The famed broadcaster's Tucson ties began in 1977 when he hosted the first Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open Golf Tournament and played with President Gerald Ford in its charity pro-am.
David Leighton For the Arizona Daily Star A famed Major League Baseball broadcaster’s ties to Tucson began in 1977 when he hosted the first Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Tucson Conquistadores.
People are also reading… At 13 years old, Garagiola was given a tryout by a St. Louis Cardinals scout. Two years later, sent him to their farm club in Springfield, MO., where he was a clubhouse boy. Soon after, the Red Birds signed him and he spent a couple of years in the minors as a player, in between earning his high school diploma.
The next two years saw Garagiola struggling to keep his job in the major leagues. But soon life would get better, at least for a bit. The following season was his last and when he was traded to the New York Giants, towards the end of the season, he became ineligible to play in the 1954 World Series. This included an appearance soon after on NBC’s Today show to promote his book, which led to weekly spots on the program.
For the next 14 years , he appeared in the NBC sports broadcasting booth with former Yankees shortstop Tony Kubeck, covering the regular season, All-Star and World Series games.Bridgeman, his daughter, shared, “One of the best memories at the Tucson Open for me was meeting Dodgers pitcher Tommy John and his wife Sally at the tournament. I mentioned to them that one of my dreams was to sing the U.S. national anthem at a major league ballpark. When they returned to L.A.
In January 1982, at the Tucson Conquistadores Sports Award Banquet, Garagiola listened to Mayor Lew Murphy, likely expecting to hear about great athletes, but instead heard the political leader read a proclamation that thanked him for being the “glue that brings together the Tucson tournament.” Murphy then officially announced that Tucson’s Rodeo Park on Irvington Road would be renamed in his honor, unveiling a sign that read: “Joe Garagiola’s Rodeo Park.
In 1991, the National Baseball Hall of Fame bestowed upon Garagiola the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Also, in the 1990s, he began a relationship with the St. Peter’s Indian Mission Catholic School, an impoverished educational facility for Akimel O’odham and Pee-Posh children on the Gila River Indian Reservation, 25 miles south of Phoenix.
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