Former MLBer JIMMY PIERSALL, whose "colorful baseball career led to a roller-coaster ride" as a White Sox broadcaster, passed away on Saturday at the age of 87, according to Paul Sullivan of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Piersall's "penchant for saying whatever popped into his head helped make him into one of the more popular analysts" in White Sox history, while simultaneously "getting him into hot water." Piersall and his TV partner, HARRY CARAY, "helped revive interest" in the White Sox in the late '70s. Their act was so "unusual it was almost Vaudevillian, never to be replicated." White Sox fans "ate it up." The more famous Piersall became, the "more outrageous his remarks." Piersall's MLB playing career spanned 17 years, beginning with the Red Sox in '52. He also experienced a mental breakdown that was chronicled in the book "FEAR STRIKES OUT," which became a movie that "took some liberties with the real-life events" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/5). In Chicago, Daryl Van Schouwen notes Piersall "always spoke his mind" as Caray's "fiery sidekick." He was known for his "free-wheeling criticism of managers, coaches, ownership and ever players' wives" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/5).
A MAN OF MANY WORDS: In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal writes Piersall may have been the "only sports announcer to always -- always -- say exactly what he thought." It "wasn't always smart or fair, and he wasn't always right or enlightened." But it was "always captivating, which is more than can be said of some of the games he called." Fans "hung on his every word ... not just for his insight and humor but knowing he was the embodiment of the adage about giving a man enough rope." A live microphone was "never so lively" as when Piersall and Caray "covered the sometimes thrilling but too often dreary" White Sox from '77-81. Piersall and Caray "formed what may well have been the most unpredictable broadcast pairing in baseball history" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/5). Also in Chicago, Rick Morrissey writes Piersall the broadcaster "couldn't happen today in Chicago." Viewers "didn’t know what was going to come out of his mouth." Morrissey: "That could be very good or very bad for the Sox player or manager who was in his sights. It was very, very good for us, the audience" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/5).
TWITTER REAX: The Chicago Daily Herald's Mike North tweeted Piersall was the "most honest broadcaster in baseball history." D-backs broadcaster Mike Ferrin: "Piersall & Harry Caray were the closest we’ll ever get to Gonzo Baseball Broadcasts. Sad to hear of Jimmy’s passing." Syndicated radio host Joe Walsh: "A baseball lifer thru & thru. RIP." SABR's official feed: "One of baseball's most colorful characters." CSN Chicago's Chuck Garfien: "I was introduced to White Sox baseball as a kid watching Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall. Condolences to the Piersall family."
