For the 2022 Baseball Season - a Harry Caray Retrospective
Mar 31, 2022 07:15:24 #
Do you have a subject you study / photograph regularly?
Personally, I may repeat subjects (flower, birds, dragonflies, airshows), but I don't repeat the same exact subject over and over. Well, that was what I thought until I got some more film scans back and realized I must have several shots of the Harry Caray statue outside the Bleachers entrance to Wrigley Field.
Harry Christopher Caray (March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) covered five Major League Baseball teams: St Louis Cardinals, St Louis Browns, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs
May 2010 - Sony Cyber-shot W80 by Paul Sager, on Flickr
When I went to the Wrigley Field collection in LR, it turns out I now have 39 images with the "Harry Caray" keyword. With Opening Day coming next week in Chicago on April 7, here's a bit of a retrospective of some of the landscape views.
April 2014 - Ilford Delta 100
Caray spent the last sixteen years of his career as the announcer for the Chicago Cubs.
April 2014 - Ilford Delta 100
The 12-feet tall statue is made of white bronze atop a granite base. Omri Amrany and Lou Cella created the statue in 1999. Caray is shown holding a microphone to hear the crowd sing. Tiny human heads seem to be bubbling out of his pants.
April 2014 - Ilford Delta 100
The statue of Harry Caray sits under the center field bleachers at Wrigley Field and features Harry Caray signing “Take Me Out to the Ballpark” during the seventh inning stretch with the microphone held out to the fans, which is always what Caray did during the song in order to pick up the voices of the crowd.
October 2016 - Kodak TMAX 100
The statue was dedicated in April 1999 and was first located outside the right-field entrance to the ballpark at Addison and Sheffield. It was later moved to the Bleachers entrance, as shown in most of these images.
November 2016 - Kodak TMAX 100
The likeness of Caray depicts him wearing a Cubs jacket and his signature glasses, raising a microphone with his right hand and pointing to onlookers with his left.
April 2018 - EOS 5DIII with EF 24-70 f/2.8L II
Caray, who came to the Cubs in 1982 after a decade spent on the South Side broadcasting games for the White Sox, was known to have called some contests from the bleachers.
October 2018 - Canon Powershot G9XII
Nicknamed "The Mayor of Rush Street", a reference to Chicago's famous tavern-dominated neighborhood, Caray had a well-known taste for Budweiser.
April 2020 - Kodak TMAX 100
The Harry Caray statue was moved to the Bleachers entrance in Sept 2010 and rededicated. The first image in this series actually dates to the original location on Addison.
April 2020 - Sony a7II and Canon FD 24 f/2.8L
Caray was one of the first announcers to step out of the booth while broadcasting a game. Often with his tenure with both the Cubs and White Sox, he would set up in the outfield and broadcast the game from a table in the outfield bleachers, surrounded by beer cups and fans.
October 2020 - Fuji NPH 400
Caray caught his break when he landed a job with the National League St. Louis Cardinals in 1945 and, according to several histories of the franchise, proved to be as expert at selling the sponsor's beer as at play-by-play description.
January 2021 - Fuji Neopan Acros 100 II
Following the 1969 season, the Cardinals declined to renew Caray's contract after he had called their games for 25 years, his longest tenure with any sports team. At a news conference afterward, he drank conspicuously from a can of Schlitz, then a major competitor to Anheuser-Busch and the owner of the Cardinals.
January 2021 - Ilford HP5
Caray spent one season with the Oakland Athletics in 1970, and then joined the Chicago White Sox in 1971. Among Caray's experiences during his time with the White Sox was the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" promotion on July 12, 1979. The promotional was the idea of Chicago radio station WLUP for a White Sox / Detroit Tigers double-header. Popular WLUP DJ Steve Dahl blew up a crate full of disco records on the field after the first game had ended, and thousands of rowdy fans from the sold-out event poured onto the field at Comiskey Park. Caray tried to calm the crowd over the stadium PA and implored them to return to their seats, in vain. Eventually, the field was cleared by Chicago Police in riot gear and the White Sox were forced to forfeit the second game of the double-header due to the extensive damage done to the playing field.
