Skip Caray
Encyclopedia
Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray, Jr. (August 12, 1939 – August 3, 2008) was an American
sportscaster
, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves
of Major League Baseball
. He was the son of baseball announcer Harry Caray
, and the father of fellow Braves broadcaster Chip Caray; another son, Josh Caray
, is an announcer for the Gwinnett Braves
.
broadcaster Harry Caray, who would routinely refer to his son at 8:30pm during every broadcast by saying, "Good night, Skipper," a phrase for which Skip was teased throughout his adolescence.
He studied television and radio at the University of Missouri
where he received a degree in journalism. He began his career in St. Louis calling Saint Louis University
and St. Louis Hawks
basketball. In 1968, Caray moved with the Hawks to Atlanta, where he also called Atlanta Flames
hockey games and did morning sportscasts on WSB-AM.
, he was added to the broadcast team for the Braves, a position he held until his death. In September 2007, Caray was not asked to announce League Division Series games on TBS and was kept exclusive to the Braves as the team's broadcasts moved to local Atlanta network Peachtree TV (a direct descendant of the original WTBS). Caray felt slighted by the move.
Skip Caray was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame in 2004
alongside long time Braves broadcaster Pete Van Wieren
. He has been recognized with six Georgia Sportscaster-of-the Year awards from the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, as well as a Georgia-area Emmy award.
On December 18, 2006, the Braves organization announced that Caray (and partner Van Wieren) had signed three year contracts to continue doing Braves game broadcasts on their radio network. However, Caray only announced ten games on TBS in the 2007 season
before being relegated to Peachtree TV.
On the final broadcast of Braves TBS Baseball
(September 30, 2007), Caray thanked fans saying, "To all you people who have watched the Braves for these 30 years ... thank you. We appreciate you more than you will ever know. ... Thank you folks and God bless you. And we're going to miss you every bit as much as you miss us."
sense of humor, a personality trait that endeared him to most fans, but alienated him from some. For example, during a particularly long losing streak in the 1980s, Skip declared at the start of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates
, "And, like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field". Other frequent targets of Skip's jokes included the Montreal Expos
' mascot
Youppi
, New York Mets
fans, professional wrestling, TBS baseball broadcast producer Glenn Diamond, and the post game B-movie
frequently shown on TBS during the 1980s. In one celebrated instance, in order to get back at Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Ron Hudspeth for a critical column, Caray paid to have an airplane tow a banner above Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
during a Braves game which read, "For a good time, call Rona Hudspeth," and included Ron's actual phone number.
Among other memorable lines, Caray said of Braves pitcher Charlie Kerfeld
, who was 6'4" and 245 lbs., "Boy, he is big enough to go to work." And during a losing streak, after talking about a promotion in which Braves fans could come on the field and meet the players, Caray commented, "The way things are going, we may make the fans go through a metal detector on the way to the field."
Skip was also known for his tendency to identify the hometowns of fans who catch foul balls during Braves games in jest. Fans who reside in the metro Atlanta area were identified by a random suburb, though there was no legitimacy behind these references. Similarly, when daytime home games went long, Caray would routinely give a "traffic report" at exactly 5 o'clock on radio broadcasts. It consisted of him rattling off a random list of major Atlanta arteries, and describing each one as hopelessly backed up. When the Braves suffered a severely bad outing, and the score was strongly lopsided in favor of the other team, in late innings Skip would often tell fans "It's OK to walk the dog now, folks, if you promise to support our sponsors."
In addition to his play-by-play duties, Caray also hosted a pre-game call in show, until 2004, during which he was notorious for insulting on-air fans with curt and sarcastic responses, particularly when asked baseball questions of the simplest order, such as "how do you calculate ERA
?" or "could you please explain the infield fly rule
?"
Judging from his words over the air, Caray had a distaste for the sports entertainment empires ESPN
and Fox
.
Skip Caray's rather distinctive nasal voice had been parodied by former SportsCenter
anchor Rich Eisen during highlights for Atlanta Braves games.
and Don Sutton, was banned from Atlanta Braves team charter flights for several games after criticizing Braves
catcher Javy López
for being penalized for setting up outside the catchers box during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers
In an attempt to combat criticism of Caray's on-air "home team" bias and to market its baseball coverage to non-Braves fans, during the 2003 season
, TBS removed Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren from announcing Braves games on television. The move was strongly criticized by Braves fans, the local Atlanta media, and Braves manager Bobby Cox
. Over 90% of Braves fans who voted in an online poll conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution preferred Caray and Van Wieren to the more neutral broadcasts. The move backfired, and ratings for the TBS broadcasts declined sharply. After the All-Star Break
, Caray and Van Wieren were returned to the booth, only to be taken off permanently in 2007
with TBS hiring new broadcasters for their playoff coverage later in the year.
, NBC hired Caray to do play-by-play with Joe Morgan
on the AL Division Series
between the New York Yankees
and Oakland Athletics
. Caray was filling in for Bob Costas
, who sat out the Division Series after anchoring NBC
's prime time
coverage of the Summer Olympic Games
from Sydney
, Australia
.
In 1992
, Otis Nixon
climbed the wall in right-center to preserve the Braves' 13-game winning streak:
During Game 7
of the 1992 National League Championship Series
, Caray delivered this memorable line, as Francisco Cabrera drove in Sid Bream
to win the pennant for the Braves:
Caray also delivered the call for the Braves
' World Series
win in 1995, as Mark Wohlers
got Carlos Baerga
to fly out to Marquis Grissom
to end the game:
called the much hyped college basketball contest between Virginia
and Georgetown (led by Ralph Sampson
and Patrick Ewing
respectively) for TBS. Caray also called play-by-play for the first two seasons (1990–91) of the TNT network's Sunday night NFL coverage as well as TBS NBA coverage
, and anchored TBS' coverage of the 1990 Goodwill Games
. He made his motion picture debut in the 1985 movie The Slugger's Wife
, starring Michael O'Keefe
, Randy Quaid
and Rebecca De Mornay
. Caray frequently mocked his participation in the film on-air, and referred to it as one of the worst movies ever made, often saying that the actors in the movie probably watched it as the in-flight movie on their way back to Los Angeles
.
, calling a game on radio as recently as three days before his death. Tributes to Caray were given on all of the Atlanta television stations that evening and on WGST-AM the next morning.
Shortly after Caray's death, the Atlanta Braves began wearing a memorial patch on their uniforms that read "SKIP", which appeared on the sleeve opposite the "BEACH" patch honoring Jim Beauchamp
that they had been wearing since the beginning of the 2008 season.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He was the son of baseball announcer Harry Caray
Harry Caray
Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, was an American baseball broadcaster on radio and television. He covered four Major League Baseball teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St...
, and the father of fellow Braves broadcaster Chip Caray; another son, Josh Caray
Josh Caray
Josh Caray was the 2009 television play-by-play announcer for 25 games with the Atlanta Braves Class AAA affiliate, the Gwinnett Braves, where he was paired with Brian Jordan. He also calls football games for the Rome High School Wolves....
, is an announcer for the Gwinnett Braves
Gwinnett Braves
The Gwinnett Braves are a minor league baseball team in the International League, the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Atlanta Braves. The team was previously the Richmond Braves for 43 seasons . On January 14, 2008, it was announced that the Richmond Braves would move from Richmond,...
.
Early life and career
Skip Caray grew up in baseball as the son of Hall of FameFord C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It is named for Ford Christopher Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball...
broadcaster Harry Caray, who would routinely refer to his son at 8:30pm during every broadcast by saying, "Good night, Skipper," a phrase for which Skip was teased throughout his adolescence.
He studied television and radio at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
where he received a degree in journalism. He began his career in St. Louis calling Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
and St. Louis Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
basketball. In 1968, Caray moved with the Hawks to Atlanta, where he also called Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...
hockey games and did morning sportscasts on WSB-AM.
Atlanta Braves
In 19761976 Atlanta Braves season
- Offseason :* November 17, 1975: Dusty Baker and Ed Goodson were traded by the Braves to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jerry Royster, Lee Lacy, Tom Paciorek, and Jimmy Wynn....
, he was added to the broadcast team for the Braves, a position he held until his death. In September 2007, Caray was not asked to announce League Division Series games on TBS and was kept exclusive to the Braves as the team's broadcasts moved to local Atlanta network Peachtree TV (a direct descendant of the original WTBS). Caray felt slighted by the move.
Skip Caray was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame in 2004
2004 Atlanta Braves season
-Offseason:*October 25, 2003: DeWayne Wise was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.*November 14, 2003: Jorge Velandia was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.*December 13, 2003: J.D. Drew was traded by the St...
alongside long time Braves broadcaster Pete Van Wieren
Pete Van Wieren
Pete van Wieren is a former American sportscaster best known for his long career calling play-by-play for Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves.-Atlanta Braves:...
