The Earl of Doublin'

Major League baseball player Earl Webb was born on Sept. 17, 1898 in White County, Tennessee. In 1931, he broke a major-league record by hitting 67 doubles in 589 at-bats, averaging one every 8.79 trips to the plate. Today, it is one of the longest-lasting records in major league baseball. It earned him the nickname, Earl of Doublin'.

William Earl Webb was born on a farm in Blue Spring Cove community of White County, less than 10 miles from Sparta. His father worked in the coal mines and when Earl was 6, the family moved to the Ravenscroft community, another seven miles or so from Sparta. Earl’s father not only mined but served as assistant deputy sheriff. He also pitched and played the outfield for the Ravenscroft baseball team and taught singing in the local school. Earl’s mother was the former Helen Victoria Palmer. She is listed in the 1920 Census as “matron” in a hotel. (she ran the coal company’s boardinghouse.) Before baseball, Earl was a coal miner. He claimed to have begun working in the mines at the age of 11, for 5 cents an hour.

Webb married Blanche Matthews of Fentress County, Tennessee at the end of 1920. (They had five children.) His father took him aside, suggesting that coal mining was a rough life and he should pursue the possibilities of playing baseball professionally.

Earl played right field. He was a left-handed batted who threw with his right hand. His Major League debut was on August 13, 1925 for the New York Giants. His last appearance was on October 1, 1933 with the Chicago White Sox. Webb played on five MLB teams between 1925 and 1933: New York Giants (1925), Chicago Cubs (1927-1928), Boston Red Sox (1930–1932), Detroit Tigers (1932–1933) and Chicago White Sox (1933).

His career batting average was .306 with 56 home runs. Webb finished second in the league in extra base hits in 1931 with 84. His .333 batting average that year was seventh-highest in the American League. He finished sixth in the 1931 American League Most Valuable Player voting.

After baseball, Webb returned to the coal mines, taking a position with the Consolidated Coal Company of Jenkins, Kentucky, both working as a foreman in the mines and managing the company baseball team. He managed teams in Kentucky and West Virginia into his 50's. Earl Webb died of coronary thrombosis on the night of May 23, 1965. He and Blanche are buried at Taylor Place Cemetery in Fentress,County, Tennessee.

Sports Announcers I Grew Up With: Pat Summerall

There is a special place in my heart for the radio and TV sports announcers I grew up with. From ABC's Wide World of Sports to roller derby and wrestling, and everything in between, sports was a big part of my life growing up. At my house, we watched on TV whatever sport was 'in season,' especially on Saturday's. If there was a sports event on radio, we listened to it. I was very blessed to grow up with many now-legendary voices and characters.

Pat Summerall was born on May 10, 1930 at Lake City, Florida. He died in Dallas Texas on April 16, 2013 at the age of 82. Summerall was a football star at Lake City. His position was place kicker. He played college football at Arkansas and was drafted into the NFL during the 4th round in 1952. He spent one year with the Detroit Lions, four years with the Chicago Cardinals and three years with the New York Giants. He was later named to the Florda High School Athletic Association's All-Century Team.

After retiring from football, Summerall joined CBS as a color commentator. He also worked for Fox and ESPN. In addition to football, he also announced major golf and tennis events. All total, he announced 16 Super Bowls on TV (more than any other announcer), 26 Masters Tournaments and 21 US Opens. He also contributed to 10 Super Bowl broadcasts on CBS Radio as a pregame host or analyst.

Sports Announcers I Grew Up With: Joe Garagiola

There is a special place in my heart for the radio and TV sports announcers I grew up with. From ABC's Wide World of Sports to roller derby and wrestling, and everything in between, sports was a big part of my life growing up. At my house, we watched on TV whatever sport was 'in season,' especially on Saturday's. If there was a sports event on radio, we listened to it. I was very blessed to grow up with many now- legendary voices and characters. Today, I want to pay tribute to Joe Garagiola.

Joseph Henry Garagiola, Sr. was born February 12, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up across the street from his childhood friend, Yogi Berra. When Berra and Garagiola were both teenagers, almost all pro scouts rated Garagiola as the better baseball prospect, although Berra had a Hall of Fame career. About growing up living next to Berra, Garagiola once said, "Not only was I not the best catcher in the Major Leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street!"

Garagiola was signed at age 16 by the St. Louis Cardinals organization. As a rookie in 1946, in his only World Series appearance, Garagiola batted a 6-for-19 in five games, including a Game 4 where he went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs. But, Garagiola never quite lived up to the promise of his youth, appearing in only 676 games over 9 seasons for St. Louis, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants. Garagiola observed, "It's not a record, but being traded four times when there are only eight teams in the league tells you something. I thought I was modeling uniforms for the National League."

Garagiola turned to broadcasting following his retirement as a player, first calling Cardinals radio broadcasts on KMOX from 1955 to 1962. He began doing national baseball broadcasts for NBC in 1961. His association with that network lasted almost 30-years. Garagiola called several World Series on NBC Radio in the 1960s. After a stint doing New York Yankees games from 1965 to 1967 that saw him call Mickey Mantle's 500th home run, Garagiola returned to broadcasting NBC baseball, initially as the host of the pre-game show The Baseball World of Joe Garagiola and then as a play-by-play announcer beginning in 1974.

Garagiola alternated play-by-play duties with Curt Gowdy on NBC until 1976, when he assumed the role full-time. He teamed with color commentator Tony Kubek from 1976 to 1982; in 1983, he shifted to color commentary as Vin Scully joined the network as lead play-by-play announcer. Besides working on the Saturday Game of the Week for NBC, the team of Scully and Garagiola would call three All-Star Games (1983, 1985, and 1987), three National League Championship Series (1983, 1985, and 1987) and three World Series (1984, 1986, and 1988). After calling the 1988 World Series with Scully, Garagiola resigned from NBC Sports, which was on the verge of losing the television rights to cover Major League Baseball to CBS.

After leaving NBC Sports, Garagiola spent one season as commentator for the California Angels. From 1998 to 2012, he performed part-time color commentary duties for the Arizona Diamondbacks, where his son, Joe Garagiola, Jr., served as general manager. Garagiola officially announced his retirement from broadcasting on February 22, 2013.

Besides calling baseball games for NBC, Garagiola served as a panelist on The Today Show from 1967 to 1973 and again from 1990 to 1992. He also occasionally guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, including the only live appearances of any members of The Beatles on the program while still a group.