Sportscaster Joe Garagiola
His light-hearted, plainspoken commentary has made him one of America's most versatile TV broadcasters for more than 40 years.
After an eight-year pro-baseball career (1946-54) with four teams, Joe Garagiola began doing "color" commentary for the St. Louis Cardinals. Later he reached a national audience on NBC's "Baseball Game of the Week."
Seeing his appeal, NBC executives hired him in 1968 to co-host "The Today Show." There he interviewed everyone from statesmen to zoo animals for nearly six years.
He has since participated in a variety of events, hosting New Year's Day parades, World Series games, and TV game shows. He still does local-TV sports commentary for the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team.
Nationally, viewers catch him in the dog-eat-dog world of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show: He hosts the USA Network's coverage.
Garagiola lives in Paradise Valley, Ariz., where he is president of the Baseball Assistance Team, which helps former baseball professionals in need.
(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society