. He has been recognized with six Georgia Sportscaster-of-the Year awards from the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, as well as a Georgia-area Emmy award.
On December 18, 2006, the Braves organization announced that Caray (and partner Van Wieren) had signed three year contracts to continue doing Braves game broadcasts on their radio network. However, Caray only announced ten games on TBS in the 2007 season
2007 Atlanta Braves season
The Atlanta Braves' 2007 season began with the Braves attempting to recapture the NL East title, which they relinquished for the first time since the 1990 season to the New York Mets in the 2006 season. They opened their season with a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies.-December:*: Signed RHP...
before being relegated to Peachtree TV.
On the final broadcast of Braves TBS Baseball
Braves TBS Baseball
Braves TBS Baseball or Braves Baseball on TBS is a Major League Baseball broadcast on the TBS cable network by Turner Sports, featuring Atlanta Braves regular season games...
(September 30, 2007), Caray thanked fans saying, "To all you people who have watched the Braves for these 30 years ... thank you. We appreciate you more than you will ever know. ... Thank you folks and God bless you. And we're going to miss you every bit as much as you miss us."
Broadcasting style
Skip Caray's broadcasts were characterized by his witty and sarcasticSarcasm
Sarcasm is “a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter jibe or taunt.” Though irony and understatement is usually the immediate context, most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony; however, others argue that sarcasm may or often does involve irony or employs...
sense of humor, a personality trait that endeared him to most fans, but alienated him from some. For example, during a particularly long losing streak in the 1980s, Skip declared at the start of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, "And, like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field". Other frequent targets of Skip's jokes included the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
' mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
Youppi
Youppi
Youppi! is the official mascot for the Montreal Canadiens and former longtime mascot of Montreal Expos .-History:...
, New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
fans, professional wrestling, TBS baseball broadcast producer Glenn Diamond, and the post game B-movie
B-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
frequently shown on TBS during the 1980s. In one celebrated instance, in order to get back at Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Ron Hudspeth for a critical column, Caray paid to have an airplane tow a banner above Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, often shortened to "Fulton County Stadium," was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.-History:...
during a Braves game which read, "For a good time, call Rona Hudspeth," and included Ron's actual phone number.
Among other memorable lines, Caray said of Braves pitcher Charlie Kerfeld
Charlie Kerfeld
Charles Patrick "Charlie" Kerfeld is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Almost all of his career was spent with the Houston Astros.-Career:...
, who was 6'4" and 245 lbs., "Boy, he is big enough to go to work." And during a losing streak, after talking about a promotion in which Braves fans could come on the field and meet the players, Caray commented, "The way things are going, we may make the fans go through a metal detector on the way to the field."
Skip was also known for his tendency to identify the hometowns of fans who catch foul balls during Braves games in jest. Fans who reside in the metro Atlanta area were identified by a random suburb, though there was no legitimacy behind these references. Similarly, when daytime home games went long, Caray would routinely give a "traffic report" at exactly 5 o'clock on radio broadcasts. It consisted of him rattling off a random list of major Atlanta arteries, and describing each one as hopelessly backed up. When the Braves suffered a severely bad outing, and the score was strongly lopsided in favor of the other team, in late innings Skip would often tell fans "It's OK to walk the dog now, folks, if you promise to support our sponsors."
In addition to his play-by-play duties, Caray also hosted a pre-game call in show, until 2004, during which he was notorious for insulting on-air fans with curt and sarcastic responses, particularly when asked baseball questions of the simplest order, such as "how do you calculate ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
?" or "could you please explain the infield fly rule
Infield Fly Rule
The infield fly rule is a baseball rule that is intended to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping pop-ups in order to turn double plays . Without this rule, a defense could easily turn a pop-up into a double play when there are runners at first and second base...
?"
Judging from his words over the air, Caray had a distaste for the sports entertainment empires ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and Fox
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
.
Skip Caray's rather distinctive nasal voice had been parodied by former SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
anchor Rich Eisen during highlights for Atlanta Braves games.
Criticism
In June 2000, Caray, along with fellow Braves broadcasters Joe Simpson, Pete Van WierenPete Van Wieren
Pete van Wieren is a former American sportscaster best known for his long career calling play-by-play for Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves.-Atlanta Braves:...
and Don Sutton, was banned from Atlanta Braves team charter flights for several games after criticizing Braves
2000 Atlanta Braves season
The 2000 season would mark the first time since 1990 that the Braves did not appear in the National League Championship Series. One of the highlights of the season was that the All-Star Game was held at Turner Field in Atlanta.-Offseason:...
catcher Javy López
Javy López
Javier López Torres is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Atlanta Braves , Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox . He batted and threw right-handed...
for being penalized for setting up outside the catchers box during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers
2000 Milwaukee Brewers season
The Milwaukee Brewers' 2000 season involved the Brewers' finishing 3rd in the National League Central with a record of 73 wins and 89 losses.-Offseason:* November 19, 1999: Jason Bere was signed as a free agent by the Brewers....
