James Timothy McCarver spent well over a half-century in and around major league baseball, as a catcher and broadcaster. He died today in Memphis at the age of 81.
McCarver played 21 seasons over four decades for four teams:
Cardinals (1959-61, 1963-69)
Phillies (1970-72)
Expos (1972)
Cardinals (1973-74)
Red Sox (1974-75)
Phillies (1975-80)McCarver debuted with the Cardinals at the age of 17 in 1959. Over three seasons, he struggled, going 22-for-101 (.218/.233/.297) in 40 games. After spending 1962 in the minors, he returned to the bigs to stay in 1963. McCarver played in three World Series in five years with the Cardinals (1964, 67, 68), and was on the winning side in the first two.