February 2021 - Kodak Pro Image 100
Caray moved to the crosstown Chicago Cubs for the 1982 season.
February 2021 - Kodak Pro Image 100
The Cubs' television outlet, WGN-TV, was among the first of the cable 'superstations', offering their programming to providers across the United States for free, and Caray became as famous nationwide as he had long been on the South Side, and previously, in St. Louis.
April 2021 - Sony a7II and Canon FD 85 f/1.2L
The timing worked in Caray's favor, as the Cubs ended up winning the National League East division title in 1984 with WGN-TV's nationwide audience following along. Millions came to love the microphone-swinging Caray, continuing his White Sox practice of leading the home crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch, mimicking his mannerisms, his gravelly voice, his habit of mispronouncing or slurring some players' names.
April 2021 - Sony a7II and Canon FD 85 f/1.2L
In his final years as a broadcaster, illness and age began to drain some of Caray's skills, even in spite of his remarkable recovery from a 1987 stroke.
July 2021 - Fuji Superia 800
Toward the end of his career, Caray's schedule was limited to home games and road trips to St. Louis and Atlanta. In December 1997, Caray's grandson Chip Caray was hired to share play-by-play duties for WGN's Cubs broadcasts with Caray for the following season. However, Harry Caray died in February 1998, before the baseball season began, leaving the expected grandfather-grandson partnership in the broadcast booth unrealized.
January 2022 - Kodak Tri-X 400
For the 7th Inning Stretch, Caray many times would be speaking directly to the baseball fans in attendance either about the state of the day's game, or the Chicago weather, while the park organ held the opening chord of the song. Then with his trademark opening, "All right! Lemme hear ya! Ah-One! Ah-Two! Ah-Three!" Harry would launch into his distinctive, down-tempo version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame".
January 2022 - Kodak Portra BW400
Harry would usually hold the microphone out to the crowd to punctuate the climactic end of the song. And if the visitors were ahead in that game, Harry would typically make a plea to the home team's offense: "Let's get some runs!"
February 2022 - Ilford HP5
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association named Caray as Missouri Sportscaster of the Year twice (1959, 1960) and Illinois Sportscaster of the Year 10 times (1971–73, 75–78, 83–85), and inducted him into its NSSA Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1989, the Baseball Hall of Fame presented Caray with the Ford C. Frick Award for "major contributions to baseball." That same year, he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1990, and has his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
February 2022 - Ilford HP5
The EXIF details for nearly every image are available from the Flickr hosts pages, even for those captured on film. Use the image title as a clickable URL link to the Flickr page.
Personally, I may repeat subjects (flower, birds, dragonflies, airshows), but I don't repeat the same exact subject over and over. Well, that was what I thought until I got some more film scans back and realized I must have several shots of the Harry Caray statue outside the Bleachers entrance to Wrigley Field.
Harry Christopher Caray (March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) covered five Major League Baseball teams: St Louis Cardinals, St Louis Browns, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs
May 2010 - Sony Cyber-shot W80 by Paul Sager, on Flickr
When I went to the Wrigley Field collection in LR, it turns out I now have 39 images with the "Harry Caray" keyword. With Opening Day coming next week in Chicago on April 7, here's a bit of a retrospective of some of the landscape views.
April 2014 - Ilford Delta 100
Caray spent the last sixteen years of his career as the announcer for the Chicago Cubs.
April 2014 - Ilford Delta 100
The 12-feet tall statue is made of white bronze atop a granite base. Omri Amrany and Lou Cella created the statue in 1999. Caray is shown holding a microphone to hear the crowd sing. Tiny human heads seem to be bubbling out of his pants.
