Word from the Winston-Salem Journal, this morning, that Announcer Skip Caray has died. [1]
Caray, who would have celebrated his 69th birthday on Aug. 12, went to take a nap yesterday afternoon and didn’t wake up. He is survived by his wife, Paula, two sons, Chip and Josh, two daughters, Shayelyn and Cindy, and seven grandchildren.
“Our baseball community has lost a legend today,” said Braves president John Schuerholz. “The Braves family and Braves fans everywhere will sadly miss him. Our thoughts are with his wife, Paula, and his children.”
Skip Caray’s two sons have carried on the family’s broadcasting tradition, which began with Skip’s father, Harry Caray, a Hall of Fame announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. Josh Caray calls games for the Braves’ Class A affiliate in Rome, Ga., and Chip Caray serves as both a Braves announcer and the play-by-play announcer for TBS’ Major-League Baseball coverage. Chip Caray was broadcasting yesterday’s game between the Angels and Yankees at Yankee Stadium when he heard the news about his father.
“I’m just in shock,” Chip Carey said. “I know he wasn’t feeling good, but this was unexpected. He hung the moon for me. I got to talk to him (on Saturday), and the last thing I got to say to him was, ‘I love you.'”
I’ve spent a few years behind the mike myself, but I have to tell you that play-by-play people get a special place in my book… particularly faster playing sports, such as Basketball, which Skip did for a while, early on. I never quite got the knack for play-by-play; it’s a special talent. To my ear, Skip Caray did it well.
By the way, with the death of Solzhenitsyn being reported last night, that’s two. These things always come in threes.