# What was your opinion of Harry Carey? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 1, 2020, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740 "2020-03-01T05:06:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/21 "2020-03-03T22:17:46Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > So, after a lot of chat with Cubs people, it seems he’s got the reputation of being the good drunken uncle. Not the type that rants about politics or how much better things were back in the day, but the nice guy who rambled about baseball, occasionally getting a few facts wrong, but the heart was in the right place. That’s pretty much how I view him, and I grew up with him being the voice of the Cubs. Kind of goofy and bumbling and having a weird fascination with trying to say players names backwards. Balanced by the excellent color commentary and analysis of Steve Stone, I loved this sportscasting duo. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/22 "2020-03-04T06:39:00Z")
Nothing much to add that hasn’t already been said. I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Harry. When I was young and found nostalgic old-timers a bit insufferable I disliked him. His random stories, gaffes and somewhat off-kilter announcing was a distraction from the game and generally gave me the sense that the Cubs were the 80’s personification of “OK, boomer”. Then I got older, started going to Wrigley and downing beers in the bleachers and embracing the “world-largest beer garden” vibe of Cubs day-games it changed. Harry was basically the perfect carnival barker for what was usually some pretty forgettable baseball. He was the tipsy regular at the end of the bar that everyone liked, he was your grandpa who always had a random story about the good old days, and he was a pretty solid avatar for every bleacher bum. Harry became an irreplaceable part of being a Cubs fan, especially during the 7th inning stretch. I definitely became a fan at that point. It helped that Steve Stone grew into one of the all-time best announcers out there. He got more outspoken and kept Harry reined in. Kept time with the at bats and made sure that there was always an adequate level of actual game calling going. Harry could then step things up a bit when there was a big moment with his signature calls or when the game stopped being interesting on the field. It was a pretty terrific pairing. I think it’s important when comparing Harry to other famous announcers to understand that in his latter Cubs days, he was NOT a play-by-play guy anymore. He was the color guy at that point, Stone developed into a rock solid play-by-play guy in practice if not in title. Harry was simply doing a different job than Brickhouse, Scully and Harwell. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/23 "2020-03-05T03:03:11Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I grew up in SoCal as an Angels fan listening to Dick Enberg (and Vin Scully with the Dodgers). Carey was too homerish and clownish for my taste but he was fun to listen to. Add pompous, careless with names and facts and a classic front-runner. (Harry loved players as long as they were on hot streaks). In David Halberstam’s “October 1964” he related how Cards players believed Caray had a grudge against Ken Boyer dating from when they got into a tiff over Boyer’s refusal to do an in-game interview. Backup Cards catcher Bob Uecker would do an impression of Caray sticking it to Boyer. “Well here’s the Captain, Ken Boyer coming up to bat. He _haaaaasn’t_ had an RBI in his last 52 games. I don’t know why they continue to boo him at Busch Stadium … Striiiiike one, he never took the bat off his shoulder. …Striiiiike two…and Striiiiike three. … He nevvvver even took the bat off his shoulder. … I don’t know why they keep booing him.” Harry Caray was a prince. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/24 "2020-03-05T03:04:20Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/25 "2020-03-05T20:14:06Z")
I became a Cubs fan in part due to the Harry Caray / Steve Stone duo. Caray was the “drunk fun uncle” and Stone is, bar none, the best, most interesting sports announcer I’ve ever listened to. A win-win combination. I’ve never lived in Chicago. Hell, hardly ever \*been \*in Chicago except for O’Hare, **but I’ll always be a die-hard Cubs fan**. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/26 "2020-03-26T16:26:35Z")
Here’s something which I just found in my Facebook feed: [Harry Caray gets held up at gunpoint](https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/steve-stone-recalls-time-harry-caray-was-held-gunpoint-surprising-twist), told by Steve Stone. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/27 "2020-03-26T22:12:20Z")
I was a kid in the 80s during Harry Carey’s later years with the Cubs. This colors my perception because I mostly associate him with someone who would interrupt the cartoons I would normally watch on WGN whenever a Cubs game was on. So not, not a big fan. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740/28 "2020-03-26T22:43:21Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Here’s something which I just found in my Facebook feed: [Harry Caray gets held up at gunpoint](https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/steve-stone-recalls-time-harry-caray-was-held-gunpoint-surprising-twist), told by Steve Stone. Weird that they don’t actually have the audio there but link to it instead. Jump to the bookmark [here](https://670thescore.radio.com/media/audio-channel/mcneil-parkins-steve-stone-interview-hour-2). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-opinion-of-harry-carey/848740.md?page=1)