April 2014 - Ilford Delta 100
The statue of Harry Caray sits under the center field bleachers at Wrigley Field and features Harry Caray signing “Take Me Out to the Ballpark” during the seventh inning stretch with the microphone held out to the fans, which is always what Caray did during the song in order to pick up the voices of the crowd.
October 2016 - Kodak TMAX 100
The statue was dedicated in April 1999 and was first located outside the right-field entrance to the ballpark at Addison and Sheffield. It was later moved to the Bleachers entrance, as shown in most of these images.
November 2016 - Kodak TMAX 100
The likeness of Caray depicts him wearing a Cubs jacket and his signature glasses, raising a microphone with his right hand and pointing to onlookers with his left.
April 2018 - EOS 5DIII with EF 24-70 f/2.8L II
Caray, who came to the Cubs in 1982 after a decade spent on the South Side broadcasting games for the White Sox, was known to have called some contests from the bleachers.
October 2018 - Canon Powershot G9XII
Nicknamed "The Mayor of Rush Street", a reference to Chicago's famous tavern-dominated neighborhood, Caray had a well-known taste for Budweiser.
April 2020 - Kodak TMAX 100
The Harry Caray statue was moved to the Bleachers entrance in Sept 2010 and rededicated. The first image in this series actually dates to the original location on Addison.
April 2020 - Sony a7II and Canon FD 24 f/2.8L
Caray was one of the first announcers to step out of the booth while broadcasting a game. Often with his tenure with both the Cubs and White Sox, he would set up in the outfield and broadcast the game from a table in the outfield bleachers, surrounded by beer cups and fans.
October 2020 - Fuji NPH 400
Caray caught his break when he landed a job with the National League St. Louis Cardinals in 1945 and, according to several histories of the franchise, proved to be as expert at selling the sponsor's beer as at play-by-play description.
January 2021 - Fuji Neopan Acros 100 II
Following the 1969 season, the Cardinals declined to renew Caray's contract after he had called their games for 25 years, his longest tenure with any sports team. At a news conference afterward, he drank conspicuously from a can of Schlitz, then a major competitor to Anheuser-Busch and the owner of the Cardinals.
January 2021 - Ilford HP5
Caray spent one season with the Oakland Athletics in 1970, and then joined the Chicago White Sox in 1971. Among Caray's experiences during his time with the White Sox was the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" promotion on July 12, 1979. The promotional was the idea of Chicago radio station WLUP for a White Sox / Detroit Tigers double-header. Popular WLUP DJ Steve Dahl blew up a crate full of disco records on the field after the first game had ended, and thousands of rowdy fans from the sold-out event poured onto the field at Comiskey Park. Caray tried to calm the crowd over the stadium PA and implored them to return to their seats, in vain. Eventually, the field was cleared by Chicago Police in riot gear and the White Sox were forced to forfeit the second game of the double-header due to the extensive damage done to the playing field.
February 2021 - Kodak Pro Image 100
Caray moved to the crosstown Chicago Cubs for the 1982 season.
February 2021 - Kodak Pro Image 100
The Cubs' television outlet, WGN-TV, was among the first of the cable 'superstations', offering their programming to providers across the United States for free, and Caray became as famous nationwide as he had long been on the South Side, and previously, in St. Louis.
April 2021 - Sony a7II and Canon FD 85 f/1.2L
The timing worked in Caray's favor, as the Cubs ended up winning the National League East division title in 1984 with WGN-TV's nationwide audience following along. Millions came to love the microphone-swinging Caray, continuing his White Sox practice of leading the home crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch, mimicking his mannerisms, his gravelly voice, his habit of mispronouncing or slurring some players' names.
April 2021 - Sony a7II and Canon FD 85 f/1.2L
In his final years as a broadcaster, illness and age began to drain some of Caray's skills, even in spite of his remarkable recovery from a 1987 stroke.
