Legendary baseball announcer Joe Garagiola Sr. dies at age 90

Joe Garagiola's nine-year baseball career was a modest one. His 57 years in broadcasting that followed made him one of the most popular figures in the sports world and beyond.

The man Arizona Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall called "one of the biggest personalities this game has ever seen" died Wednesday. He was 90.

The Diamondbacks announced Garagiola's death before their exhibition game against San Francisco, and there were murmurs of shock and sadness at the ballpark. He had been in ill health in recent years.

Growing up in the Hill neighborhood of St. Louis not far from future Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, Garagiola went on to hit .257 during nine years in the majors. His highlight came early, getting a four-hit game in the 1946 World Series and helping the hometown Cardinals win the championship as a 20-year-old rookie.

"Not only was I not the best catcher in the major leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street," Garagiola once remarked.

But it was after he stopped playing that his fortunes took off. He thrived as a glib baseball broadcaster and fixture on the "Today" show, leading to a nearly 30-year association with NBC.

Garagiola was the play-by-play voice of baseball for NBC for nearly 30 years, beginning in 1961. He worked alongside Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek and Bob Costas on the network's "Game of the Week."

After leaving NBC in 1988, Garagiola became the commentator for the California Angels and Diamondbacks until retiring from broadcasting in 2013.

He was awarded the Ford Frick Award, presented annually to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball," by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

"He had a genuine impact on the craft," Costas said. "He was among the first to bring a humorous, story-telling style to the booth."

Garagiola's son, Joe Jr., is a former general manager of the Diamondbacks and a current executive with Major League Baseball.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of this amazing man," his family said in a statement, "who was not just beloved to those of us in his family, but to generations of baseball fans who he impacted during his eight decades in the game."

"Joe loved the game and passed that love onto family, his friends, his teammates, his listeners and everyone he came across as a player and broadcaster. His impact on the game, both on and off the field, will forever be felt."

Commissioner Rob Manfred said, "All of us at Major League Baseball are deeply saddened by the loss of Joe Garagiola.

"Joe began [an] illustrious career as a baseball player, but it wasn't long before everyone knew that this unique individual would combine his multi-talented media skills and wonderful personality to make a mark off the field as well."

Manfred also praised Garagiola for being a leader in baseball's fight against smokeless tobacco.

The Cardinals signed Garagiola after rejecting Berra at a 1943 tryout. The two remained lifelong friends, with Berra often the good-natured subject of Garagiola's wit. Berra died last Sept. 15.

When both men entered retirement communities a few years ago, Garagiola recalled a phone conversation with Berra.

"I said, 'How's it going, Yog?'" Garagiola said, "and he said, 'It's all right, but geez, they've got a lot of old people here.'"

Garagiola played for the Cardinals, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. He broke in with the Cardinals, joining a powerful team led by the great Stan Musial. Garagiola got four hits in Game 4 of the 1946 Series against Boston and batted .316 overall as St. Louis beat the Red Sox in seven games.

Garagiola broke into broadcasting in 1955 as a radio and television analyst for the Cardinals. He spent 27 years at NBC and was paired with Tony Kubek as the lead broadcast team from 1976-82 and then with Vin Scully from 1984-88. He was 62 when he left on Nov. 1, 1988, when his contract expired. He broadcast Angels home games on TV in 1990.

He didn't limit his talents to sportscasting.

Garagiola was a co-host of the "Today" show from 1969-1973, working with Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs, and again from 1990-1992, working with Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric.

"Today" host Matt Lauer tweeted that Garagiola was "part of the soul of our show."

When Garagiola stepped down from hosting in 1992, he continued as a "Today" correspondent at large, doing sports and human interest stories. Garagiola also stepped in on occasion to host "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," including a 1968 show featuring guests John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Garagiola's work as a commentator for the Westminster dog show helped inspire Fred Willard's daffy character Buck Laughlin in the mockumentary "Best in Show."

"One of the world's good guys," said his longtime Westminster broadcasting partner, David Frei. "He loved the game, of course, but he loved life. That's why he was so well-loved everywhere he went, including the dog show."

Garagiola is survived by his wife of 66 years, Audrie; sons Joe Jr. and Steve; daughter Gina; and eight grandchildren.

The funeral will be held at an unspecified date in his hometown of St. Louis. A memorial service also will be held in Phoenix.

Joe Garagiola Sr. was part of growing up a baseball fan for many

Not to sound too much like a cranky, wistful, 57-year-old guy who misses the simplicity of the good old days, but there was something special about growing up and following baseball in the late 1960s and the 1970s, when moments of brilliance leaped from the television screen and became seared in the memory bank for eternity.

I learned to love the game and all its rhythms by listening to Ned Martin and Ken Coleman on Boston Red Sox radio broadcasts on our family front porch in Maine, and spending Saturdays in front of the TV watching Roberto Clemente leg out triples, Al Kaline throw out baserunners from the vicinity of Ann Arbor and Curt Gowdy routinely remind us that San Francisco Giants third baseman Al Gallagher's real name was "Alan Mitchell Edward George Patrick Henry Gallagher." You can look it up.

Joe Garagiola Sr., who died Wednesday at age 90, was a huge part of those formative years as a raconteur and blue-collar everyman who brought fun to broadcasts with a twinkle in his eye. It's hard to imagine the concept of baseball as "event television" in this age of MLB Extra Innings packages, 24-hour cable highlights and gratification on demand via mobile devices. But for those of us who learned to cherish the game when the designated hitter and free agency were coming into vogue, great moments were more meaningful because you knew another week would pass before you had a chance to experience them again.

Garagiola, who earned his greatest broadcasting acclaim working alongside Tony Kubek on "Game of the Week" telecasts from 1976 to '82, had a keen sense of humor and a blue-collar appeal that made him unique. He also had an endearing shtick that was predicated on two basic tenets: Entrée to the mind of his childhood friend Yogi Berra and lots of jokes about his own playing ineptitude.

Legend has it that Garagiola was the guy who conceived a lot of those Yogi-isms that have become part of the American lexicon. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. But when you get down to it, who really cares? They were funny, weirdly insightful and gave us a rare glimpse into life on the famed "Hill" in St. Louis.

Garagiola also got plenty of mileage out of poking fun at his own playing career, in a Bob Uecker kind of way. But the reality is, he wasn't that bad a player. In nine seasons as a catcher with the Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates and Giants, Garagiola logged a .739 OPS and drew 267 career walks to go along with 173 strikeouts. With that type of contact-hitting ability, he would have been right at home as Salvador Perez's backup on the 2015 Kansas City Royals.

Garagiola called Mickey Mantle's 500th career homer from the booth and worked three All-Star Games and three World Series before gravitating to other pursuits, which included a stint on the "Today Show" and a gig as host of the "Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show." But his work away from the microphone ultimately proved every bit as meaningful as his baseball portfolio. He fought tirelessly to stamp out the scourge of smokeless tobacco and won a Children's MVP Award from the Jim Eisenreich Foundation in 1998 for his work with kids.

If Garagiola's words and wit were the cornerstones of his professional persona, his huge heart and grasp of the big picture told people everything they needed to know about his priorities as a man.

Of course, the baseball world will mourn today, and Garagiola's admirers and fans extend their sympathies and prayers to his family. But it's hard to imagine a man living a fuller life or leaving a more gratifying legacy. From start to finish in his journey, Garagiola never lost his ability to laugh or make other people feel better. It was his greatest gift of all.