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.

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