Sunday, August 3
Rest In Peace, Skip!
Some sad news I just heard on the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast from broadcaster Jon Miller: Skip Caray, longtime announcer for the Atlanta Braves, passed away earlier today.
Skip, whose real name is Harry Christopher Caray, Jr., is indeed the son of Hall of Fame Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray. Skip's son is known as "Chip" but he's Harry Christopher Caray III.
I always enjoyed watching Braves' broadcasts on TBS with my dad especially when Skip and Chip were calling the game because Skip had a wonderfully dry wit and made fun of many aspects of the broadcast (opposing mascots, Mets' fans, the B-movies shown on TBS, etc.). A particularly great instance, cited on Wiki: "In order to get back at Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Ron Hudspeth for a critical column, Caray paid to have an airplane tow a banner above Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium during a Braves game which read, 'For a good time, call Rona Hudspeth,' and included Ron's actual phone number."
Skip was a "homer," openly cheering for the Braves but wasn't afraid to criticize them either. According to a fan message board, during the 1980s when the Braves totally sucked, Skip once announced the team running out of the dugout as, "And, like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field." Skip, along with announcers Joe Simpson, Pete Van Wieren and Don Sutton, were banned from the Braves' charter plane after criticizing Braves catcher Javy Lopez for continuing to set up outside the catcher's box after he was caught by the umpire.
But my dad's and my favorite Skip memory was when Skip and Chip were calling a game in 2003 or 2004 and discussing popular then-Braves center fielder Andruw Jones's birthday. Chip said Andruw was, I think, 26 years old and then joked, "You've got ties that are older than Andruw, Dad." There was a pause and then Skip deadpanned, "Slowly talking your way out of the inheritance." We still laugh about that one.
Hopefully Chip can carry on the Caray generation but there will never be another broadcaster like Skip.
Skip, whose real name is Harry Christopher Caray, Jr., is indeed the son of Hall of Fame Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray. Skip's son is known as "Chip" but he's Harry Christopher Caray III.
I always enjoyed watching Braves' broadcasts on TBS with my dad especially when Skip and Chip were calling the game because Skip had a wonderfully dry wit and made fun of many aspects of the broadcast (opposing mascots, Mets' fans, the B-movies shown on TBS, etc.). A particularly great instance, cited on Wiki: "In order to get back at Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Ron Hudspeth for a critical column, Caray paid to have an airplane tow a banner above Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium during a Braves game which read, 'For a good time, call Rona Hudspeth,' and included Ron's actual phone number."
Skip was a "homer," openly cheering for the Braves but wasn't afraid to criticize them either. According to a fan message board, during the 1980s when the Braves totally sucked, Skip once announced the team running out of the dugout as, "And, like lambs to the slaughter, the Braves take the field." Skip, along with announcers Joe Simpson, Pete Van Wieren and Don Sutton, were banned from the Braves' charter plane after criticizing Braves catcher Javy Lopez for continuing to set up outside the catcher's box after he was caught by the umpire.
But my dad's and my favorite Skip memory was when Skip and Chip were calling a game in 2003 or 2004 and discussing popular then-Braves center fielder Andruw Jones's birthday. Chip said Andruw was, I think, 26 years old and then joked, "You've got ties that are older than Andruw, Dad." There was a pause and then Skip deadpanned, "Slowly talking your way out of the inheritance." We still laugh about that one.
Hopefully Chip can carry on the Caray generation but there will never be another broadcaster like Skip.
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© 2004-2007, S.N.B.
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