In an attempt to combat criticism of Caray's on-air "home team" bias and to market its baseball coverage to non-Braves fans, during the 2003 season
2003 Atlanta Braves season
-Offseason:*November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.*December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.*December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves....
, TBS removed Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren from announcing Braves games on television. The move was strongly criticized by Braves fans, the local Atlanta media, and Braves manager Bobby Cox
Bobby Cox
Robert Joseph "Bobby" Cox is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He first led the Atlanta Braves from 1978 to 1981, and then managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985. He later rejoined the Braves in 1985 as a general manager...
. Over 90% of Braves fans who voted in an online poll conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution preferred Caray and Van Wieren to the more neutral broadcasts. The move backfired, and ratings for the TBS broadcasts declined sharply. After the All-Star Break
2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 74th midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues constituting Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 15, 2003 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the Chicago...
, Caray and Van Wieren were returned to the booth, only to be taken off permanently in 2007
2007 Atlanta Braves season
The Atlanta Braves' 2007 season began with the Braves attempting to recapture the NL East title, which they relinquished for the first time since the 1990 season to the New York Mets in the 2006 season. They opened their season with a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies.-December:*: Signed RHP...
with TBS hiring new broadcasters for their playoff coverage later in the year.
NBC Sports
In 20002000 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champion - New York Yankees*Postseason - October 3 to October 26Click on any series score to link to that series' page....
, NBC hired Caray to do play-by-play with Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
on the AL Division Series
2000 American League Division Series
-Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees:-Chicago vs. Seattle:The Seattle Mariners returned to the postseason to avenge two postseason failures in the 1990s. The Chicago White Sox returned to the postseason for the first time since 1993...
between the New York Yankees
2000 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees' 2000 season was the 98th season for the Yankees in New York, and their 100th overall going back to their origins in Baltimore. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The team finished 1st in the AL East with a record of 87–74, 2.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox, after...
and Oakland Athletics
2000 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics' 2000 season involved the A's finishing 1st in the American League West with a record of 91 wins and 70 losses.-Offseason:* December 30, 1999: Scott Service was signed as a free agent by the Athletics....
. Caray was filling in for Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
, who sat out the Division Series after anchoring NBC
Olympics on NBC
NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....
's prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
coverage of the Summer Olympic Games
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Otis Nixon's "Catch"
In 1992
1992 Atlanta Braves season
The 1992 Atlanta Braves season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Braves finishing first in the National League West with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses, clinching their second straight division title....
, Otis Nixon
Otis Nixon
Otis Junior Nixon, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. He was a center fielder and switch-hitter who played from 1983 to 1999...
climbed the wall in right-center to preserve the Braves' 13-game winning streak:
1992 National League Championship Series
During Game 7
Francisco Cabrera game
The 1992 National League Championship Series Game 7, played on October 14, 1992 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, was the last game of the 1992 National League Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. Atlanta's dramatic three-run rally in the bottom of the...
of the 1992 National League Championship Series
1992 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 6, 1992 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaA rather uneventful opening to what would prove to be a memorable series, Game 1 was an easy win for the Braves. Atlanta scored four early runs, highlighted by Jeff Blauser's fifth-inning homer, and coasted to...
, Caray delivered this memorable line, as Francisco Cabrera drove in Sid Bream
Sid Bream
Sidney Eugene "Sid" Bream is an American former Major League Baseball player. He played his entire 11-year career in the National League...
to win the pennant for the Braves:
1995 World Series
Caray also delivered the call for the Braves
1995 Atlanta Braves season
The 1995 Atlanta Braves season was the 125th season in the history of the franchise and 30th season in the city of Atlanta. The team finished the strike-shortened season with a record of 90–54, the best in the National League, en route to winning the World Series. For the sixth straight season,...
