Chicago's Best Four Sports Announcers-- Part 3: Harry Caray

By Jeff Agrest.

The Will Ferrelll/Ryan Dempster parodies of him make me angry.  They have never actually represented what he was all about.  He was the voice of the fan and he told it like he saw it.

Granted, he was better at his job when he was with the Cardinals (1945-69) and Chicago White Sox (1971-1981)  and a lot of people forget he was with the Sox.  Once he became too big for the Sox' taste, he went to the Cubs (1981-1997, and his persona only grew.

So did his fan base, largely because of him (and cable TV).  His sharpness faded, but his enthusiasm, humor and passion made every Cub game exciting (and there were plenty really, really bad Cub games back then).

He still sings "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the Cubs 7th inning stretches when there don't have a guest conductor.

Most people would rank Harry Caray as being the best, but I still would go with Jack Brickhouse.

Holy Cow!!  --Cooter

Chicago's Best Four Sportscasters-- Part 2: Jack Brickhouse

Continued from August 10, 2018.

He doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves.  The "Hey, Hey" signs on the Wrigley Field foul poles and his bust in front of the Tribune Tower don't do him justice.

The man deserves his own wing in a museum for all the broadcasting he did.

For WGN-TV he called Cubs games from 1948 -- when Channel 9 went on the air -- to 1981, and White Sox games from 1948 to 1967.  He called Bulls games from 1966 to 1973.  He was also the voice of the Chicago Bears on WGN Radio from 1953 to 1977.

In addition, he called boxing, wrestling and college sports.

Brickhouse was a pioneer in every way.

He's my pick for best announcer.

Hey!  Hey!  --Cooter