Bob Uecker was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in January 1934, to Gus, a Swiss immigrant, and Mary, a Michigan native. The oldest of three children, Uecker spent his childhood playing baseball and rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers, who were part of the “American Association” at the time.
Details of Uecker’s military service are sparse, but after high school, he joined the Army in 1954. During his two years of service, he played baseball at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
After completing his enlistment, Uecker pursued a professional baseball career, signing with the Milwaukee Braves, then part of MLB. Known more for his wit than his athletic ability, Uecker played as a catcher. Following several years in the minor leagues, he joined four MLB teams between 1962 and 1967. He was a backup catcher on the St. Louis Cardinals’ World Championship team in 1964.
Uecker retired after the 1967 season, which saw him lead the National League in passed balls and catcher errors, ending his career with a .200 batting average and a -1.0 WAR. He was subsequently hired as a scout by Bud Selig, the future MLB commissioner and then-owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, who later called Uecker “the worst scout in baseball history” but believed he had potential as an announcer.
Selig’s instincts were right. Beginning in 1971, Uecker became the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, a role he held for 54 years. Nicknamed “Mr. Baseball” by Johnny Carson after numerous appearances on The Tonight Show, Uecker also gained fame through TV commercials, hosting Saturday Night Live, and starring in the sitcom Mr. Belvedere. He is widely remembered for his portrayal of the over-the-top broadcaster Harry Doyle in the 1989 baseball comedy Major League.
Uecker’s accolades included inductions into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, the National Radio Hall of Fame, and the WWE Hall of Fame (celebrity wing). He also received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2003.
Uecker passed away on January 16, 2025, at the age of 90, at his home in Wisconsin.
