Five months after he suffered multiple injuries when struck by a car, Harry Caray returned with a flourish to broadcast the season opener for the Cardinals.
On April 8, 1969, when the two-time defending National League champion Cardinals opened the season against the Pirates at St. Louis, Caray called the game from the Busch Memorial Stadium broadcast booth.
Caray’s appearance was a testament to his determination to recover from compound fractures of both legs, a broken right shoulder, a broken nose and facial cuts and he made certain his comeback was noticed. Given center stage as emcee for pre-game ceremonies on the field, he put on a performance for the audience.
Road to recovery
At about 1:15 a.m. on Nov. 3, 1968, Caray, 51, was hit by a car while he attempted to the cross the street outside the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis.
Caray’s injuries were disabling and he spent several weeks in a St. Louis hospital. After his release just before Christmas in 1968, Caray went to Florida and continued his recuperation near St. Petersburg at the beach house of Cardinals owner Gussie Busch.
In his 1989 book “Holy Cow!,” Caray said he was under the care of a male nurse at Busch’s residence and dutifully did isometric exercises daily. According to The Sporting News, he also did a daily radio show from the beach house for St. Louis station KMOX.
Though both legs were in casts, Caray said in his book, “I managed to keep myself entertained. I had a lot of friends there and they were always coming by the house or taking me out to restaurants. I could get around in a collapsible wheelchair.”
In early February 1969, Caray went to St. Louis to be evaluated by his doctors. He convinced them to remove the casts from his legs and returned to Florida as the Cardinals were arriving in St. Petersburg for spring training.
“I was determined to get myself in shape right along with the players,” Caray said.
Caray reported daily to Cardinals trainer Bob Bauman at the club’s spring training facility. “Caray has spent more time in the rubbing room than the adhesive tape,” The Sporting News noted.
Said Caray: “I worked hard, kept on the leg exercises and by the end of spring training I had advanced from crutches to canes to the point where I didn’t really need anything to help me walk.”
Ribbed at roast
On April 7, 1969, on the eve of the Cardinals’ opener, Caray was the guest of honor at the annual Knights of the Cauliflower Ear banquet at the Stouffer’s Inn in downtown St. Louis. The event was similar to the famous Friars Club roasts where the guest of honor was expected to be skewered, or “roasted,” by colleagues.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Caray used a cane to maneuver his way around the banquet hall.
Jack Buck, Caray’s Cardinals broadcast partner, was master of ceremonies for the event and delivered several zingers at the guest of honor.
“What nice things can I say about Harry that you haven’t heard from the man himself?” Buck said in his opening remarks.
Referring to Caray getting hit by a car, Buck said to the audience, “What can I say to make you believe I didn’t do it?”
As the event ended, Buck told the crowd, “Please drive carefully. Harry’s walking again.”
St. Louis showman
The Cardinals opened the 1969 season on a Tuesday night.
When Caray emerged from the dugout to begin the pre-game ceremonies at home plate, he used two canes to walk onto the field. He received polite applause while “hobbling along rather pathetically,” he said in his book.
As Caray approached the first-base line, “I whirled one cane over my head and flung it as far as I could,” he said.
With the crowd cheering and urging him on, Caray started toward home plate with the help of the remaining cane. Just before he got to his spot, Caray stopped and tossed the cane into the air as spectators roared in approval.
After the ceremony, Caray made his way to the dugout and was approached by pitcher Bob Gibson. According to Caray, they had the following exchange:
Gibson: “Harry, what the hell was that all about?”
Caray: “Hey, Gibby, it’s like I’ve always told you, pal. This isn’t just baseball. It’s show biz.”
During the broadcast of the game, won by the Pirates in 14 innings, Caray interviewed baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn and let him do some play-by-play. Boxscore
The 1969 season turned out to be Caray’s last with the club. On Oct. 9, 1969, he was fired after serving as the voice of the Cardinals for 25 years.
RetroSimba 
I remember when Jim Woods came from Pittsburgh to replace Harry. What a contrast! Woods had a reputation as an excellent baseball broadcaster, but after Harry Caray in his prime, he was just another guy in the booth.
Good point. Jim Woods had been the broadcast partner of Bob Prince on Pirates games. When Jack Buck took over for Harry Caray as lead broadcaster on Cardinals games, Wood was hired to join him. In his book “That’s a Winner,” Buck said, “That didn’t work out well. Wood became ill with a gallbladder attack shortly after he was hired and later didn’t do the things he was expected to do by our bosses … He didn’t show at appearances they wanted him to make in the community and didn’t attend luncheons and banquets.” After 2 seasons, Wood left and Mike Shannon moved into the Cardinals’ broadcast booth.