Remembering Harry Caray after 20 years
By: Alex Patt
It is hard to believe for many, but it has been 20 years since the legendary Harry Caray passed away. February 18th, 1998 was a sad day for so many baseball fans when they found out their beloved voice on WGN had died. Today fans still miss him, but the memories still live on.
One of the most famous sportscasters in history, Caray’s voice was brought to millions of households for decades. He worked for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s, Chicago White Sox before coming to Wrigley Field where his legacy is still strong today. His last 16 years of his broadcasting career (1982–1997) were with the Cubs as we worked along side Steve Stone for many of those years.
Harry’s antics in the booth between his “Holy Cow!” calls, talking about random stuff in the middle of games and of course the 7th inning stretch while drinking a cold one made Cubs broadcasts fun. His personality was much needed during his 16 years, because for the most part the Cubs were not very good during that span. From 1982–1997 the team put up a 1,215–1,303 record. That equals a .483 winning percentage, 88 games under .500. Though Cubs fans of that era can recount the excitement the 1984 and 1989 division-wining teams brought, and Harry was a big part of those years.
Good times or bad, he was there to entertain you. Heck, every die-hard Cubs fan should be required to listen to him trying to pronounce Mark Grudzielanek’s name.
While he called thousands of baseball games in his career, he had a number of memorable highlights during his time with the Cubs. Here are a few of them.
-6/23/84. The Sandberg Game. Harry was doing the game on the radio as this game against the Cardinals at Wrigley was being televised on NBC’s Game of the Week. Ryno hit his second home run off Bruce Sutter.
“There’s a long drive! Way back! Might be outta here! Heeeey! He did it again! The game is tied! The game is tied! Holy cow! Listen to this crowd! Everybody is going bananas!”
-9/24/84. The game which the Cubs clinched the division in Pittsburgh. A complete game by Rick Sutcliffe ended when he struck out Joe Orsulak looking to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 1945.
“Cubs are the champions! The Cubs are the champions! The Cubs win! Look at that mob scene! Orsulak called out on strikes, Sutcliffe his 14th (win) in a row!”
-8/15/89. Cubs vs Reds in extra innings. Don Zimmer’s Cubs were in a division race, and every win was important. In a game in Cincinnati, the Cubs and Reds were tied at two in the 12th. Andre Dawson would then hit a game-winning three run jack to the delight of Harry and the many Cub fans who were present in Cincinnati.
“There it goes! Way back! It might be! It…it is!!! It is!!! Holy cow!! It is! A three-run homer! Eh, listen to this crowd!”
-9/26/89. The day the Cubs clinched the NL East for the second time the decade. The game was started by Greg Maddux and then the last three outs were gotten by “Wild Thing” Mitch Williams. After a somewhat dramatic ninth, he struck out Mike Fitzgerald.
“One ball two strikes the pitch. Hey! Cubs win the division! Cubs win the division! Fitzgerald is out on strikes!”
10/6/91. Signing off after another mediocre season, these words wold become famous.
“Sure as God made green apples, someday, the Chicago Cubs are going to be in the World Series.”
This is not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to memorable calls by him. But these really stand out. They were arguably the biggest moments of the franchise during Harry Caray’s reign as the announcer.
In the end, every Cubs fan who watched them on TV when Caray announced had a special memory of him. Could have been during a big moment like listed above or some random regular season game in the summer when the Cubs were 10+ games out of first place.
Harry Caray’s final ever broadcast was on September 21, 1997. He did not plan to retire, so it was not immediately known it would be his last. It was a brisk day at Wrigley and the Cubs trounced the Phillies. He sung his last 7th inning stretch and gave his last ever sign off after the game.
“Well, Harry Caray, speaking from Wrigley Field. God willing, hope to see ya next year. Next year maybe will be, the ‘next year’ we all had been waiting for forever. So long everybody!”
Harry died a few months later in California. As Dan Roan pointed out on WGN news, the tone in his voice that final sign off almost made it seem like he knew it was farewell.
Though Harry may be gone, he will be part of Cubs fandom forever. The number of tributes to him when they won it all in 2016 was certainly moving for a lot of fans, including his widow Dutchie. People gathered around his statue at Wrigley after the victory and left memorabilia at his grave site. Budweiser even resurrected a television ad he did in the 80s to tribute the victory.
Harry Caray. Gone but never forgotten.
