Joe Buck has earned one of the most illustrious broadcasting careers in sports history, but he knows he was afforded early opportunities because of who his father was.
Buck was honored as part of the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) 2024 Hall of Fame class Monday night. During his speech, one of the underlying themes was “I just did it.” As Buck recalled the times he was handed a microphone before he was ready, the Hall of Fame broadcaster expressed appreciation for the opportunities his father Jack Buck gave him.
“He threw me on Cardinal radio when I was 16 and again when I was 18, he knew I could handle it and I just did it… I was in over my head, but I just did it,” Buck said during his speech. “I became a full-time Cardinal announcer [In 1991]. I sounded like Peter Brady going through puberty, but I had my dad and Mike [Shannon] as my broadcast partners and I just did it… Fox fell out of the sky in 1994, got the rights to cover the NFL, I auditioned in L.A… I got hired on the spot, but I had never done football, let alone the NFL. I practiced with my dad, I flew out to L.A, I did an audition in the studio, and I got hired on the spot, I was proud to be there, but I just did it. I got baseball in 1996 as Fox got the rights and I was there in the World Series in the Bronx, Yankees and the Braves. Jeter was a rookie and so was I and I just did it.”
Buck “just did it,” but not without recognizing these were opportunities that other aspiring broadcasters weren’t getting.
“Despite all the guilt that I’ve felt over all these years because of all the head starts I got, and man, I got all of them,” Buck acknowledged. “I was a nepo baby times 10. And I make no excuses for any of that. The best thing was my dad was my best friend and there was none of that pushing or prodding or any of that. But I know I’m lucky to be Jack and Carol Buck’s son.”
Buck was calling Major League Baseball games on the radio as a teenager and got hired on the spot for the NFL on Fox without any NFL experience. Those opportunities didn’t come because he was a prodigy, they came because his father was Jack Buck. And Joe Buck is aware of that.
But Joe Buck also knows he made the most of those opportunities. Calling 23 World Series, seven Super Bowls and becoming a Hall of Fame broadcaster is a testament to Joe’s talent and work ethic. Joe Buck was handed his start in broadcasting, but every accolade he’s received since has been earned.
[NSMA]
