The view from the cheap seats has been pretty good for Bob Uecker.
The legendary Milwaukee Brewers announcer celebrates his 90th birthday on January 26th, 2024. Uecker is a one-of-a-kind personality who has been part of the fabric of Major League Baseball since his playing days in the 1960’s. And even though his playing career wouldn’t be enough to put him into Cooperstown with his career -1.0 WAR as a catcher for four teams across six seasons, his contributions to the sport since did earn him induction in 2003 as the Ford C. Frick honoree.
Here’s a look at some of the best of Bob Uecker from down the years in sports, entertainment, and elsewhere.
Mr. Baseball
Uecker rose to fame in the 1970’s as he began his announcing career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971, soon after he retired in 1967. He was a frequent guest with Johnny Carson where he would poke fun at his playing days with the nickname “Mr. Baseball” that would follow him to this day. Uecker showed his trademark sense of humor that would make him a star from the beginning. Here’s a very early appearance with Carson in 1971 where Uecker delighted the audience looking at various “highlights” of his career with a hysterical deadpan delivery.
Uecker would make regular appearances with Carson throughout the 1970s and 1980s that would see him become a celebrity figure in pop culture. In the early 1980’s, Uecker would be featured in a series of Miller Lite ads that hold up remarkably well over 40 years later, again playing on a caricature of himself and touting his relatively anonymous baseball career. “I must be in the front rooooooooooow…” is arguably the most well-known of the spots.
He would also host various renditions of blooper shows including “The Wacky World of Sports” and make appearances at WrestleMania where he was famously put in a chokehold by Andre the Giant.
From George Owens to Harry Doyle
With his celebrity status and commercial prowess, Uecker also acted in television and movies. From 1985-1990 he played George Owens on the ABC family sitcom Mr. Belvedere. (Which should lead you on this side quest to this amazing Norm Macdonald story about Uecker.)
But Uecker’s acting role which he is best known for is playing Cleveland Indians announcer Harry Doyle in the Major League movies. Uecker was able to ad lib much of the lines that Doyle had, many of which are still quoted by fans of the movies to this day. While the Major League films had star-studded casts, Uecker stole the show and is one of the central reasons why they remain some of the most beloved and most rewatchable sports movies ever made.
The Voice of the Brewers
At 90 years old, Uecker is amazingly still working in the Milwaukee Brewers broadcast booth. These days Uecker shares duties by doing Milwaukee home games on Brewers radio telecasts. He is entering his 53rd season as the team’s flagship announcer, the fourth longest tenured run with one team in the history of Major League Baseball.
The legendary broadcaster has not one, but two statues at American Family Field and has won just about every honor conceivable for his work with the club. He also took some turns nationally calling games, most notably NBC, where he called multiple World Series alongside Bob Costas and Joe Morgan in the 1990s.
Whether it be locally or nationally, in baseball or in acting, in telling jokes and telling stories, it has been a life and legacy unlike any other for “Mr. Baseball.” Thanks for all the laughs, Bob Uecker, and here’s to more to come.
