The Legendary Harry Caray

Harry Caray is one of the most famous and beloved sports broadcasters of all time, with a career that lasted over 50 years. Always a baseball enthusiast, Caray once vowed to become a broadcaster who was the true voice of the fans. Caray's distinctive style soon resonated across St. Louis, then Chicago, and eventually across the nation.
In The Legendary Harry Caray: Baseball's Greatest Salesman, Don Zminda delivers the first full-length biography of Caray since his death in 1998. It includes details of Caray's orphaned childhood, his 25 years as the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, his tempestuous 11 years broadcasting games for the Chicago White Sox, and the 16 years he broadcast for the Chicago Cubs while also becoming a nationally-known celebrity. Interviews with significant figures from Caray's life are woven throughout, from his widow Dutchie and grandson Chip to broadcasters Bob Costas, Thom Brennaman, Dewayne Staats, Pat Hughes, and more.
Caray was known during his final years as a beloved, often-imitated grandfather figure with the Cubs, but the story of his entire career is much more nuanced and often controversial. Featuring new information on Caray's life-including little-known information about his firing by the Cardinals and his feuds with players, executives, and fellow broadcasters-this book provides an intimate and in-depth look at a broadcasting legend.

Don Zminda spent more than two decades with STATS LLC, first as director of publications and then director of research for STATS-supported sports broadcasts. He has written or edited over a dozen sports books, including Double Plays and Double Crosses: The Black Sox and Baseball in 1920 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) and the SABR publication Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 Chicago White Sox. He has been a member of the Society for Baseball Research since 1979. A Chicago native, Zminda now resides in Los Angeles.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1: The Man Who Wasn't There
2: Early Days
3: Voice of the Cardinals
4: Changing Times
5: New Partners
6: KMOX
7: Up and Downs
8: Glory Days
9: End of an Era
10: Siberia
11: New Man in Town
12: South Side Blues
13: A Tumultuous Year
14: Harry, Jimmy, and Bill
15: Demolition
16: Eddie and Jerry and Harry and Jimmy
17: Harry Heads North
18: Superstar of the Superstation
19: Stroke and Recovery
20: The Mayor of Rush Street
21: North Side versus South Side
22: Slips, Strikes, and Controversies
23: Last Call
24: A Long Goodbye
25: Epilogue: Harry Caray's Lasting Impact
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author