Happy 99th Birthday, Harry Caray
On March 1, 1914, a man by the name of Harry Christopher Carabina was born. Later, millions of baseball fans would come to know him as Harry Caray. The legendary broadcaster would call St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs games in his 52-year career.
On March 1, 1914, a man by the name of Harry Christopher Carabina was born. Later, millions of baseball fans would come to know him as Harry Caray. The legendary broadcaster would call St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs games in his 52-year career.
He died in February of 1998, but that doesn't mean we have to stop celebrating his birthdays. Friday would have been his 99th. And, as Harry so liked to say about the batter on deck, his 100th birthday "would be next."
Many of us grew up watching Caray call Cubs games on WGN alongside his trusty color man, Steve Stone. Many of us can still hear him excitedly calling Cubs home runs with his signature "It might be. It could be. It is! Holy Cow!" call.
We remember the oversized glasses. We remember the "Cub fan, Bud man," ads, fitting right in with his noted affinity for suds. In fact, one of my favorite childhood memories of Harry was after the Cubs clinched a division title in 1989. He was being showered with Champagne in the locker room -- only he didn't want anything to do with wasting it, so he promptly grabbed a bottle and took a gulp.
And, of course, there was the "Alright! Lemme hear ya! A one, a two, a three ... Take me out to the ball game ... " seventh-inning stretch rendition. And, as many of us remember, it was followed by "Let's get some runs!" if the Cubs were trailing.
Now, I could post one of those impressions that players like Ryan Dempster or Derek Holland like to do, but I refuse to do that, because they aren't actually impressions of Harry Caray. They are impressions of Will Ferrell's impression of Harry, which isn't very accurate. It probably annoys me far more than it should, but that doesn't mean I have to post it.
Instead, to get a sense of the real Harry, here is an audio-only clip of a quasi-rant on Cracker Jacks (YouTube is maddeningly barren of Harry footage, by the way):
Continue to rest in peace, Harry. You are still greatly missed.
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