advertisement
To refer to Joe Garagiola as “old school” wouldn’t be fair to a man whose contributions went past baseball.
