The loss of a legend

Forgive me if I sound like an old man here for a second but here it is.We all have that voice that we associate with our favorite team or sport. In Canada it would likely include Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth, Danny Gallivan or Dick Irvin. In the US there would be many like Howard Cosell or Ernie Harwell among others depending on your sport of choice. I remember as a youngster watching my beloved Braves play ball on TBS throughout their 14 consecutive division titles and the voices of those that came into my home each telecast. Joe Simpson, Don Sutton, Pete Van Wieren and the man that was the backbone of the broadcasts, Skip Carey. Skip passed away Sunday at the age of 68 after a series of health issues, though he didn’t let that stop him from continuing to do Braves home games on the radio.Skip was the son of legendary broadcaster Harry Carey who was famous for doing Cub games and the father of Chip Carey who also worked on Braves games. Skip had done games for the team since 1976. Skip had a style all his own, many people didn’t care for it as much as he rarely got overly excited but did openly root for the Braves on air in what some would consider a “homer” broadcast style, but that was part of his charm. With TBS the Braves were America’s team because they were one of the first teams shown nationwide on the Superstation and people were more exposed to them then any other team and Skip was the voice. I will remember him not only as the voice of the Braves for my entire time as a Braves fan but also for his announcing of what was going to be on TBS after the game or during a rain delay. I think that I will probably think of Skip every time I see a Matlock or an episode of the Andy Griffith Show.

He was a legend and one of my favorites and he will be missed.