In his 53 years as a Major League Baseball broadcaster, Harry Caray's boisterous, informal style, passionate support for the home team, and willingness to criticize players and management made him a controversial fan favorite; and towards the end of his career, something of an anachronism. During his first 25 seasons (1945-69) with the St. Louis Cardinals, KMOX's 50,000 watt clear channel signal and an affiliated network of small stations in the South, Southwest, and Midwest gave Caray regional exposure. He is perhaps best known for his catch phrase "Holy Cow," and the sing-along-with-Harry rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Caray achieved national prominence when he moved to WGN and the Chicago Cubs in 1983.

Cable television was then in its infancy, and largely on the strength of its sports programming, WGN became one of the first national superstations.

Harry Caray

Further Reading:

Caray, Harry, with Bob Verdi. Holy Cow. New York, Villard Books, 1988.

Smith, Curt. Voices of the Game: The First Full-Scale Overview of Baseball Broadcasting, 1921 to the Present. South Bend, Indiana, Diamond Publishing, Inc., 1987.