Joe Garagiola Was Robert Hyland's First Big Discovery

Joe Garagiola, who died Wednesday at 90, had one of the most diverse and successful careers in the history of broadcasting. That’s not bad for a guy from the Hill who grew up dreaming of becoming a baseball star but achieved his fame with his mouth, not his bat, after a nine-year big-league career that began with the Cardinals in 1946 and included stops with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants.

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The Voices Of Baseball

The remarkable run of success in St. Louis baseball radio booths started with a guy named France in the late 1920s then rolled through a Dizzy period in the '40s. The tradition was able to Caray on through the '50s and into '60s. The Bucks stopped there, too. Throw in long runs by Mike Shannon and Buddy Blattner and a shorter spree by Joe Garagiola and the roster is resplendent.

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