Take A Good Look: There Will Never Be Another One Like Him

From a eulogy of Harry Caray by Bob Costas:

Sometime in the 1960s Harry Caray found himself in Memphis, Tenn. The phone rang in his hotel room. "Harry," the voice said, "this is Elvis Presley. I grew up in Mississippi listening to you call the Cardinal games on KMOX. I think you're the greatest. I'm sending a car over to bring you to Graceland." There, by Caray's account, the two sat till the early-morning hours, eating barbecue, drinking Budweiser and talking baseball.

Entertainers loved Harry Caray. He counted many, Sinatra and Elvis included, as friends. And why not? Caray himself was a kind of performance artist, working from a broadcast booth instead of a stage. The Harry Caray Elvis heard in the '50s and '60s was a truly great announcer; his outsized personality combined with exceptional broadcasting skills. In recent years, with age and illness, those skills diminished, leaving only Harry: the voice, the windshield-size glasses, the passion for the game that made him the fan's announcer. And that was good enough.

I had the good fortune to experience both Harrys. Back in 1963 Harry The Great Announcer was in the broadcast booth calling Stan Musial's last game in the old old Busch Stadium (nee Sportsmens Park). His signature line from that game was the title of this post: Take A Good Look: There Will Never Be Another One Like Him.

It's been 45 years now and you know what? Harry was right: There never has been another one like Stan Musial. But you also know what? In those 45 years there have been lots of other great ballplayers: Nolan Ryan, Ryne Sandberg, Bruce Sutter just to name three. None of them like the others. And there will be more to come.

I mention this now because right now the State of Wisconsin is still going through a period of sports grief about Brett Favre. Yes indeed, there will never be another one like him. But I've been through this, and I'm here to tell you it's OK. There's lots more yet to come.

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[Melissa]

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