Baseball legend Bob Uecker has died. He was 90 years old.
Robert George Uecker was born January 26, 1934 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. He enlisted in the US Army in 1954 and eventually made the rank of corporal. Following his military service, Bob signed a minor league contract with his hometown Milwaukee Braves in 1956.
Uecker made his big league debut as a catcher with the club in 1962. In 1964 he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was part of the World Series champion Cards that year. He would be traded to Philadelphia after the 1965 season. The Phillies would trade him to the now-Atlanta Braves in 1967. That would be Bob’s final year playing baseball.
In his six years in the majors, Bob played in 297 games and had 731 at bats, 146 hits, 14 homers, 74 RBI and had a .200 batting average. That line put him near the bottom for hitters of that era. What set him apart was his .981 fielding percentage behind the plate. That number would have been higher if it weren’t for a full season of catching knuckleballer Phil Neikro.
In 1971, Bob would make his debut as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers. He would call games for the next 54 years. He is the second longest tenured radio announcer in Baseball after Royals broadcaster Denny Matthews.
Along with his radio announcing duties, Bob hosted a sports bloopers show, Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports. He also appeared as an announcer for the WWF, calling matches at WrestleMania III and WrestleMania IV.
Uecker appeared in several commercials, TV shows and movies. He was the face of Miller Light in the 1980s. His best known film role was as broadcaster Harry Doyle in the Major League series.
Requiescat in pace.
