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90_HR0326
LRB9011646KBkbA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The fans of the Chicago Cubs have lost a beloved
3 friend with the death of Harry Caray, the voice of Chicago
4 Cubs baseball since 1982; and
5 WHEREAS, Harry Christopher Carabina was born in St.
6 Louis, Missouri on March 1, 1919; Harry lost his father and
7 then his mother before his tenth birthday, and was taken in
8 by an aunt; Harry was raised and attended schools in the
9 Webster Groves area of St. Louis; while attending high school
10 he changed his name to Harry Caray; and
11 WHEREAS, After high school, Harry Caray worked selling
12 gym equipment, earning $25 a week; he attempted to enter the
13 United States Army but was rejected due to his poor eye
14 sight; he next tried out for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball
15 team, but was also turned down; in 1944 Harry wrote a letter
16 to KMOX Radio in St. Louis complaining about the dull and
17 boring announcers that were calling sports games; the KMOX
18 manager was so impressed with Harry that he helped him get a
19 job at WCLS in Joliet; and
20 WHEREAS, In 1945 Harry returned to St. Louis to work as
21 the third announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals; the first
22 announcer position was vacant and Harry made the decision to
23 go for the job; Harry went to the number one sponsor, beer
24 baron Ed Griesedick, and persuaded him to give Harry the
25 spot; for twenty-five years Harry would serve as the voice of
26 the St. Louis Cardinals; and
27 WHEREAS, In 1969 Harry left the St. Louis Cardinals; in
28 1970 he moved to Oakland, California to broadcast for the
29 Oakland A's; after his first year and a tumultuous
30 relationship with A's owner, Charlie Finley, Harry departed
31 for Chicago and the White Sox; and
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1 WHEREAS, From 1971 to 1981 Harry Caray became the
2 broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox; Harry began his
3 broadcast on a small AM station, and soon moved to FM when
4 attendance at the games began to increase; Harry would often
5 broadcast his games from the Center Field bleachers, where he
6 could be close to his beloved fans; when White Sox fans
7 found out that Harry was moving to the Northside of Chicago
8 to broadcast for the Cubs in 1982, they said that they would
9 be moving with him; and
10 WHEREAS, The name "Harry Caray" became a part of the
11 Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field; Harry transplanted his
12 signature seventh inning rendition of "Take Me Out to the
13 Ballgame" when he moved to Wrigley, and fans could be seen
14 turning their heads toward the broadcast booth, eagerly
15 awaiting the song; Harry became known as "The Mayor of Rush
16 Street", where he could be found after the game; and
17 WHEREAS, In 1987 Harry Caray suffered a stroke that kept
18 him from the ballpark for several months; upon his return in
19 May, Harry received a phone call from former Cubs
20 broadcaster, President Ronald Reagan; on September 30, 1988
21 Harry would be joined by President Reagan in the broadcast
22 booth; In 1987 Harry also opens his namesake Italian
23 restaurant in Chicago, where fans would often find him
24 smiling and handing out autographs and forty-five cent beer;
25 and
26 WHEREAS, Harry was known to mispronounce the names of the
27 players; he would often have fun with the names, spelling
28 them backwards and then pronouncing them; together with his
29 longtime partner, Steve Stone, Harry became a big part of
30 attending a Cubs game; and
31 WHEREAS, In 1988, Harry was selected to the National
32 Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame; in 1989 he was
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1 inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New
2 York; in 1994 he was inducted into the National Association
3 of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame; in 1994 he fell while
4 broadcasting a road game in Miami, Florida and made the
5 decision to limit himself to home games and a few road games;
6 and
7 WHEREAS, Harry's first major league broadcast was for
8 KMOX on Opening Day 1945 when the Cubs beat the Cardinals 3-2
9 at Wrigley Field; his final game was September 21, 1997 when
10 the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 11-3 at
11 Wrigley Field; and
12 WHEREAS, According to WGN Radio and Television, Harry
13 Caray broadcast over 8,000 regular season games; and
14 WHEREAS, Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace said, "No
15 one wanted the Cubs to win more than he did. He didn't make
16 any bones about it".; and
17 WHEREAS, Harry's grandson, Chip Caray, is scheduled to
18 join the Chicago Cubs broadcast team in their 1998 season;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, "Holy Cow"; "It could be, it might be, it is, a
21 home run"; "so long everybody"; phrases remembered by fans of
22 the Chicago Cubs will no longer be heard at Wrigley Field;
23 Harry is survived by his loving wife, Dutchie; his children,
24 Skip, Chris, Patricia Eddy, Michelle McFadden, and Elizabeth
25 Caray; his stepchildren, Mark Griffith, Roger Johnson, Donald
26 Johnson, Gloria "Tuni" Weller, and Elizabeth "Muffie" Newell;
27 his fourteen grandchildren; his great-grandchild; and the
28 beloved fans in Chicago and around the world; therefore, be
29 it
30 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
31 NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
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1 mourn, along with his family, his friends, and his many fans
2 and supporters, the man called Harry Caray; truly he was an
3 important part of the State of Illinois and the City of
4 Chicago, and he will be missed when the first ball is thrown
5 out at Wrigley Field in the spring; and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
7 presented to the family of Harry Caray and to the Chicago
8 Cubs organization.