I have this annyoying bottle opener that plays the call from the final out of the 1995 World Series. "The Atlanta Braves have given you a championship!" it calls out every time you use it.
The voice is a familiar one I grew up with. Chances are if you're from the Southeast or watched a lot of baseball on SuperStation TBS during the past 2 1/2 decades, you did, too.
It's the voice of Skip Caray.
Nasally, enthusiastic and usually full of sarcasm, it was hardly the classic radio voice of a Mel Allen, Vin Scully or Jon Miller. But that didn't matter. Along with Ernie Johnson and Pete Van Wieren, Skip helped get a lot of Braves fans through a lot of forgettable summer nights in the 1970s and 80s. He then provided the joyous soundtrack for my favorite team's remarkable 14-season stretch of division championships, highlighted by that World Series triumph in '95.
Like his legendary father Harry Caray, Skip became a broadcasting legend with calls such as "Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!" and by assigning an imaginary home town to everyone who caught a foul ball in the Turner Field stands ("And that souvenir goes to a fan from Dunwoody," he'd say).
Saturday night, after calling the Braves' 9-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, Caray's distinctive voice was suddenly silenced when he died in his sleep. He was 68. Though slowed by an illness that limited him to calling only home games and adversely affected his grasp of the facts, he remained an Atlanta icon until the end.
I am so glad that my wife let me tune in to the final innings of Thursday night's game as we drove to Florida for the weekend. At least I got to hear Caray's voice live one final time. It's a voice that will live forever in the memories of Braves fans everywhere -- even if they don't have an annoying bottle opener.
So long, Skip.
About Me
- Brett Friedlander
- I am a native of Atlanta and a graduate of the University of South Carolina who has been covering sports for various newspapers since 1981. During that time, I have won 24 national, state and regional awards for my work. I have covered the Final Four, the Masters, the Super Bowl, the World Series -- among other things. I have a book, the biography of Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, scheduled to be released next spring. I love the Atlanta Braves, my South Carolina Gamecocks and hot dogs from Nathan's.
3 comments:
great post Brett- Skip wrote an excellent article in an issue of Chop Talk a couple months ago (can't find my copy). It talked about his health condition and illustrated his love for being part of the Braves family. You should try to get your hands/eyes on that article if you haven't checked it out yet.
sad times indeed for bravos fans...
glad we have his son Chip and even Josh Caray at Single-A Rome still carrying on the family tradition.
Cooperstown?
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080804-skip-caray-appreciation,1,3969184.story
Brett,
I was thinking of you when I heard the news that Skip passed away. You and I sat through a lot of tough Braves games and had some truly great memories -- I still remembeer the time you called the Willie Stargell home run at Atlanta Stadium!
Your Skip Caray voice imitation was the funniest thing! Did you ever do it in front of Skip?
You and Skip are both respected and loved. I hope all is well with you.
Steve Fritts
Dunwoody, GA
Steve Fritts! Oh my God! Talk about a blast from the past!
Yes, Steve, I still do the Skip imitation. In fact, I did it on my radio show last Monday. The one time I ever did it for Skip was in the early '80s when I worked in the press box at the old Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium during my summers home from college. Needless to say, Skip wasn't impressed. He told me it sounded more like Howard Cosell than him!
I was hoping to be able to get down to Atlanta for the Skip tribute game on Tuesday, but I've got something to do that day. My son and I are, however, planning to go down there to the game on Wednesday. I'd love it if you can go, too. Email me at brett.friedlander@yahoo.com with your phone number and we'll talk.
For those of you who are wondering, Steve and I were in the same home room together in the eighth grade at Peachtree High School. Each summer, we would take the MARTA bus to dozens of Braves games, buy $1 general admission tickets and sneak around to better seats. Since nobody went to Braves games back in those days, we didn't have to do a lot of sneaking.
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