Jimmy Piersall - Career After Retirement From Baseball

Career After Retirement From Baseball

Piersall later had broadcasting jobs with the Texas Rangers beginning in 1974 (doing color and play-by-play for televised games) and with the Chicago White Sox from 1977 to 1981, and was teamed with Harry Caray. He ultimately was fired after excessive on-air criticism of team management.

He became the subject of a movie based on his writings, Fear Strikes Out, where he was portrayed by Anthony Perkins (directed by Robert Mulligan, 1957). Piersall would eventually disown the film due to what he believed were its distortion of the facts, including over-blaming his father for his problems. Besides Fear Strikes Out, Piersall authored The Truth Hurts, in which he details his ouster from the White Sox organization.

Piersall, who winters in Arizona and still does a sports radio show in Chicago, was invited to a White House event honoring the 2004 World Champions Boston Red Sox on March 2, 2005. According to a Red Sox official, the White House prepared a guest list of about 1,000 for the event, scheduled to be staged on the South Lawn. "This is a real thrill for a poor kid from Waterbury, Connecticut," Piersall said. "I'm a 75 year old man. There aren't many things left." He also said he visited the White House once before as guest of President John F. Kennedy.

On September 17, 2010, Jimmy Piersall was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.