Joe Garagiola, a major league baseball player who evolved into a long broadcasting career at the age of 90. Garagiola was a journeyman catcher who played for nine seasons in the majors for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants. After his retirement from baseball, Garagiola wrote the book "Baseball is a Funny Game" (1960). That helped launch his broadcast career.
But Garagiola was better known as the backstop panelist for NBC's Today show from 1967 to 1982 and 1990 to 1992. Garagiola also did play by play and color commentary for NBC Sports baseball telecasts from 1974 to 1988. Garagiola then spent a season doing cable commentary for the California Angels. Afterwards, Garagiola did part time commentary for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2012 while his son was general manager for the Diamondbacks. All together, Garagiola broadcast for 35 years over seven decades. No wonder why Garagiola was honored with the Ford Frick Award and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York in 1991.
Keeping to his lighthearted take on life, Garagiola quipped that the only way that he could get into Cooperstown was as a broadcaster.
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