Joe Garagiola

Joseph Henry Garagiola (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 grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis known as The Hill. He was a talented athlete, as was his childhood friend and competitor, Yogi Berra. When they were teenagers Garagiola was considered the better baseball prospect by pro scouts, although in his writing Garagiola is always complimentary about Berra's ability.

He was signed at age 16 by the St. Louis Cardinals organization and made his major league debut in 1946. He 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.

After his retirement from baseball, he wrote a book, Baseball Is a Funny Game, which sold well upon release. The book was largely 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. He also became a broadcaster on the flagship station of the St. Louis Cardinals, KMOX, in 1955.

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. He became a broadcaster for the New York Yankees from 1965 to 1968. He returned to broadcasting baseball for NBC from 1976 to 1988. During the 1980s, Garagiola formed one of the most famous broadcasting teams of all-time when he teamed up with Vin Scully for baseball telecasts. Ironically, prior to NBC hiring Scully to be their #1 baseball play-by-play announcer, that particular role was filled by Garagiola.

Garagiola was pushed to the succeed Curt Gowdy as NBC's #1 play-by-play announcer (and team with color commentator Tony Kubek) in 1976. NBC hoped that Garagiola's charm and unorthodox dwelling on the personal would stop the a decade-long ratings dive for the Game of the Week. By 1983, Garagiola stepped asided from the play-by-play duties for Vin Scully and Tony Kubek was paired with Bob Costas on NBC telecasts.

After calling the 1988 World Series with Vin Scully on NBC, 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. After leaving NBC Sports, Garagiola had a brief stint as a television commentator for the California Angels.

Besides calling baseball games for NBC, Garagiola served as the host of The Today Show from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1991 to 1992. By 1973, Garagiola also added the game shows Joe Garagiola's Memory Game[1] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0198178/), Sale of the Century[2] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063949/combined), and the Monday Night Baseball pre-game show The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola[3] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068048/) to his resume. Garagiola also gained a new form of notoriety thanks to his stints as host of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show[4] (http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/printer.pat,fyi/37743a0d.211,.html).

Garagiola has also become an advocate in recent years. He has been vocal, particularly to young people and athletes, in his campaign against the use of spit tobacco.

Garagiola's son, Joe Jr. went on to become the general manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Joe Sr. wasn't far behind as he became a television broadcaster for the Diamondbacks.

External links

• Baseball Hall of Fame - Frick Award recipient (http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/frick_bios/garagiola_joe.htm)
• Template:Baseball-reference
• St. Louis Walk of Fame (http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/joe-garagiola.html)