Skip Caray Jr.
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Harry Christopher Caray Jr. (1939 - 2008)

Harry Christopher (Skip) Caray Jr.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
Father of [private son (unknown - unknown)] and [private son (1960s - unknown)]
Died at age 68 in Atlanta, DeKalb, Georgia, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 14 Nov 2008
This page has been accessed 3,491 times.


Biography

Notables Project
Skip Caray Jr. is Notable.

Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray, Jr. was a television and radio sports broadcaster. He was best known as the voice of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball and for being the son of broadcasting legend Harry Caray. He is also the father of Chip Caray, also a Braves broadcaster, and Josh Caray, a broadcaster for the Rome High School baseball and football teams.

Early Career

As the son of Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray, Skip grew up surrounded by baseball. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri and began his career in St. Louis shortly thereafter. His first job was calling games for the St. Louis Hawks basketball team. When the Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968, Caray followed. When he arrived, he began calling games for the Atlanta Flames hockey team as well.

Atlanta Braves

Caray began his long career with the Atlanta Braves in 1976. He would go on to hold this position until his death in 2008. After his long run with the Braves, Caray was dealt an unusual blow when he was not asked to announce the League Division Series games on TBS. Instead, Caray was left as the exclusive Brave's commentator on the local Atlanta network Peachtree TV.

In 2004, Caray was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame alongside fellow Braves broadcaster Pete Van Weiren. He won numerous awards during his tenure with the Braves including six Georgia Sportscaster-of-the-Year awards from the National Sportwriters and Sportscasters Association as well as a Georgia-area Emmy.

On December 10, 2006, Caray and Van Weiren signed 3-year contracts to continue doing Braves broadcasts on their radio network. However, Caray had only announced ten games on TBS during the 2007 season when he was relegated again to the local Peachtree TV network.

NBC Sports

NBC hired Caray in 2000 to do play-by-play with Joe Morgan during the Division Series between the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics. Caray was filling in for Bob Castas who was sitting out the series after anchoring NBC's prime time coverage of the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Criticism

Like his father before him, Skip Caray was not immune to criticism. In June of 2000, Caray and fellow broadcasters Joe Simpson, Pete Van Wieren and Don Sutton were banned from Atlanta Braves team flights for several games after they criticized Braves catcher Javy López for being penalized for setting up outside the catchers box during a game again the Milwaukee Brewers.

Caray was also criticized for his shameless home team attitude during his broadcasts. Known in the baseball world as a "homer", Caray and Van Wieren were removed during the 2003 season from TBS television broadcasting. Although the move was made in an attempt to combat criticism, it instead ignited the fans, the local media and even Braves manager Bobby Cox. A poll by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed that 90% of Braves fans preferred Caray and Van Wieren over the now neutral broadcasters who took their place. TBS saw a sharp decline in ratings. After the All-Star Break, Caray and Van Wieren returned to their positions only to be removed again, this time permanently, in 2007 when TBS hired new broadcasters for their playoff coverage. Skip's sone Chip is the only full-time broadcaster at TBS.

Death

On August 3, 2008, Paula Caray, wife of Skip, believed her husband was napping. When she looked out the window she saw a bird feeder had fallen from where it had been hanging. Thinking it had been blown down by the wind, she went outside to put it back up. It was then that she noticed her husband lying on the ground next to the feeder. His health had been poor for nearly a year, but Caray remained at work for the 2008 season. He had called a game as recently as 3 days before. Later that afternoon, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced Caray's death.

As the Cubs did with Harry Caray, the Braves players wore memorial patches on their uniforms that read "Skip".

Sources


  • "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWT9-PNK : 13 March 2018), Harry Caray, Joliet, Joliet Township, Will, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 99-50, sheet 17B, line 65, family 438, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 908.
  • Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
    Find A Grave: Memorial #28757566 (accessed 8 October 2022)
    Memorial page for Harry “Skip” Caray Jr. Famous memorial (12 Aug 1939-3 Aug 2008), citing Arlington Memorial Park, Sandy Springs, Fulton County, Georgia, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave, Other.




Memories: 3
Enter a personal reminiscence or story.
During the 1995 World Series, Caray was calling the game when the Braves' Mark Wholers got Carlos Baerga to hit a fly ball to Marquis Grissom to win the game.

“Mark gets the sign, the wind and the pitch here it is... swung, fly ball deep left center, Grissom on the run... Yes! Yes! Yes! The Atlanta Braves have given you a championship! Listen to this crowd! A mob scene on the field. Wohlers gets 'em one, two, three. A couple of fans rushing on the field. The Atlanta Braves have brought the first championship to Atlanta!”

posted 15 Nov 2008 by Aaron Stump
Caray made one of his more memorable calls during game 7 of the 1992 National Leage Championship Series. Francisco Cabrera drove in Sid Bream to win the pennant for the Braves.

“A lotta room in right-center, if he hits one there we can dance in the streets. The 2-1. Swung, line drive left field! One run is in! Here comes Bream! Here's the throw to the plate! He is...safe! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!...Braves win! They may have to hospitalize Sid Bream; he's down at the bottom of a huge pile at the plate. They help him to his feet. Frank Cabrera got the game winner! The Atlanta Braves are National League champions again! This crowd is going berserk, listen!”

posted 15 Nov 2008 by Aaron Stump
Caray participated in the 1985 movie The Slugger's Wife. It starred Michael O'Keefe, Randy Quaid and Rebecca De Mornay. Despite the big name cast, the movie did very poorly. Skip frequently mocked the movie and even called it "one of the worst films ever made."
posted 15 Nov 2008 by Aaron Stump
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Comments: 2

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I created a profile for his mother, Dorothy May (Kunz) Caray (1915-2007). His wife is also deceased, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214702138/pauli-kay-caray
posted by Aaron Gullison
edited by Aaron Gullison
His mother was Dorothy May Kunz b 5/31/1915 d 2/4/2007 - she is shown in the 1940 census which is attached to this profile. Also see https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187714739/dorothy-may-caray
posted by Jim Vondrak

C  >  Caray  >  Harry Christopher Caray Jr.

Categories: Arlington Memorial Park, Sandy Springs, Georgia | Sports Broadcasters | Atlanta Braves | Notables