Tim McCarver

1941 - 2023

Tim McCarver, beloved father of daughters Kathy and Kelly McCarver, and adored grandfather to Beau and Leigh Root, gregarious MLB broadcaster, All-Star catcher, World Series champion, Emmy-award winner and author, died in Memphis on Thursday at the age of 81. The cause of death was heart failure, his family said.

In his more than 60 years as a baseball player and broadcaster, McCarver proved not only one of the greatest athletic talents to come out of Memphis in the 20th Century, but also "one of the most influential voices our game has known," said Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred. "In the booth, his analysis and attention to detail brought fans closer to our game and how it is played and managed."

Born in Memphis on Oct. 16, 1941, to Edward McCarver, a police lieutenant, and Alice Phelan McCarver, James Timothy McCarver was the fourth of five children. His immense talent and love of family, friends, sports and competition was evident from the start.

A standout basketball, football and baseball player at Christian Brothers High School (then Christian Brothers Academy), McCarver passed up a University of Tennessee football scholarship to sign as a catcher with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959. (As legend has it, at least six scouts attended the 17-year-old McCarver's high school graduation.)

An auto didact, McCarver's curious mind devoured books, music, movies, and history. He could discuss minute details of WW II and Civil War battles, generals and dates, as well as quote Shakespeare, show tunes, and poetry. His zest for living and spontaneous energy informed every moment of his life.

McCarver's baseball career spanned four decades of tumultuous social and political change. Highly disciplined and always prepared, McCarver earned the trust of two of the most dominant pitchers in MLB history: Bob Gibson in the 1960s, and left-handed Steve Carlton in the 1970s. A strong, sturdy athlete, McCarver was a steady presence behind the plate for the Cardinals, then the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox before retiring in 1980. His longevity as a player spoke volumes about his talent, character, optimism, toughness and value as a team maker.

McCarver also loved learning. Following his first pro season when he became the first catcher in 20 years to hit leadoff at least four times in a season, McCarver enrolled in classes at Christian Brothers College. Though sports soon trumped academia, McCarver's passion for learning persisted. A Renaissance man with an easy laugh and smiling blue eyes beneath dark, bushy brows, "Timmy Mack'' was constantly reading, asking questions, and observing. These lifelong habits helped win him the coveted role of sports color commentator for MLB announcer Jack Buck, where he offered nuanced insights into the world of baseball.

McCarver was quick with a story and often scribbled quotations from books, songs, poems on scraps of paper to share with his daughters, grandchildren or his public audiences. His experience, compassion, humor ("That was a Linda Ronstadt fastball: blew-by-you"), critical eye and appreciation for silence in key moments proved the perfect recipe for a baseball analyst. "He didn't talk too much,'' wrote journalist Tom Verducci, in Sports Illustrated. "He let the game breathe, interjecting only when he had something salient to say.''

For over three decades, McCarver called games for the Phillies, Cardinals, New York Mets, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. He later covered 20 All-Star Games and 24 World Series across three major networks (ABC, CBS and Fox), partnering with four play-by-play broadcasters (Al Michaels, Jack Buck, Sean McDonough and Joe Buck). McCarver also co-hosted the prime-time coverage of the 1992 Winter Olympics with Paula Zahn for CBS. In 1996, he was paired with Joe Buck for Fox's MLB telecasts, a role he held from 1996 to 2013.

His playing career was also featured alongside greats like Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench and Roy Campanella in a 1970 book by Jack Zanger called "Great Catchers of the Major Leagues: Colorful Profiles of Ten Men Who Made Baseball History for Their Play Behind the Plate and at Bat''.

Lives of professional athletes are often filled with challenges, but McCarver proved resilient. When he was released by the Cardinals, he was picked up by the Phillies who had just acquired his teammate and star pitcher Steve Carlton. Carlton was struggling on the mound, but McCarver's confident presence behind the plate helped nurture the All-Star, Hall-of-Fame pitcher back to glory. McCarver used to joke that he was "Carlton's caddy.''

Tim loved to sing and dance, to hunt and travel. More than anything, he loved his home and family. Tim married his high school sweetheart, Anne McDaniel, in 1964 and the couple had two daughters, Kathy and Kelly, before divorcing in 2002.

In his early years, before the advent of high player salaries, McCarver sold cars in the winter, spoke at church pancake breakfasts, and spent his afternoons with children and friends, dancing to Broadway tunes from The Music Man and Guys and Dolls.

In later years, McCarver's gregarious nature extended beyond the field and broadcast booth. It infused his life, as he worked to share his passions and insights with others. McCarver wrote five books, studied fine wine, recorded an album singing American standards, hosted a TV sports interview show, won three sports Emmys, appeared in movies and loved to visit art museums during his travels.

He could often be found sitting at a table, yellow legal pad and pen in hand, sifting through reports or statistics to share with listeners or friends. He had studied recordings of other announcers as he learned to call games, deepening his already encyclopedic knowledge and intuition. He rarely engaged in idle chatter, and as a result, he was awarded the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award in 2012 for his Emmy-winning work in the booth.

McCarver loved to compete. But he also was a thinker and a kind and loyal friend. Tim McCarver never forgot his roots, his Memphis friends, or his sense of humor. One of his favorite lines to share with his daughters was a Mark Twain quote: "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.''

McCarver is preceded in death by his siblings Grover McCarver, Pat McCarver, Marilyn McCarver Harkins, and Dan McCarver. He is survived by his daughters, Kathy and Kelly McCarver and grandchildren Leigh McCarver Root and Beau Luxenberg Root.

Visitation will be 10am-12pm with Funeral Mass to follow at 12pm on Thursday, February 23 at St. Michael Catholic Church,3863 Summer Ave, Memphis, TN 38122.

The family requests that memorial donations be sent to the Memphis Redbird Community Fund, 198 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tn. 38103, redbirds.com/communityfund to assist in promoting inner city baseball in Memphis or to McCarver's alma mater, Christian Brothers High School Sports Program.