Over the weekend I was able to take in one of the greatest institutions in baseball in Yankee Stadium before it will be no longer used by the Yankees at the end of the season. However, there was another great institution of baseball that was lost to us all…Atlanta Braves’ broadcaster Skip Carey.

Whether we realized it or not, Atlanta Braves’ fans were treated to the presence of a legend since 1976. Skip Carey, son of famous Cubs’ broadcaster Harry Carey, had basically been with the Braves’ franchise since the team moved to the city of Atlanta.

In Atlanta, there are very few legends whose name is synonymous with the Braves and remembered solely for their work with the Atlanta franchise. The short list would likely include Hank Aaron, Eddie Matthews, Warren Spahn, Dale Murphy, John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, maybe Phil Niekro and Bobby Cox, and then long-time announcers Skip Carey and Pete Van Wieren.

However, if you were to determine the most memorable Brave from that small group, Hank Aaron is probably the only person who would rank in front of the legendary Skip Carey. His voice was as recognized as Aaron’s stoicism, Smoltz’s facial hair, or Chipper’s sweet swing.

Carey started with the St. Louis Hawks and came with the team where he started his Atlanta career as the play-by-play man with the Atlanta Hawks, and he also covered NFL, NHL, the Goodwill Games, and anything else sports related Ted Turner decided to air on TBS.

Skip told it like he saw it without the sugar coating or unnecessary fluff many of today’s announcers choose to use. He was unafraid to state his opinion, whatever it may have been, and had no remorse if you didn’t agree. He hated the Wave and when anyone called in on sports talk radio and asked about the Infield Fly Rule. He knew baseball and seemingly where every fan in the stands hailed from as he would announce the hometown of whomever was lucky enough to catch a foul ball.

Carey and Van Wieren were a fixture in the Braves’ booth over the majority of four decades, and it will come as no surprise if they are eventually enshrined in Cooperstown, NY.

I will forever remember his call of Sid Bream sliding across home plate (which can be heard here) to send the Braves to the World Series in 1992 (which still gives me chills hearing it to this day), and while my opinion of Carey may not mean much, it is one shared by many, including these eloquently spoken opinions:

But now the signature voice has been forever muted. No more, “Listen to this crowd!” No more, “There’s a drive …” No more choppers to Chipper. No more promos for “the award-winning Bobby Cox Show.” No more fans battling for the souvenir. No more gags. No more puns. Braves baseball will go on, but Braves baseball will never be the same. (Mark Bradley - AJC)

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Skip said original things, brilliant things, off the top of his head that most of us would commit to memory and repeat to others. Lines that we never forget, that made us smile or laugh or shake our head in wonder that he had the cajones to say that on the air. (David O’ Brien - AJC)

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“We’ve all lost a very good friend,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “For me, he was a good buddy — at the park and away from the park. We always had a lot of great laughs. He will be very sorely missed.”

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“Skip Caray was one of my favorite people, and I enjoyed both his wise personal counsel about the Atlanta Braves and Major League Baseball and, more frequently, his superb commentary on the games.” (Jimmy Carter, former president and devoted Braves fan)

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“I lost a good friend and broadcast partner and that is tough for me personally. But anybody affiliated with the Braves who listened to him or knew him over the last 33 years lost something, too. He was as important to the Braves as any player, manager, coach or executive. There’s no way to replace him.”

“He was the most original broadcaster I’ve ever been around because he’d always come up with things that didn’t have to do with baseball.” (Pete Van Wieren - broadcast partner for 33 seasons)

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“This has been a really horrible year with all of the injuries and stuff,” John Smoltz said. “This puts it all in perspective. We have lost one of the greatest figures in the city of Atlanta’s history.”

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“Everybody knew he was a great broadcaster, but I will say that he was the best partner in the history of sports broadcasting. He was just awesome. There might have been some that were just as good. But nobody was better.” (Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson)

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“I thought he was either as talented or more talented than anyone whom I’ve either worked with or listened to. And it sounds very grandiose, but he was really talented.” (New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling)

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“It’s a tremendous loss to the city of Atlanta and to the Atlanta Braves. I mean, he loved the Atlanta Braves; he loved being on the job. He worked right up until he passed away.” (Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman)

These gems from AJC.com readers:

Skip Caray was the sound of baseball. He was hot afternoon radio, hotdogs and beer. He was that lazy hazy sound of summer. The perfect voice for radio, with the best delivery I ever heard.

I wonder if he’s interviewing Ty Cobb right now. Shoeless Joe Jackson? The babe. Dimaggio? Lou Gehrig?

With Skip Caray around for all those years, I feel like the luck-luck-luckiest fan fan fan on the face face face of the earth earth earth…… (Baseball Wrap)

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I am a lifelong Braves fan who will be turning 29 in a few months. Although I’m not all that old, I’ve spent almost 25 of those years watching and listening to Atlanta Braves games — first, with my grandfather, who has now passed away, later with friends, and now sometimes with my wife. I hope someday to watch them with a son or daughter. Skip was, himself, like a grandfather, as strange as that sounds…always there to watch the Braves play with me, whether the game was good or a lost cause.

I’ve asked myself many times why I’ve bothered to keep watching or listening to the Braves when they are hopelessly behind. Of course, the answer is not just because I am a diehard fan, but because I love listening to Skip, Pete, and Joe. I’m not ashamed to say that I actually shed a tear when I heard the news this evening.

Things just won’t be the same without you, Skip. I hope that you are in a better place. We will miss you dearly. (Marty)

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Losing Skip is like losing a cherished part of summer. I was 12 when Skip started broadcasting Braves games and he was a part of every summer since then. I always loved his humor. Like his Dad, listening to Skip was like sitting at a game with your best friend. (braves70)

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Skip started broadcasting Braves games when I moved my family to Atlanta. The family grew up with his nasal twang and wonderful knowledge and obeservations of the game while we delghted in watching the asprining team.

Red Barber, Mel Allen, Phill Rizzouto and his dad have a front row seat, waiting for him!

Well done, Skip! (Ken Amato)

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When TBS cut the number of Braves games he was assigned, thousands of people complained and he was brought back. I don’t suppose a letter campaign will work this time.

Dave, from Brookhaven, that never caught a foul ball.

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It would figure that the night where the heat was high and the humidity even higher Skip moved on. It couldn’t have been more symbolic of the dog days of summer and baseball in the South. (Skip Fan)

And I think SI.com writer John Donovan put it best:

“Listening to the Braves will never be the same.”

Skip will be missed. So here’s to you Skip. Thanks for all the smiles, laughs, and great memories.
RIP Skip Carey (1939-2008).

Shotgun Spratling

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