Today is the birthday of a great Chicagoan, albeit one who had a longstanding grudge against a candy icon. A one… a two… a three…

This is Harry Caray just as I remember him – a little bit of baseball mixed in with “colorful anecdotes.” I remember happening upon a Cubs game on TV in the mid 90’s or so. It was the late innings, when things got really loopy. Harry spent the entire half-inning – and I do mean the entire half-inning – singing “Happy birthday” to someone who was at the ballpark that day. It was one of the greatest moments in television history.

There isn’t much of that kind of color anymore, although I do enjoy it when Tim McCarver says things like “you just don’t hear the word ‘burnished’ enough in baseball coverage.” It’s not quite Harry-worthy, but it’s something.

If you’d like a few more of Harry’s great moments, check out this post on JoeSportsFan where, among other things, Harry calls for booze in the Wrigley Field ice cream.

Let’s get some runs!