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Published: August 07, 2008 02:44 pm    print this story   email this story  

Saying a fond farewell to a familar voice

By Charles Curcio

Thursday, August 7, 2008 — As sports fans, we all have our favorite television and radio announcers and voices that we have listened to and enjoyed for years.

There are certain voices that you can hear blindfolded and you just know who it is.

Anyone that grew up when baseball was not covered every single night remembers the game of the week on NBC with Joe Garagiola and the legendary Vin Scully.

As an announcer myself, it’s always fun to listen to the giants of the industry ply their craft with voices and calls that become the soundtrack of sports legends.

Scully has always been associated closely with the Dodgers, first Brooklyn and then L.A. My team has always been the Atlanta Braves since the Dale Murphy era.

Braves fans are probably as saddened as I am this week because of the news of the passing of Skip Caray.

For me, Skip was one of those unique voices and personalities I have enjoyed listening to for years.

TBS coverage of baseball in the past couple of years is just not as interesting as it was watching the Braves night in and night out.

Last season, TBS banished Skip, Don Sutton, Pete Van Wieren and Joe Simpson off the television and their ratings dropped like a stone.

My guess would be that so many Braves felt the way that I do.

Yes, we wanted to hear about the baseball game, but listening to the announcers talking about totally non-related subjects was a riot.

Braves baseball has not always been the most interesting and competitive baseball in the majors.

So instead of continually boring the viewers with talking about other teams who were faring better then our Braves were, Skip and company would just talk about whatever crossed their mind.

From my experience as a broadcaster and announcer, one can’t help but admire someone that speaks exactly what’s on their mind with very little filtering.

I can still remember listening to Skip coming home on my parents’ radio in the car driving home from Atlanta to Hayesville listening to Skip being outrageous.

Someone at Webster’s Dictionary should put a picture of Skip next to the word “curmudgeon” because that’s exactly what he was.

Never a fan of new media technology, any kind of new TV invention, like graphics or more promos, he was almost instantly against.

Any racing promo read by his partner would have him in the background making engine noises.

Oh, Skip might read a promo, but he would have a lot of fun doing it. Whatever movie was coming on after the game, Skip and whoever was with him would turn that promo into an impromptu session of Siskel and Ebert.

He would always point out that vendor that used to work at Fulton County Stadium, “The Screaming Vendor,” who made life miserable for everyone by hocking adult beverages at volume levels approaching a jet engine.

I always loved when he’d say, “...foul ball...and a fan from Alpharetta caught that one.” He must have had a list next to him of the name of every city in the state to go by for that running gag.

His call of Sid Bream coming home in the 1992 NLCS or in 1995 when he said “The Atlanta Braves have just given you a championship” will forever be in the minds and hearts of Braves fans everywhere.

Skip was one of a kind to be sure. He influenced greatly the broadcaster I have become and I feel badly for the broadcasters to come after me that will never hear that voice call a game.

Thanks for the memories, Skip. You will be missed.

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