Skip Caray

From BR Bullpen

Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray, Jr.

• Born August 12, 1939 in St. Louis, MO USA
• Died August 3, 2008 in Atlanta, GA USA

Son of Harry Caray and father of Chip Caray.

Long-time broadcaster from the Atlanta Braves. Known for a very dry wit.

After beginning his career calling high-school sports from beneath his father's looming shadow at KMOX in St Louis, Caray by 1963 spent summers with the Tulsa Oilers, then a Cardinals farm team. In the mid-'60s he was his father's color commentator on University of Missouri football games, and was hired by the St Louis Hawks basketball team in 1967, moving with them to Atlanta in 1968 (his father having already moved on to Oakland). Caray was first hired by Turner Broadcasting in 1972 continue as Hawks broadcaster; he was engaged by them to serve as radio and television play-by-play broadcaster for the Braves begining with the 1976 season.

Both the Braves and Hawks were carried nationally over TBS Superstation, and with these clubs Caray developed a national following through the late '70s and '80s, while locally providing play for the soon-to-depart Atlanta Flames NHL team on occasion. Since the early '90s, he has focused exclusively on baseball, although he also called TNT's Sunday Night Football in 1990-91. In 2000, Caray broadcast baseball post-season games for NBC.

Caray continued to call Braves games until the week of his death. Although he was in ill health and he reduced his workload to just home games, Caray called his last game on July 31, 2008.

Caray was renowned for an easy rapport with his partners, notably Pete Van Wieren, who was hired by Atlanta the same year. The two spent relatively little time sharing a booth, however, as each has tended to be paired with a separate partner, the two teams splitting a broadcast between the radio and television sides. Joining Caray and Van Wieren at various times over the years have been incumbent Ernie Johnson (Braves tenure 1962-1998), Don Sutton (1989-2006), Joe Simpson (1992-present), John Sterling (1983-1987), Ron Gant (2003-2008), Dave O'Brien (1991), Billy Sample (1988) and, Skip's son and Harry's grandson, Chip Caray.

The recipient of six "Georgia Sportscaster of the Year" Awards, Caray is a graduate with honors of The University of Missouri.