Tim McCarver, Cardinals Great and Legendary Broadcaster, Dies at 81

Before his award-winning broadcasting career, he was a two-time World Series champion in St. Louis.

Tim McCarver, a two-time World Series champion and All-Star catcher for the Cardinals and later, a Ford C. Frink Award recipient as a broadcaster, died Thursday, as first announced by the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was 81. 

McCarver’s career in baseball spanned 63 years and eight decades. As a catcher, he made his major league debut with the Cardinals in 1959, playing with the team through the ’69 season. Along the way, he made two All-Star Games and was part of the 1964 and ’67 World Series champion teams.

In 1970, he jumped to the Phillies, and he would go on to play for the Expos and Red Sox, along with second stops in St. Louis and Philadelphia. He ended his career with the Phillies in 1980, making his transition to broadcasting in the city that same year. 

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Cardinals Hall of Fame catcher Tim McCarver.

A two-time World Series champion, McCarver caught 12 seasons in St. Louis over his 21-year career.

Our condolences go out to the McCarver family and his many baseball friends and colleagues. pic.twitter.com/5Yrh39PRt5

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) February 16, 2023

McCarver worked stints as a broadcaster for the Phillies, Mets, Yankees and Giants during his broadcast career. Nationally, he held roles with all four major networks—ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC—at various points in his career. He worked 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games before retiring as a full-time broadcaster in 2013. 

Statement from Phillies Managing Partner & CEO John Middleton on the passing of Tim McCarver. pic.twitter.com/e2Dk98nh5s

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 16, 2023

McCarver would go on to work as a part-time broadcaster for the Cardinals in 2014, a post he stepped down from last April.