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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 921 CARAY | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Stone pays tribute to Harry Caray, one of baseball's biggest legends never to take the field, remembering the unique baseball commentator who was also the game's biggest fan. Photos.
Author Notes
Steve Stone has been a sportscaster for WGN Television for sixteen years, fifteen of them alongside Harry Caray. From 1969 to 1982, Stone played professional baseball for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Baltimore Orioles. A Cy Young Award winner and a starting pitcher in the 1980 All-Star Game, he played in the 1979 World Series and was the only pitcher to win 25 games in the 1980s. Also an occasionally successful restaurateur, Stone is the author of Teach Yourself to Win.
Barry Rozner is a sports columnist for the Arlington Heights (Il.) Daily Herald and has covered the Cubs and Harry Caray since the late 1980s. Rozner has won four Associated Press Awards and a Peter Lizagor Award for excellence in journalism. He has written two other books, including Ryne Sandberg's 1995 autobiography Second to Home.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
Innocuous anecdotes and remembrances abound in this valentine to the legendary sports broadcaster Harry Caray. Stone worked alongside Caray for 15 years, offering color commentary for Chicago Cubs baseball games, until Caray's death in February 1998. Stone obviously enjoyed the experience, deferring to Caray's antics and malapropisms the way one would an eccentric uncle or spoiled'but talented'child. Stone claims in the introduction that he wanted to give a clearer picture of Caray the man, rather than Caray the broadcaster, but the book, co-written with Rozner (a sports columnist and co-author of Ryne Sandberg's autobiography Second to Home, not reviewed) avoids deep insight or controversy by offering sketchy biographic facts about Caray: he was born Harry Christopher Carabina, was orphaned at a young age, grew up impoverished, and had an active nightlife, three marriages, and health problems. The book's focus is on snapshots of Caray at work and at play (often with stars, from Mickey Mantle to Elvis). The most amusing stories demonstrate Caray's abilities as master showman and promoter in the broadcast booth (he mentioned as many fans' names as possible in order to ``make some friends and sell more tickets and get better ratings''). And while Caray-isms (such as ``There's danger here Cheri!'' or ``The big possum walks late'') may not be as famous as Yogi Berra-isms (although Caray is credited here with originating the ``Holy Cow'' cry), they do demonstrate Caray's charm and help explain his enormous popularity. Where's Harry? (the often-asked question Stone would get from fans), though not a definitive biography, will appeal to fans of Caray and baseball who want to relax one last time with a genuine character of the game, and perhaps hum Caray's signature song, ``Take Me Out to the Ball Game,'' after they're done. The foreword is by Bob Costas. (photos, not seen)
Booklist Review
The late Harry Caray was probably the most loved baseball broadcaster in the history of the game. Stone, who announced Chicago Cubs' games alongside Caray for 15 years, fondly recalls his on-air and after-hours misadventures with the irrepressible Harry. With coauthor Rozner, also a good friend of Caray's, Stone offers not so much a biography as a bull session, much like the stories one might hear at an old-fashioned wake. There was the time in 1987 when Caray, in his first game back after a serious stroke, abruptly ended a congratulatory phone call from President Reagan because "Bobby Dernier just got a bunt single." Or how about that way Harry had with the letter s: he'd leave it off when it belonged and add it when it didn't, John Kruk becoming Kruks and his team from Philadelphia, the Phillie. As the stories pour from the pages, it becomes clearer than ever that we aren't likely to see another Harry Caray in today's cookie-cutter broadcast world. --Wes Lukowsky
Table of Contents
| Foreword by Bob Costas | p. ix |
| Preface | p. xiii |
| Introduction | p. xv |
| Chapter 1 "Where's Harry? | p. 1 |
| Chapter 2 "Steve, Where You At?" | p. 5 |
| Chapter 3 The Gospel According to Harry | p. 15 |
| Chapter 4 Harry and Tonto | p. 25 |
| Chapter 5 Indestructible Harry | p. 35 |
| Chapter 6 There's Danger Here, Cheri!" | p. 41 |
| Chapter 7 "The Peplinskis Are Here From" | p. 51 |
| Chapter 8 "Steve, Where's He Looking?" | p. 61 |
| Chapter 9 Sanders to Sunberg to Sandberg | p. 71 |
| Chapter 10 See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil | p. 103 |
| Chapter 11 Buy Me Some Ham and Some Cracker Jacks | p. 109 |
| Chapter 12 Limos, Boats, and All Those Meals | p. 115 |
| Chapter 13 The Harry Chronicles | p. 129 |
| Chapter 14 Of Mice and Milo | p. 143 |
| Chapter 15 Wild About Harry | p. 151 |
| Chapter 16 The Man, the Mirth, the Legend | p. 165 |
| Chapter 17 To Your Health | p. 171 |
| Chapter 18 A Perfect Day | p. 177 |
| Chapter 19 Take Me Out To the Funeral | p. 185 |
| Chapter 20 The 10th Inning | p. 191 |
| Chapter Epilogue | p. 199 |
