RIP, Joe Garagiola

[TNP777]

You young sparkies might not have ever heard this guy (unless you listened to the Angels or Diamondbacks in recent years), but Garagiola, Kubek and Gowdy were part of my childhood in the 70s. NBC's Game of the Week on Saturdays was the only way we got to watch baseball, at least in northwest Oregon.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15052693/legendary-announcer-joe-garagiola-sr-dies-age-90

 

[RStadlerASU22]

Sad loss, lived a nice long life and was great for the game.

Ryan

 

[tribefan26]

My favorite Joe quote - "Not only was I not the best catcher in the Major Leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street!".

He grew up with Lawrence "Yogi" Berra as a neighbor, although as a teen Joe was generally thought to be the better player.

I always enjoyed him announcing baseball as well as a host on the Today show.

 

[BiggioBrooks755]

RIP

 

[MaineMule]

You young sparkies might not have ever heard this guy (unless you listened to the Angels or Diamondbacks in recent years), but Garagiola, Kubek and Gowdy were part of my childhood in the 70s. NBC's Game of the Week on Saturdays was the only way we got to watch baseball, at least in northwest Oregon.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15052693/legendary-announcer-joe-garagiola-sr-dies-age-90

I too remember the Games of the Week. Those 3 were tremendous together. RIP Joe.....

 

[joey12508]

Great funny always great to listen to.RIP

 

[mrmopar]

Always a favorite card of mine:

 

[nosterbor]

Very sad news.

 

[u2me57]

Really sad to hear about this. Not many games televised back in the 70's so I couldn't wait for NBC's Saturday game of the week with Joe, Tony, and Curt. Great memories. R.I.P. Joe

 

[fordman]

The local NBC affiliate would air Johnny Bench's Baseball Bunch, This week in Baseball then the NBC Game of the Week every Saturday. Mom would tell us to go outside and play or something like that, we'd turn on the old black & white to watch all three. We usually had to watch a Dodgers vs ?? or Toronto/Detroit vs ?? or at least it seemed that's who we always watched.

Joe was a good guy, he did several autograph shows in the late 80's early 90's and was always the cheapest autograph, usually $5.00.

Fordman

 

[WaxPax]

I guess anyone around age 50 (myself included) had the same memories for Saturday game of the week ....RIP

 

[MisterT]

Loved to listen to him (even though he beat the Red Sox in the 1946 WS). A real loss for the game.

 

[smapdi]

Now I'm sad. He was one of those voices that helped to form my love of the game growing up in the 70s. Very smooth and vibrant at the same time, he conveyed the understated excitement that the best baseball is made of.

He's also in the Great American Baseball Card Trading and Flipping book, I never remember the actual title. That was where I learned of his relationship with Berra, and how Joe got the bigger bonus, apparently because he looked more athletic, even though Yogi was ten times the player Joe was.

Also, Fred Willard said Joe was his model for his character in Best In Show. I can definitely hear it.

 

[Flyers16]

Great memories growing up and watching the Game of the Week with Joe, Tony and Curt on Saturday's. Plus them doing the World Series games.

I had forgotten that Joe hosted a game show (though I don't recall what it was called) and that he was on the Today Show. He did well for himself considering that he wasn't a star player and didn't play on a big market team. He had a gregarious Everyman personality.