Joe Garagiola

A unremarkable stint in major league baseball led to a celebrated and much-loved second career in broadcasting for Joe Garagiola, who brought humor and insight to three decades as a commentator, announcer and host on radio and television. Born Joseph Henry Garagiola on February 12, 1926, he was raised in "The Hill," the predominately Italian-American neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri where another famed catcher, Yogi Berra, grew up across the street from his family. Garagiola was recruited by the St. Louis Cardinals organization at the age of 16, and quickly worked his way up to the Class AA American Association before being called for military service in 1944. After serving in the Philippines during World War II, Garagiola returned to St. Louis, where he made his major league debut with the Cardinals in 1946. He enjoyed a stellar outing as a rookie, batting 6-for-19 in the team's World Series appearance that year, including a 4-for-5 run in Game 4 that helped the Cardinals take the series from the Boston Red Sox. His subsequent career proved less than impressive: he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1951, and after playing for both the Chicago Cubs and New York Giants, retired in 1954 with a batting average of .275. During this period, Garagiola was called to testify before a Senate subcommittee on monopoly practices, which alleged that the Anheuser-Busch Company, which owned the Cardinals, was attempting to lure him back to their fold during his stint with the Cubs through their advertising agency, which also represented Garagiola for broadcasting purposes. His response to accusations that the team was "tampering" with his career - "Senator, how can you tamper with a .250 hitter?" - made him not only the unlikely star of the hearings, but led to a steady career as a radio broadcaster, first with KMOX in St. Louis with the legendary Harry Caray, and later with NBC radio and television for regular season games and the World Series, which earned him a Peabody Award in 1973. Garagiola's gift for wordplay also made him a welcome guest host on "The Today Show" (NBC, 1952- ) from 1968 to 1973 and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (NBC, 1962-1992), and a panelist and host on "To Tell The Truth" (CBS/NBC/syndicated, 1956-1978, 1980-1981, 1990-1991, 2000-2001) among many other game shows. Garagiola left baseball broadcasting in 1988 and divided his time between co-hosting the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and color commentary for the Arizona Diamondbacks, whose general manager was his son, Joseph Jr. He retired from broadcasting in 2013 to spend time with his family, and received the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the game that same year. In 2016, Garagiola died in Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of 90.