Monday, March 28, 2016

More On Joe Garagiola

Joe Garagiola played major league baseball from 1946-1954, but was more famous for his broadcasting career.  This is similar to figures like Frank Gifford and Pat Summerall.
Garagiola was a Major League catcher for 4 major league teams, best known would be the St. Louis Cardinals. 
He was a panelist on the Today Show. He was also an occasional substitute host on the Tonight Show.
 He would later become the lead announcer on the NBC game of the week.  He had a 30 year association with NBC.   He was also a TV pitchman for Chrysler-Plymouth in the 80s.  
An establishment figure, Garagiola appeared in court to defend MLB's reserve clause, a stance he later deemed "a terrible mistake."
He later headed a crusade against the use of smokeless tobacco by Major League players.
His son, Joe Garagiola, Jr.  was an executive for the Arizona Diamondbacks.


No comments: