Joseph Henry Garagiola Sr. (February 12, 1926 – March 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball catcher, and later a radio and television personality with a varied career.
He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and New York Giants. He was later well known outside baseball as one of the regular panelists on The Today Show, but he was best known for his many years as one of the lead baseball announcers on NBC, frequently amplifying, for comedic effect, remarks attributed to his old friend Yogi Berra (whether Berra had made them or not); he also made numerous appearances as a host and panelist on a range of talk and game shows.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Garagiola grew up on Elizabeth Avenue in an Italian-American neighborhood in the south of the city called the Hill, just across the street from Yogi Berra, his childhood friend and competitor, who was a year older. As teenagers, almost all baseball scouts rated Garagiola the better prospect. Still, it was Berra who went on to a Hall of Fame career, while Garagiola was a journeyman. About living across the street from Berra during their youth, Garagiola often quipped, "Not only was I not the best catcher in the Major Leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street!"
Garagiola was signed at age 16 by the St. Louis Cardinals organization. At age 17, he remains the youngest player in Columbus Red Birds history. Garagiola advanced to Columbus of the Class AA American Association in 1943 and was with them when he was drafted into military service on April 24, 1944. After undergoing basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, Garagiola was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he quickly established himself as the catcher for the Fort Riley Centaurs, with teammates Rex Barney and Pete Reiser.
Garagiola was sent to the Philippines in 1945, where he played ball for Kirby Higbe's Manila Dodgers. He was discharged from service in early 1946 and was just 20 years old when he joined the Cardinals. Garagiola made his major league debut in 1946.
As a rookie in 1946, in his only World Series appearance, Garagiola batted 6-for-19 in five games, including in Game 4, when he went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. On September 11, 1947, Joe Garagiola and Jackie Robinson were involved in an incident at home plate. Garagiola allegedly spiked Robinson's foot in the second inning, and when Robinson came to the plate the next inning and made a comment to him, Garagiola reportedly responded with a racial slur. An argument ensued and umpire Beans Reardon held back Garagiola while Robinson responded with a mock clap.
Garagiola never quite lived up to the promise of his youth, appearing in only 676 games over nine seasons for four National League teams. He was a mediocre hitter (though certainly good for a catcher) in the majors, which featured in his self-deprecating humor. He once told this story himself: "He knew that it was time to retire when he was catching, and his ex-teammate Stan Musial stepped into the batter's box, turned to Joe, and said, 'When are you gonna quit?'"
Looking back at his career in 1970, Garagiola observed, "It's not a record, but being traded four times when there are only eight teams in the league tells you something. I thought I was modeling uniforms for the National League."
After his retirement from baseball, Garagiola lent his name to a 1960 book, Baseball Is a Funny Game, which sold well upon release and helped establish Garagiola as a "personality." The book—largely ghostwritten—was a collection of humorous anecdotes surrounding his upbringing and his playing career, and it showcased the folksy, humorous style that became his trademark as a broadcaster.
Garagiola also wrote It's Anybody's Ballgame (1988) and Just Play Ball (2007).
Garagiola turned to broadcasting following his retirement as a player, first calling Cardinals radio broadcasts on KMOX from 1955 to 1962.
As an announcer, Garagiola was best known for his almost 30-year association with NBC television. He began doing national baseball broadcasts for the network in 1961 (teaming with Bob Wolff). Garagiola called several World Series on NBC Radio in the 1960s, teaming with announcers including By Saam and George Kell. After Mel Allen was fired, Garagiola was added to the New York Yankees broadcast team, where he worked with lead announcer Phil Rizzuto from 1965 to 1967; in May 1967, he called Mickey Mantle's 500th home run. Garagiola subsequently returned to broadcasting NBC baseball, and in May 1973, became the host of the pre-game show The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola; he then became a play-by-play announcer beginning in 1974.
Garagiola alternated play-by-play duties with Curt Gowdy on NBC until 1976, when he assumed the role full-time. He teamed with color commentator Tony Kubek from 1976 to 1982; in 1983, he shifted to color commentary as Vin Scully joined the network as lead play-by-play announcer. (Kubek was demoted to NBC's #2 baseball broadcast with Bob Costas.) Aside from working the Saturday Game of the Week for NBC, Scully and Garagiola called three All-Star Games (1983, 1985, and 1987), three National League Championship Series (1983, 1985, and 1987), and three World Series (1984, 1986, and 1988).
After calling the World Series with Scully in 1988, Garagiola resigned from the network in November following a contract dispute. His slot on NBC's baseball broadcasts was subsequently filled by Tom Seaver.
Post-NBC, Garagiola spent a year (1990) as a cable-television commentator for the California Angels. From 1998 to 2012, he performed part-time color commentary duties for the Arizona Diamondbacks, where his son Joe Jr. was general manager. Garagiola officially announced his retirement from broadcasting on February 22, 2013.
Besides calling baseball games for NBC, Garagiola served as a co-host on Today from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1990 to 1992. He occasionally guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, including the only live appearances by members of The Beatles on the program while still a group, when John Lennon and Paul McCartney appeared in May 1968.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, Garagiola hosted the game shows He Said, She Said; Joe Garagiola's Memory Game; Sale of the Century; and To Tell the Truth, as well as the short-lived Strike It Rich. Garagiola was a guest celebrity panelist on Match Game in the late 1970s. He hosted the St. Louis area professional wrestling show Wrestling at the Chase for three years from 1959 to 1962 (his brother, Mickey, was the ring announcer) and was a regular host of the Orange Bowl Parade in Miami on New Year's Eve. Garagiola achieved a new field of fame as co-host of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for USA Network from 1994 to 2002, remarking:
I say to some people, "I played in the World Series, and I broadcast the World Series. I broadcast the All Star Game. I've done the Today show, The Tonight Show, The Tomorrow Show, the Yesterday Show, the Day After Tomorrow Show". And people come up to me and say, "I love you in Westminster".