1988 – Harry Caray

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 1, 1914, sportscasting legend Harry Caray’s fun filled, tell-it-like-it-is style of broadcasting won the hearts of fans during his more than 50 year career. After beginning his career in Joliet and Kalamazoo, Michigan, Caray moved back to St. Louis to cover St. Louis Hawks and University of Michigan Football games. Then in 1945, he began his baseball play-by-play career, when he was hired by KMOX/St. Louis to broadcast St. Louis Cardinals games. He announced Cardinals games until 1969, during which time he also broadcast three World Series and one All-Star game. Caray left the Cardinals following the 1969 season, after which he broadcast Oakland Athletics games for a year before moving to Chicago to cover White Sox games in 1971. Caray broadcast White Sox’s games for a decade, before moving across town to the Cubs in 1982. During his 15 years with the Cubs, Caray became known nationally broadcasting games on WGN-TV. For his outstanding contributions to baseball, Caray received the Ford F. Frick award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. He was also named State Sportscaster of the Year 12 times during his career. Caray died in 1998. He was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame on May 3, 1988.