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1940’s Era Sportscasters For Griesedieck Bros. Brewery Co. Harry Caray & Charles E. “Gabby” Street
Condition is "Used".
Size 8.5” x 11” Condition as found(See Photos)imperfections
Griesedieck Brothers Brewery Co. opened in 1911. GB made non-alcoholic beer and soft drinks during Prohibition, but closed its doors by 1920. For the next 13 years, the Griesedieck Brothers would anxiously offere their time before they could once again brew what would become the most popular beer in St. Louis.
After prohibition ended, the heirs of Henry Jr. kept Griesedieck Brothers while the heirs of Papa Joe ran Falstaff. Starting in 1947, Griesedieck Brothers sponsored the St. Louis Cardinals radio broadcasts with Harry Caray until the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the team in 1953. Shortly after Anheuser-Busch bought the team, it renamed Sportsman's Park as Busch Stadium and introduced Busch Beer. This new beer was sold at new low prices and significantly dug into Griesedieck Brothers sales.
When Edward Griesedieck, the last remaining original Griesedieck Brother died in 1955, the company looked at its options. In 1957, Griesedieck Brothers was sold to its cousins at Falstaff and production under the GB name stopped almost overnight.
Griesedieck Brothers were planning on sponsoring broadcasts of Cardinals and Browns home games in 1945 and were looking for a famous sportscaster to handle the play-by-play duties. Caray went directly to brewery president Edward J. Griesedieck to lobby for the job. Griesedieck initially turned him down, explaining that he preferred to hire an announcer in the style of veteran St. Louis broadcaster France Laux. Laux, Griesedieck explained, described the action in a way that allowed a person to listen and yet read the newspaper undisturbed. At this, Caray exploded. “You’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to sponsor baseball, and when your commercial comes on, when your handpicked announcer is selling your product, you’re busy reading the paper!” Caray continued, “You need someone who’s going to keep the fan interested in the game. Because if they’re paying attention to the game, they’ll pay attention to the commercial!”6 Convinced by Caray’s argument, and certain that Caray could keep the fans interested, Griesedieck hired him immediately.
Starting in the spring of 1945, Harry was teamed with former catcher and manager Gabby Street to broadcast the home games of the Cardinals and the Browns over WIL. In St. Louis at the time, there were no exclusive broadcast rights. Several local St. Louis radio stations aired the baseball games in direct competition with one another through the 1930s and into the mid-1940s. Caray and Street were competing with such established St. Louis announcers as France Laux and Johnny O’Hara as well as colorful former pitcher Dizzy Dean. Between the enthusiasm of Caray and the analysis and expertise of Street, the duo built a following in the St. Louis area. As the Cardinals won the National League pennant in 1946, Caray and Street gained increasing recognition and popularity from St. Louis fans. Caray’s only regret about the 1946 season was that he did not get the opportunity to broadcast the World Series, which the Cardinals won in seven games.
In 1947 Cardinals president Sam Breadon granted exclusive broadcast rights to Griesedieck Brothers. This meant that Caray and Street would be the only broadcasters for all of the Cardinals’ home and road games. The Cardinals radio network was baseball’s largest network, with 54 affiliate stations in 1948. The network included 91 stations by 1954, introducing listeners in states like Oklahoma and Mississippi to Caray’s play-by-play descriptions. By 1954 Caray had survived changes in Cardinals ownership (August A. Busch, Jr. bought the team in 1953) and a change in broadcast sponsors (from Griesedieck to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.) Caray and Street worked together until the former catcher died in 1951.From Matt Bohn
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