Tim McCarver

McCarver was born in Memphis TN, the same city where he would eventually play ball for Christian Brothers High School. After high school, in 1959, McCarver signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. He reached the major leagues at just 17 years old. After three seasons vacillating between the major and minor leagues, McCarver was in "The Show" for good in 1963 - and it did not take long for him to have a serious impact. During his second pro season, a McCarver home run broke a tie in the 10th inning to win Game 5 of the World Series. The Cardinals took the whole thing that year. Though his best playing days were behind him, after being traded to the Phillies, on June 23, 1971, McCarver caught Rick Wise's no-hitter. McCarver caught another "no-no," this time for the Montreal Expos and pitcher Bill Stoneman on Oct. 2, 1972. He made his presence felt on both sides of the diamond, though sometimes in unorthodox ways. On July 4, 1976, McCarver hit what became known as a "Grand Slam Single"; after hitting the game-winning home run, McCarver passed teammate Garry Maddox on the base path. Later, during his broadcast career, McCarver addressed the humorous moment. As host of HBO's "The Not-so-Great Moments in Sports" special, McCarver allegedly said to the umpire, "I didn't pass him, he lapped me." How could that have possibly been the case? McCarver replied, "sheer speed." The event was honored in "The Baseball Hall of SHAME 3" book as "Tim McCarver's Grand Sob." McCarver retired in 1979, marking the beginning of his broadcasting career. However, when he briefly returned to the field in 1980, he became one of only 29 players in history to appear in Major League games in four different decades (1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s). After walking away from the field for good, McCarver truly began his successful broadcast career. He started at WPHL-TV in Philadelphia, calling Phillies games. McCarver soon made his way to HBO where he hosted "Race for the Pennant" in 1978 and NBC as a backup "Game of the Week" commentator in 1980. McCarver has called baseball for all four major U.S. television networks. After NBC, he worked with "Monday Night Baseball" on ABC, where he called his first World Series in 1985. In 1988, McCarver did the play-by-play for the 1988 Winter Olympics Freestyle Skiing competition. The early 1990s saw McCarver joining CBS, where he first teamed up with his longtime and equally controversial partner, Joe Buck. He and Buck called games together on Fox since 1996. In 2003, McCarver set a record by broadcasting his 13th World Series on national television. In 2009, McCarver used his well-known voice for another pursuit. The long-winded sports analyst released a cover album of jazz standards entitled Tim McCarver Sings Songs from the Great American Songbook. McCarver also hosts a nationally syndicated sports interview program, "The Tim McCarver Show." In March 2013, McCarver announced that he would retire from Fox after the baseball season. Tim McCarver died on February 16, 2023 at the age of 81.