The voice of Major League Baseball’s Game of the Week broadcasts, Joe Garagiola, became an advocate against tobacco in baseball later in his career. His visits to major league camps on the topic included “blistering and at times graphic presentations to players,” according to usatoday.com. (Shown, in 2004, in an Arizona Republic photo, Garagiola holds a poster of baseball player Bill Tuttle, a victim of oral cancer.)

Garagiola died yesterday, March 23 at age 90. The message he delivered, and the manner in which he shared it, will impact numerous players and fans.

According to a drbicuspid.com story, Garagiola had been the former chair of the National Spit Tobacco Education Program (NSTEP). He also received the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s Outstanding Public Advocacy Award.

“All of us at Major League Baseball are deeply saddened by the loss of Joe Garagiola,” stated Commissioner Rob Manfred. “He served baseball as a leader in the fight against smokeless tobacco, working with NSTEP and traveling to each Major League camp during spring training to educate players about the dangers of tobacco and oral cancer.”

As a player, Garagiola served as catcher with the St. Louis Cardinals when they won the 1946 World Series. Off the field, his three decades as a broadcaster and years as an educator are notable.

Read about the baseball legend: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/sports/baseball/joe-garagiola-broadcasting-catcher-dies-at-90.html?_r=0

Learn why the New York City Council approved a ban on smokeless tobacco at ticketed sporting events on Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 44-3: https://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15045514/new-york-city-approves-smokeless-tobacco-ban-sporting-events