For those of us who love baseball legends, it is becoming an increasingly tough winter.
Former Major League catcher, Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcaster and comedy entertainer Bob Uecker passed away on Thursday after a private battle with lung cancer that had gone on for two years. He was ten days short of his 91st birthday.
Uecker spent seventy of those ninety years on this earth as a steward of the game of baseball, first with a six-year career as a Major League catcher for the Milwaukee (and later Atlanta) Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. He would win the World Series with the Cardinals in 1964 on a team that would star Ken Boyer, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock. While never a good offensive catcher at the MLB level (.200/.293/.287 14 home runs with three off of Hall of Fame pitchers in 843 plate appearances), he was considered a strong defensive catcher in his career to the point he would catch knuckleballer Phil Niekro in Atlanta.
Upon retiring from the Braves in 1967, he would initially stay in Atlanta to work in local television before ultimately returning to his native Milwaukee to become the Brewers radio broadcaster in 1971. While he would shrink his schedule in later years due to health issues (the Brewers rightfully offered him the opportunity to basically work home games in 2024 when he felt up to the job, with their other radio guys on standby), Uecker would announce games on the radio for the Brewers for fifty-four years- the second longest actively tenured broadcaster in the sport.
To date, he has been a staple of Brewers radio in every season except their inaugural season of 1969. He would help mentor many other broadcasters over the years. Many who find themselves in booths in MLB parks across the country grew their talent alongside Uecker.
Among Uecker’s qualities as a broadcaster was his sense of humor. As a ballplayer who hadn’t found a ton of success in the Majors, he could be incredibly self-deprecating about his own career, but with a deep love for the sport that shone through. He was able to use his own personal experiences to convey exactly how hard the game can really be. That was the source of his humor. Don’t take things so seriously. Success isn’t certain. This game is REALLY hard. He would co-mingle that humor with love and memory for the sport and all its eras. The combination made him one of the best.
Uecker was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 as the winner of the Ford C. Frick broadcasting award. His Hall of Fame induction speech is among the most famous in history for its humor. It is definitely worth checking out on YouTube when you have a chance.
On top of becoming coming renowned within Milwaukee baseball history, Uecker made a greater name for himself as an entertainer. He would carry that natural comedy and self-deprecating manner onto the small screen and take his post-playing career to a whole other level. Uecker would make more than 100 appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, at a time when Carson dominated the late-night television game in a way that hadn’t been seen before or since. He hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1984 and ended up co-starring in the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere. He was also the prime spokesman for several comedic Miller Lite commercials in the 1980s.
As a native to a Midwest/Great Lakes/”Rustbelt” city, I want to emphasize, that despite this fame, Uecker never abandoned his hometown. Through it all, he remained based in Milwaukee, broadcasting the Brewers even as Hollywood came calling. He did it all on a handshake deal for most of his tenure as well, only signing a contract in 2021 for insurance reasons.
Closer to our own home, most Cleveland fans have found themselves cracking up time and time again listening to Uecker enthusiastically and misleadingly utter the sentence “Juuuuuuustt a bit outside, he tried the corner and missed” among other sarcastic and absurd zingers from the movie Major League. While not the sole attraction of one of the best baseball movies ever, Uecker was able to make his Indians radio broadcast character Harry Doyle one of the most notable and quotable within the entire film. There are so many other good ones.
“Ball four, ball, eight, ball twelve, and Vaughn walks the bases loaded… I can’t believe the Yankees are laying off these pitches!”
“The post-game show is brought to you by… I can’t find it, the hell with it!”.
“Vaughn was a Juvenile Delinquent in the off-season.”
“This guy threw at his own kid in a father-son game.”
“That’ll close the book on Kellner… thank God!”.
If I didn’t include your personal favorite, my apologies. I could genuinely go on.
But his legacy is deepest in that native Milwaukee. Uecker would be a common sight in the Brewers clubhouse over the years, even keeping a locker and throwing batting practice in his younger days, but he would remain an important part of the baseball operation throughout his entire life. Managers would sometimes ask him to be included in team meetings. He would become close to team stars like Robin Yount and Ryan Braun over the years.
But while much of Uecker’s greater fame and notoriety came a generation or so ago, he was still beloved and appreciated by modern-day players. Baseball’s possible next big thing Paul Skenes asked to meet Uecker when the Pirates came to Milwaukee this season. Uecker and Brewers All-Star outfield Christian Yelich became close after Yelich’s acquisition in 2018.
Upon their playoff defeat this past post-season, Uecker had been in the booth for what would end up being his final broadcast. He would be seen after the game in the clubhouse consoling losing pitcher Devin Williams with his trademark humor. Multiple former players mentioned he was the one guy in baseball the wanted to introduce their parents to.
Much like Rickey Henderson, who unfortunately passed earlier this winter, he embodied much about what can be great about baseball and what the game needs in the modern day. He was beloved by both young and old. Uecker had confided that two legends he had played with had called him in their own final days because they wanted to talk, hear his voice once more and have his humor help them find perspective.
That’s how much Bob Gibson and Hank Aaron thought of Bob Uecker. Now, they and so many others may encounter his fun-loving spirit once again. The heavens are better for it. For us that are earth-bound and adore baseball, he will be missed.
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