' World Series
1995 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 21, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta ace Greg Maddux pitched a two-hit complete game victory in his first World Series appearance ....
win in 1995, as Mark Wohlers
Mark Wohlers
Mark Edward Wohlers is a former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Atlanta Braves from to...
got Carlos Baerga
Carlos Baerga
Carlos Obed Baerga Ortiz is a former Major League Baseball player. After spending most of his career as a second baseman, he was used at various positions late in his career.-Cleveland Indians:...
to fly out to Marquis Grissom
Marquis Grissom
Marquis Deon Grissom is a former Major League Baseball player. He excelled in baseball at Lakeshore High School, under the tutelage of baseball coach Mike Juenger. He currently resides in College Park, Georgia...
to end the game:
Other appearances
On December 11, 1982, Caray along with Abe LemonsAbe Lemons
Abe Lemons was one of the most successful head basketball coaches in Oklahoma history.Lemons grew up in the town of Walters, Oklahoma. He served in World War II in the Pacific and often referred to the pressures of his war experience to put sports pressures into perspective...
called the much hyped college basketball contest between Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball program represents the University of Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the NCAA's Division I. The team is coached by Tony Bennett.-Statistics:-Retired numbers:-Retired jerseys:...
and Georgetown (led by Ralph Sampson
Ralph Sampson
Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. is a retired American college and professional basketball player.A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and No...
and Patrick Ewing
Patrick Ewing
Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. is a Jamaican-American retired Hall of Fame basketball player and current assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic. He played most of his career with the NBA's New York Knicks as their starting center and played briefly with the Seattle...
respectively) for TBS. Caray also called play-by-play for the first two seasons (1990–91) of the TNT network's Sunday night NFL coverage as well as TBS NBA coverage
NBA on TBS
The NBA on TBS debuted in the 1984-1985 season under a four year contract, where they shared the NBA package along with CBS.-Coverage:...
, and anchored TBS' coverage of the 1990 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
. He made his motion picture debut in the 1985 movie The Slugger's Wife
The Slugger's Wife
The Slugger's Wife is a 1985 romantic comedy about a baseball star who falls for a singer. Written by Neil Simon, directed by Hal Ashby and produced by Ray Stark, the film stars Michael O'Keefe, Rebecca De Mornay and Randy Quaid. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and released on March 29,...
, starring Michael O'Keefe
Michael O'Keefe
Michael Raymond O'Keefe is an American film and television actor.- Early life :O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family. His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as...
, Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
and Rebecca De Mornay
Rebecca De Mornay
Rebecca De Mornay is an American film and television actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she played Lana in Risky Business opposite Tom Cruise...
. Caray frequently mocked his participation in the film on-air, and referred to it as one of the worst movies ever made, often saying that the actors in the movie probably watched it as the in-flight movie on their way back to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Death
On August 3, 2008, the Atlanta Braves announced that Caray had died. His wife, Paula, reported to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that on Sunday afternoon when she thought her husband was napping, she looked out the window and saw a bird feeder not hanging where it should be and thought it had been blown down by the wind. When she stood up, she noticed her husband lying on the ground next to the bird feeder. He had been suffering from failing health for nearly a year prior, but returned to work for the 2008 season2008 Atlanta Braves season
The Atlanta Braves' 2008 season featured the team's attempt to reclaim a postseason berth for the first time since 2005. The Braves were once again skippered by Bobby Cox, now in his 19th season managing Atlanta...
, calling a game on radio as recently as three days before his death. Tributes to Caray were given on all of the Atlanta television stations that evening and on WGST-AM the next morning.
Shortly after Caray's death, the Atlanta Braves began wearing a memorial patch on their uniforms that read "SKIP", which appeared on the sleeve opposite the "BEACH" patch honoring Jim Beauchamp
Jim Beauchamp
James Edward Beauchamp was a Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played from to for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Colt .45s/Astros, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Mets. He attended Grove High School in Grove, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University...
that they had been wearing since the beginning of the 2008 season.
External links
- Skip Caray Fan Page
- Skip Caray Online Memorial
- TBS Skip Caray Website
- http://wgst.com/cc-common/mediaplayer/player.html?redir=yes&mps=hd2.php&mid=http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/30257/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/30257/4189/richmedia/RememberingSkip_mix.mp3?CCOMRRMID=18051887&CPROG=RICHMEDIA&MARKET=ATLANTA-GA&NG_FORMAT=newstalk&NG_ID=wgst640am&OR_NEWSFORMAT=newstalk&OWNER=4189&SERVER_NAME=www.640wgst.com&SITE_ID=1153&STATION_ID=WGST-AM&TRACK=rememberSkipWGST Tribute to Skip Caray]
- WSB Radio Tribute to Skip Caray
- Skip Caray Cable's First Baseball Star