`This is the story of failure. I started in as a No. 1 baseball announcer with a major-league team in 1945. I’ve been a No. 1 announcer ever since, and I’ve never got a promotion. Not many people can say that.’
Upon arriving with the White Sox in 1971:
`I’m going be part of this community. This is my kind of town . . . It’s a good thing I’m not doing the Cubs games. With their afternoon games and the 4 (a.m.) closing hour here, I’d never make it.’
`Even with my ego I have to say the reaction of the fans in Chicago has been fantastic. The fans yell “Holy Cow” at me and say things like “Hi, Holy Cow.” I put my net down into the stands and they send up dozens of things to be autographed.’
`I’m terribly color blind. A few weeks ago when I was on the road, two friends of mine got into my closet and mixed everything up. Now when I see the two of them, they say something like, “Jees, Why are you wearing that?” I really don’t know exactly what colors I’m wearing, so this bothers me.’
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`There were just two names in St. Louis-Stan Musial and me.’
On his dismissal from the Cardinals:
`I can’t say it was a shock, because there had been rumors. What really hurt is that nobody called me in to talk to me about it. That’s the least I could expect after 25 years. To this day (Cardinal owner Gussie Busch) can’t look me straight in the eye.’
`An announcer has to be a reporter, a showman and an entertainer. You’re on the air for three or four hours and you can’t just give them balls and strikes. You have to entertain.’
`I hate to be brutally frank but it’s my responsibility to inform the fan even if it is at the expense of hurting a player. If I don’t tell the truth, the listener might become suspicous. Not only will he stop believing me but, consequently, he won’t buy your product. If he trusts you, he’ll buy the product you’re selling.’
`Unfortunately, I’m not the kinda guy who can keep his mouth shut. If I was smarter, I would change my ways.’
On his debut at WCLS in Joliet:
`Now we go on the air, and I’m shaking like a leaf, and the paper is making noise, and my guest is as nervous as I am. His hands are shaking, too, and when I ask him the first question off the script, he gives me the answer to the second. The interview goes something like this:
“Q. How long have you been bowling? A. I bowled a 300 game.” ‘
`I turned down the NFL on CBS. I always wanted to do football, but the brewery convinced me I shouldn’t do the NFL because Falstaff was a regional sponsor. I went along but I really didn’t have to. Maybe it was a mistake. Once you turn down the network they somehow forget about you. I never had another opportunity.’
On his arrival in St. Louis:
`Let me tell you, it took only about three days to have everybody in town talking about “Who’s this Harry Caray?” I started ripping everybody in sight. Everything that was accepted as popular I tried to make unpopular. Everything that was unpopular, well, I tried to be on their bandwagon. It was a calculated thing to make people know you’re there. And it worked.’
To umpire Bill Haller after Caray ripped a call.
`Bill, I just wanted you to know that I ripped you on the air yesterday. I know you can’t hear the broadcast, and I wanted you to get it first from me. If you want equal time, I’ll have you on as my pre-game guest.’
`I speak for the fans. Most other announcers are shills for their teams.’
After Caray was fired by John Allyn in 1975. Bill Veeck bought the club and rehired Caray:
`I sure hope it’s somebody like Veeck who buys the White Sox-or Charlie Finley. These are the kind of guys we need in baseball. We’ve had enough of this John Allyn type. The game is much too complicated for a man like Allyn. Did he actually make enough money to own the club or did he inherit it?’
`Why is Chuck Tanner so damned worried about the broadcasters? Why in the hell doesn’t he concentrate on what he’s being paid for? To manage a balllclub. Lord knows, he’s done a lousy job of that for the past two years.’
Tearing into one of his favorite whipping boys, Ken Boyer.
`The Cardinals have the tying run on second. Two out. Boyer the hitter. We’ll be back in one minute with the wrap-up.’
`Just because I might embarrass (Reinsdorf and Einhorn) with my remarks isn’t going to stop me from speaking out like I always have. I’m not going to change my character for anyone. There are other jobs around.’
On his opposition to the Sox’s move to pay TV:
`They’re talking about going into 50,000 homes. I kept thinking about Channel 9. I kept thinking about my people-the bartenders, the taxi drivers, the post office guys. I’d be without something that made this job worthwhile. It came down to do you want to go into 8 million homes free or 50,000 homes on pay TV.’
`It’s a wonderful way to make a living. You’re dealing with young people. That’s bound to keep you young.’
`Not only do I go to the bar because I like to drink-and I do like to drink-I go to bars because you see baseball fans. To find out what they like or don’t like.’
`I don’t think I’ll ever be as good of an announcer as (Jack Buck). But I think I make the game more exciting because I can feel it.’
`Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ was the only song I knew the words to. Veeck used to say, `The fans like singing with you because they know they can sing better than you.”
On his recovery from a stroke in 1987:
`My wife Dutchie brought over boxes of mail. I got the sudden realization I meant something to these people.’
`Ryne Sandberg is the greatest second-baseman I’ve ever seen. Whether you are talking offense or defense, he’s the best.’
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Reaction to being elected to the Hall of Fame:
`For an orphan kid from the wrong side of the tracks in St. Louis, this is a great moment. I only wish my father and mother could be here to witness this, for they might be proud. I never knew who they were, and don’t still, but that’s life.’
From his Cooperstown induction speech:
`I think of the fans, and perhaps that’s who I represent today. We are all fans, and I know it’s the fans who are responsible for my being here. They are the unsung heroes.’
`The great thing about baseball is that the impossible is possible and the unbelievable is believable.’
`It doesn’t matter how many listeners you have. Whether there are a million people out there or a hundred, you know the game has started and your job is to make it as interesting as you can.’
On the origins of Holy Cow:
`The reason why I used it is that profanity is very common in my neighborhood. I had to develop something that wasn’t profanity. I trained myself to yell, `Holy Cow,’ instead of something else.
On his home run call:
`I see a ball hit, and I think, `It might be.’ Then I see the leftfielder move back, and I think, `It could be.’ Then I see the ball go over the wall, and I say, `It is.”
`There’s no more loyal fan than the Cubs fan.’
`I have a feeling somewhere along the line, someone will say, “The Cubs just won the World Series, isn’t it a shame Harry’s not here to see it.” ‘
`I think people will remember me as a guy who brought a little enjoyment while he broadcast. I know you that you only come around in this world one time. You had better try to enjoy yourself and try to find as much happiness as you possibly can.’