Tim McCarver, big league catcher and broadcaster, dies at 81


              FILE -  New York Mets' Tim Foli of the slides across home plate to score in the first inning of a baseball game as the ball gets away from Philadelphia Phillies' catcher Tim McCarver on July 5, 1978, the Shea Stadium in New York. McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., due to heart failure, baseball Hall of Fame announced. He was 81.  (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine, File)
            
              FILE -  Philadelphia Phillies catcher Tim McCarver, left, and pitcher Steve Carlton chate before a baseball game against New York Mets on Sept. 9, 1977, in New York. McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., due to heart failure, baseball Hall of Fame announced. He was 81.  (AP Photo/File)
            
              FILE -  St. Louis Cardinals' Tim McCarver watches ball as he hits the game-winning home run in the 10th inning in Game 5 of the baseball's World Series against the New York Yankees on Oct. 12, 1964 in Yankee Stadium in New York. McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., due to heart failure, baseball Hall of Fame announced. He was 81.  (AP Photo/File)
            
              FILE -  St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson receives a congratulatory hug from catcher Tim McCarver after he pitched a three-hit, 7-2 victory in Game 7 over the Boston Red Sox to win the 1967 World Series at Fenway Park, on Oct. 12, 1967 in Boston. McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., due to heart failure, baseball Hall of Fame announced. He was 81.  (AP Photo/File)
            
              FILE -  Tim McCarver greets the crowd before accepting the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting as part of the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies, at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 21, 2012. McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., due to heart failure, baseball Hall of Fame announced. He was 81.  (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth, File)
            
              FILE -  Tim McCarver, a member of the St. Louis Cardinals' 1967 World Series championship team, takes part in a ceremony honoring the 50th anniversary of the victory before the start of a baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox on May 17, 2017, in St. Louis. McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., due to heart failure, baseball Hall of Fame announced. He was 81.  (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
            
              FILE -  Baseball announcer Tim McCarver poses in the press box before the start of Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Oct. 2, 2003 in New York. McCarver, the All-Star catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster who during 60 years in baseball won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and had a long run as the one of the country's most recognized, incisive and talkative television commentators, died Thursday morning, Feb. 16, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., due to heart failure, baseball Hall of Fame announced. He was 81.  (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
Tim McCarver, big league catcher and broadcaster, dies at 81