July 2021 - Fuji Superia 800
Toward the end of his career, Caray's schedule was limited to home games and road trips to St. Louis and Atlanta. In December 1997, Caray's grandson Chip Caray was hired to share play-by-play duties for WGN's Cubs broadcasts with Caray for the following season. However, Harry Caray died in February 1998, before the baseball season began, leaving the expected grandfather-grandson partnership in the broadcast booth unrealized.
January 2022 - Kodak Tri-X 400
For the 7th Inning Stretch, Caray many times would be speaking directly to the baseball fans in attendance either about the state of the day's game, or the Chicago weather, while the park organ held the opening chord of the song. Then with his trademark opening, "All right! Lemme hear ya! Ah-One! Ah-Two! Ah-Three!" Harry would launch into his distinctive, down-tempo version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame".
January 2022 - Kodak Portra BW400
Harry would usually hold the microphone out to the crowd to punctuate the climactic end of the song. And if the visitors were ahead in that game, Harry would typically make a plea to the home team's offense: "Let's get some runs!"
February 2022 - Ilford HP5
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association named Caray as Missouri Sportscaster of the Year twice (1959, 1960) and Illinois Sportscaster of the Year 10 times (1971–73, 75–78, 83–85), and inducted him into its NSSA Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1989, the Baseball Hall of Fame presented Caray with the Ford C. Frick Award for "major contributions to baseball." That same year, he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1990, and has his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
February 2022 - Ilford HP5
The EXIF details for nearly every image are available from the Flickr hosts pages, even for those captured on film. Use the image title as a clickable URL link to the Flickr page.
Mar 31, 2022 09:05:55 #
Thank you for the trip down memory lane. I grew up in Chicago's NW burbs for 33 years until moving to Arizona in 1991. To Harry, it was not a job but a love for baseball. He loved the fans even more than baseball. I can still hear his voice lol. Great pics and story, you made my day sir!
Mar 31, 2022 09:10:46 #
Homesinaz4u wrote:
Thank you for the trip down memory lane. I grew up in Chicago's NW burbs for 33 years until moving to Arizona in 1991. To Harry, it was not a job but a love for baseball. He loved the fans even more than baseball. I can still hear his voice lol. Great pics and story, you made my day sir!
Thank you Homesinaz4u! They added a large electronic / video scoreboard in left field a few years ago. It's been there long enough now, it's getting hard to remember when it wasn't there. For games where there is not a guest conductor, some recording of Harry is played instead for leading Take Me Out during the stretch.
Apr 24, 2022 21:51:11 #
Supposedly in 1996 Harry said "Sure as God made green apples, someday, the Chicago Cubs are going to be in the World Series". When they prevailed to win, Cubs fans left a lot of green apples at Harry's grave.
This is a series of wonderful shots, by the way. And I never positioned myself as a Cubs fan. My son-in-law, on the other hand is a die-hard Cubs fan. He used to live in Wrigleyville and still owns property there.
This is a series of wonderful shots, by the way. And I never positioned myself as a Cubs fan. My son-in-law, on the other hand is a die-hard Cubs fan. He used to live in Wrigleyville and still owns property there.
Apr 24, 2022 22:10:37 #
MattPhox wrote:
Supposedly in 1996 Harry said "Sure as God made green apples, someday, the Chicago Cubs are going to be in the World Series". When they prevailed to win, Cubs fans left a lot of green apples at Harry's grave.
This is a series of wonderful shots, by the way. And I never positioned myself as a Cubs fan. (My son-in-law, on the other hand is a die-hard Cubs fan.)
This is a series of wonderful shots, by the way. And I never positioned myself as a Cubs fan. (My son-in-law, on the other hand is a die-hard Cubs fan.)
Thank you Matt! I remember the apples, but I don't think I have any images of that scene. They let everyone chalk messages on the brick walls of the bleachers after the win in Cleveland, that I have a lot of pictures of and memories.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.