Product Description

A friend of the legendary sportscaster for more than 20 years, Stone regales readers with hundreds of stories about the baseball icon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1052036 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Kirkus Reviews
Innocuous anecdotes and remembrances abound in this valentine to the legendary sports broadcaster Harry Caray. Stone worked alongside Caray for 15 years, offering color commentary for Chicago Cubs baseball games, until Caray's death in February 1998. Stone obviously enjoyed the experience, deferring to Caray's antics and malapropisms the way one would an eccentric uncle or spoiledbut talentedchild. Stone claims in the introduction that he wanted to give a clearer picture of Caray the man, rather than Caray the broadcaster, but the book, co-written with Rozner (a sports columnist and co-author of Ryne Sandberg's autobiography Second to Home, not reviewed) avoids deep insight or controversy by offering sketchy biographic facts about Caray: he was born Harry Christopher Carabina, was orphaned at a young age, grew up impoverished, and had an active nightlife, three marriages, and health problems. The books focus is on snapshots of Caray at work and at play (often with stars, from Mickey Mantle to Elvis). The most amusing stories demonstrate Caray's abilities as master showman and promoter in the broadcast booth (he mentioned as many fans' names as possible in order to ``make some friends and sell more tickets and get better ratings''). And while Caray-isms (such as ``There's danger here Cheri!'' or ``The big possum walks late'') may not be as famous as Yogi Berra-isms (although Caray is credited here with originating the ``Holy Cow'' cry), they do demonstrate Caray's charm and help explain his enormous popularity. Where's Harry? (the often-asked question Stone would get from fans), though not a definitive biography, will appeal to fans of Caray and baseball who want to relax one last time with a genuine character of the game, and perhaps hum Caray's signature song, ``Take Me Out to the Ball Game,'' after they're done. The foreword is by Bob Costas. (photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

A fitting and real tribute
Steve Stone was Harry Carey's straight man for many years. In a sense, he was Harry's Norton. In this book, he tells the shadow's story, including the ups and down.

On the humorous side, Steve discusses Harry's struggle to remember names, and how he tormented Arnie (the producer) with his requests.

Steve also paints the image of Harry the promoter, explaining how in his way, Harry promoted the character that Steve was to play on the air. Stone also admits that he owes his job in many ways to Harry. That they stayed together for 15 years is a tribute to a partnership that in many ways seemed like a marriage.

Some of the things you may not know... With only a very rare exception, he didn't drink on TV, but kept the Bud glass a plug for his sponsors. That he always paid when we went out, even though he'd plug his favorite watering holes.

Steve also covers the dark side of Harry - how he handled grudges. How he'd insist on being the prima donna. Their petty fights, and how they'd get over them. His ostracism and eventual reconciliation with his family.

In the end, you're left with both a fitting and realistic picture of the icon.

Makes ya laugh, cry and laugh even harder
This book is one of the best ever. All you have to do is be a baseball fan. I gurantee even those dreaded Cardinal fans will love to read this book. The stories that Steve has in here will make you laugh and cry and than laugh again.

No matter what team you rooted for, everyone loved Harry. Sad to see him go, but glad to have the book to learn just a little bit more about him. Truly a comical wonder.

Excellent Stories
I grew up listening to Harry Caray and Steve Stone on WGN. I must say that this book brought back a lot of great memories and provided a lot of behind the scenes details that I never knew about. Any fan of baseball or story-telling will love this book. Steve Stone's candor makes the stories even better.