In this work, first-hand accounts and original interviews illuminate how the father-son relationship thrives because of baseball, and, sometimes, in spite of it. Each of these men bears a legendary name in baseball broadcasting—Caray, Brennaman, Buck and Kalas—and some can count four generations of men whose voices defined a team. All of the sons relate how their fathers’ names opened doors for them but concurrently raised expectations of how they should perform, and all relate how they learned from their fathers’ (and grandfathers’) triumphs and mistakes. Includes a foreword by Chip Caray, speeches by Joe Buck about his father Jack, and articles by Skip Caray, Chip Caray and Marty Brennaman.

Tony Silvia is professor emeritus of journalism and digital communication at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg and had a long career in broadcast journalism. He is the author of seven other titles, including four with McFarland. He lives in Little Compton, Rhode Island and and Dunedin, Florida.

Tony Silvia
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 214
Bibliographic Info: 15 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3815-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v
Foreword by Chip Caray      1
Introduction      7

1. Fathers, Sons, and Baseball: An American Tradition      15
2. Marty and Thom Brennaman: Bleeding Cincinnati Red      35
3. Jack and Joe Buck: Passing the Cardinals Torch      60
4. Harry, Skip, Chip, and Josh Caray: Four Generations,
One Town      89
5. Harry and Todd Kalas: It’s Outa Here      131
6. Connections Across Generations      155

Epilogue: A Father-Son World Series      167
Appendix A: Biographies      175
Appendix B: Speeches by Joe Buck      182
Appendix C: Articles (by Skip Caray, Chip Caray, and Marty Brennaman)      189
Chapter Notes      195
Bibliography      201
Index      205

“Silvia profiles the four families behind the mike”—SABR Bulletin.