James Timothy McCarver, a professional baseball player and sports analyst for television, was born on October 16, 1941. The birthplace of McCarver is Memphis, Tennessee. McCarver was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1959 while he was a student at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis. McCarver spent time with the Keokuk Indians and Rochester Red Wings of the Cardinals’ minor league organization before making his MLB debut at the age of 17.
He played catcher in Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1980, primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals, where he was a two-time All-Star, a member of two World Series championship teams, and the runner-up for the 1967 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award. He was admitted to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017.
Later in his playing career, McCarver joined the Philadelphia Phillies and rose to prominence as Steve Carlton’s go-to catcher. The Hall of Fame now includes Carlton as a pitcher. He also played with the Boston Red Sox and the Montréal Expos, making him one of the few players in the major league to have played in four separate decades.
He earned three Emmy Awards as a television colour commentator after his playing career, most notably for Fox Sports. Twenty All-Star Games and a then-record 23 World Series were broadcast by McCarver. McCarver received the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting in 2012 in addition to being inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2016.
Who did Tim McCarver play for?
With the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and St. Louis Cardinals, McCarver played in 21 MLB seasons.
