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'Joseph Henry Garagiola, Sr.' (born February 12, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who later became an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. In 1991, he was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford Frick Award for outstanding broadcasting accomplishents. He has also been given his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Contents

Early life

Baseball playing career

Books

Broadcasting career

Other ventures

Personal

References

External links

Early life

Garagiola grew up on Elizabeth Avenue in an Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis known as The Hill, just a few doors down from his childhood friend and competitor, Yogi Berra. (That block was subsequently renamed "Hall of Fame Place".)
When Berra and Garagiola were both teenagers, almost all pro scouts rated Garagiola as the better baseball prospect, although Berra had a Hall of Fame career, and Garagiola has always respected Berra's ability.

Baseball playing career

Garagiola was signed at age 16 by the St. Louis Cardinals organization and made his major league debut in 1946.
As a rookie in 1946, in his only World Series appearance, Garagiola batted a 6-for-19 in five games, including a Game 4 where he went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs. By contrast, future Hall of Famer Ted Williams went only 5-for-25 in the same series, which was also Williams' only World Series appearance.
But Garagiola never quite lived up to the promise of his youth, appearing in only 676 games over 9 seasons for St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants. He was a mediocre hitter in the majors and featured that in his self-deprecating humor. He once told this story on himself: He knew that it was time to retire, when he was catching and his ex-teammate Stan Musial stepped into the batter's box, turned to Joe, and said, ''"When are you gonna quit?"''

Books

After his retirement from baseball, Garagiola lent his name to a 1960 book, ''Baseball is a Funny Game'', which sold well upon release and helped establish Garagiola as a "personality." The (largely ghostwritten) book was a collection of humorous anecdotes surrounding his upbringing and his playing career, and showcased the folksy, humorous style that became his trademark as a broadcaster.
Garagiola also wrote ''It's Anybody's Ballgame'' (1980) and ''Just Play Ball'' (2007).

Broadcasting career

Garagiola turned to broadcasting following his retirement as a player, first calling Cardinals radio broadcasts on KMOX from 1955 to 1962.
As an announcer, Garagiola is best known for his almost 30 year association with NBC. He began doing national baseball broadcasts for NBC in 1961 (teaming with Bob Wolff). After a stint calling New York Yankees games from 1965 to 1967, Garagiola returned to broadcasting NBC baseball in 1974.
Garagiola alternated play-by-play duties with Curt Gowdy on NBC until 1976, when he assumed the role full-time. He teamed with color commentator Tony Kubek from 1976 to 1982; in 1983, he shifted to color commentary as Vin Scully joined the network as lead play-by-play announcer. (Kubek joined Bob Costas to form NBC's #2 baseball announcing duo in this era.)
After calling the 1988 World Series with Scully, Garagiola resigned from NBC Sports. NBC was on the verge of losing the television rights to cover Major League Baseball to CBS. Garagiola claimed that NBC left him "twisting" while he was trying to renegotiate his deal. Garagiola was replaced on the NBC telecasts by Tom Seaver. After leaving NBC Sports, Garagiola had a brief stint as a television commentator for the California Angels. In recent years, he has performed some color commentary duties for the Arizona Diamondbacks, where his son, Joe Garagiola Jr., served as general manager.

Other ventures

Besides calling baseball games for NBC, Garagiola served as a panelist on ''The Today Show'' from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1991 to 1992. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Garagiola also hosted the game shows ''He Said, She Said''; ''Joe Garagiola's Memory Game''; ''Sale of the Century''; ''To Tell the Truth''; and ''Strike it Rich''; as well as the ''Monday Night Baseball'' pre-game show ''The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola''. He also hosted the St. Louis area professional wrestling show, titled "Wrestling at The Chase." Garagiola also gained a new form of notoriety thanks to his stints as host of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Garagiola has also become an advocate in recent years against the use of spit tobacco. He visits major league teams every year during spring training alongside players from his generation who have suffered cancer injuries due to chewing tobacco use.
Garagiola was the keynote luncheon speaker July 28th at the 2007 convention of the Society for American Baseball Research held in St. Louis, Missouri.

Personal

Garagiola's son, Joe Jr., went on to become the general manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks and later, senior vice president of baseball operations for Major League Baseball. His other son, Steve^[1], is a broadcast journalist as well, serving as a reporter and anchor for WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate in Detroit. He has a grandson, Chris Garagiola, who is working hard to the footsteps of the legacy that Joe left behind.

References

1. http://www.clickondetroit.com/newsteam/269707/detail.html

External links

★ Baseball Hall of Fame - Frick Award recipient

★

★ St. Louis Walk of Fame

★ http://appelpr.com/ARTICLES/A-funny.htm