Cardinals & baseball mourn the passing of Cardinals Hall of Famer Tim McCarver at age 81
ST. LOUIS, Mo., February 16, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals organization and the entire baseball community were saddened this afternoon to learn of the passing of Hall of Fame broadcaster and former Cardinals catcher James Timothy “Tim” McCarver at the age of 81. McCarver, who is survived by his daughters Kathy and Kelly, and grandchildren Leigh and Beau, was a member of three Cardinals World Series teams in 1964, 1967 and 1968, and was associated for over 60 years with Major League Baseball.
“We were saddened to learn today of the passing of Tim McCarver,” said Cardinals’ Principal Owner & Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr. “Tim was a very popular player with the Cardinals and a key member of our World Series Championship teams in 1964 and 1967. He remained a fixture in the game following his playing career, earning Hall of Fame recognition as a national broadcaster, and in later years as a Cardinals television analyst and a member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame. On behalf of the entire Cardinals organization, I would like to express our deepest condolences to the McCarver family.”
McCarver worked 28 consecutive MLB postseasons on network television dating back to 1984, providing analysis for a record 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games. His work earned him three-straight Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Sports Event Analyst” (2000-02) and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2012 Ford C. Frick Award.
McCarver teamed with Joe Buck a record 17 seasons as MLB on FOX’s lead national baseball broadcast team. No baseball broadcasting tandem called more World Series (15) and All-Star Games (14). The Memphis, Tenn. native began his broadcasting career in 1980 and has the distinction of being the only MLB analyst to have worked for all four major broadcast networks.
McCarver caught 12 seasons (1959-61, 1963-69 and 1973-74) with the Cardinals, debuting as a 17-year-old in 1959. He played in two All-Star Games (1966, 1967), three League Championship Series (1976-78) and three World Series (1964, 1967, 1968), winning championships in 1964 and 1967. He also played for Philadelphia, Montreal and Boston over a 21-year career that included a second place finish behind Hall of Fame teammate Orlando Cepeda for the 1967 National League MVP award.
In Cardinals World Series play, McCarver ranks second in hits (23), third in RBI (11) and walks (10), first in triples (3), fifth in batting average (.311), and is the only catcher in franchise history to have caught two title-winning World Series Game 7’s.
He and his close friend, the late Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, rank 2nd among Cardinals battery-mates in games started together with 197.
McCarver most recently served as a Cardinals television analyst for Bally Sports Midwest for six seasons from 2014-19.