Joe Garagiola facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Joe Garagiola |
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Garagiola in 1947
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| Catcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: February 12, 1926 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Died: March 23, 2016 (aged 90) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
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| debut | |||||||||||||||
| May 26, 1946, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||
| September 26, 1954, for the New York Giants | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .257 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 42 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 255 | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Joseph "Joe" Henry Garagiola Sr. (born February 12, 1926 – died March 23, 2016) was an American baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). After his playing days, Joe became a famous announcer and television host.
He played for nine seasons in MLB. His teams included the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and New York Giants. Later, many people knew him from The Today Show. He was a regular host and guest on many game shows too.
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Growing Up in St. Louis
Joe Garagiola was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up in an Italian-American neighborhood called the Hill. His childhood friend and baseball rival, Yogi Berra, lived right across the street. Yogi was nine months older than Joe.
When they were teenagers in the early 1940s, many baseball scouts thought Joe was the better player. But Yogi Berra went on to become a Hall of Fame legend. Joe, however, had a shorter career. Joe often joked about living near Yogi: "Not only was I not the best catcher in the Major Leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street!"
Joe Garagiola's Baseball Career
The St. Louis Cardinals signed Joe Garagiola when he was just 16 years old. At 17, he was the youngest player ever for the Columbus Red Birds. In 1943, he played for Columbus in the Class AA American Association.
Serving in World War II
On April 24, 1944, Joe was drafted into the military. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After training, he became the catcher for the Fort Riley Centaurs baseball team. In 1945, he went to the Philippines and played for the Manila Dodgers. He was discharged in early 1946.
Playing in the Major Leagues
Joe was only 20 when he joined the Cardinals. He made his major league debut in 1946. As a rookie, he played in the 1946 World Series. He hit well, getting 6 hits in 19 tries over five games. In Game 4, he had 4 hits and helped score three runs.
Joe played in 676 games over nine seasons. He played for four different teams in the National League. He was a decent hitter for a catcher. Joe often used humor to talk about his career. He once said, "It's not a record, but being traded four times when there are only eight teams in the league tells you something."
Life After Playing Baseball
After retiring from baseball, Joe Garagiola became very famous as a broadcaster and TV personality.
Writing Books
In 1960, Joe put his name on a book called Baseball Is a Funny Game. The book sold well and helped him become known as a "personality." It was full of funny stories from his childhood and playing days. This book showed off his friendly and funny style, which became his trademark as a broadcaster.
Joe also wrote two other books: It's Anybody's Ballgame (1988) and Just Play Ball (2007).
Baseball Announcing Career
Joe started broadcasting baseball games after he retired. He first called Cardinals radio games from 1955 to 1962.
He was best known for working with NBC television for almost 30 years. He started doing national baseball broadcasts for NBC in 1961. He called many World Series games on NBC Radio in the 1960s.
From 1976 to 1982, Joe worked with Tony Kubek on NBC's Saturday Game of the Week. In 1983, Vin Scully joined NBC, and Joe became the color commentator. Together, Scully and Garagiola called three All-Star Games, three National League Championship Series, and three World Series.
After the 1988 World Series, Joe left NBC. He then worked for the California Angels for one season in 1990. From 1998 to 2012, he did part-time commentary for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His son, Joe Garagiola Jr., was the general manager for the Diamondbacks. Joe officially retired from broadcasting on February 22, 2013.
Other TV Appearances
Besides baseball, Joe Garagiola was a co-host on Today from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1990 to 1992. He also sometimes filled in as host for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He even hosted when The Beatles members John Lennon and Paul McCartney appeared in May 1968.
Joe hosted several game shows in the 1960s and 1970s. These included He Said, She Said, Joe Garagiola's Memory Game, Sale of the Century, and To Tell the Truth. He was also a guest on Match Game.
He hosted the professional wrestling show Wrestling at the Chase from 1959 to 1962. His brother, Mickey, was the ring announcer for that show. Joe also regularly hosted the Orange Bowl Parade in Miami. From 1994 to 2002, he co-hosted the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for USA Network. He joked that even after all his baseball and TV work, people would often say, "I love you in Westminster."
Working with Presidents
In 1960, Joe appeared at a campaign event for John F. Kennedy. He was on stage with politicians like former President Harry S. Truman. Joe put his arm around Truman, looked into the camera, and said, "Hey Pop, I just want you to see who I'm hanging around with." He knew his father, who often questioned Joe's career choices, would be watching.
In the 1976 presidential election, Joe supported President Gerald Ford. The Republican National Committee hired Joe to make TV ads with Ford. They talked in a relaxed way. Some people called these ads "The Joe and Jerry Show." Joe and Ford became close friends. On election night in November 1976, Ford invited Joe to the White House to watch the results. Ford lost the election to Jimmy Carter.
Advocacy Against Chewing Tobacco
Joe Garagiola strongly spoke out against using chewing tobacco. He had started the habit during his playing days but quit in the late 1950s. Every year, he visited major league teams during spring training. He brought former players who had suffered from oral cancer because of chewing tobacco. He always talked about the dangers of it during his broadcasts.
Helping Others
Joe was the main speaker at the Society for American Baseball Research convention in St. Louis in 2007. He also worked with the St. Peter's Indian Mission Catholic School. This school was on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona. Over many years, he helped raise money to build and repair school facilities. These included a basketball court, a soccer field, a library, and repairs to the old mission church.
For his work, tribal leaders gave him the nickname "Awesome Fox." Today, the school has The Joe Garagiola Learning Center and Awesome Fox Field.
Awards and Honors
Joe Garagiola received many awards for his work.
- In 1970, he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
- He won a Peabody Award in 1973 for his NBC work.
- In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame gave him the Ford C. Frick Award. This award is for great broadcasting.
- He was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2004.
- He has his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
- In 2008, he was inducted into the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame for his Wrestling at the Chase broadcasts.
- In 2012, he received the Legacy Award from the Catholic Community Foundation of the Diocese of Phoenix. This was for his help with St. Peter's Mission School.
- On December 4, 2013, he received the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award. The Baseball Hall of Fame gives this award every three years. It honors people who make positive contributions to baseball. The Hall specifically mentioned his work against smokeless tobacco. They also noted his role in starting the Baseball Assistance Team. This charity helps people in the professional baseball community.
In the 2013 movie 42, actor Gino Anthony Pesi played Joe Garagiola.
Joe Garagiola's Family Life
Joe Garagiola married Audrie Ross in 1949. She was the organist at the Cardinals' ballpark. Their two sons also had connections to baseball. Joe Garagiola Jr. was the general manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He later became a senior vice president for Major League Baseball. Their other son, Steve, was a broadcast journalist in Detroit. Their daughter, Gina, also worked in TV news and is now a writer. Joe Sr. had eight grandchildren.
His Passing
Joe Garagiola passed away on March 23, 2016, at the age of 90. He died in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Diamondbacks baseball team wore a special patch in his memory during the 2016 season. It was a black circle with "JOE" written in white, and a catcher's mask replaced the "O."
His funeral was held on April 13 in St. Louis at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. He was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in St. Louis.
