Bob Uecker, Aka Mr. Baseball, Dead At 90

Bob Uecker, former baseball player, beloved sportscaster, and sometimes actor, passed away on Thursday, January 16, 2025 at the age of 90. His family confirmed in a statement that "Mr. Baseball," as he was commonly known, died following a "private battle with small cell lung cancer," per USA Today. The Milwaukee Brewers noted, in their own statement, "Ueck was the light of the Brewers, the soundtrack of our summers, the laughter in our hearts, and his passing is a profound loss. He was the heart and soul of Wisconsin and a dear friend. Bob loved people; his presence warmed every room and he had a way of welcoming all of us into his world as if we were lifelong friends."

Uecker was involved with America's favorite pastime for over 65 years, as he pointed out in a 2020 interview on "The Dan Patrick Show." Over the course of his storied career, Uecker was named the Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association on five occasions. He was also inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2011. In fact, there's even a bronze statue of him erected outside Miller Park. And yet, as Uecker's family stated, "While his contributions to the game are noteworthy, it is his kindness, humility, and love for family and friends that we will hold closest to our hearts.

So, how did Bob Uecker first get involved with baseball? According to the Baseball Almanac, Uecker was born in 1934 and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a huge fan of minor league baseball as a child, and grew up watching the Milwaukee Brewers play on Borchert Field. He knew early on that he wanted to pursue the sport as a career.

At 16 years old, Uecker was invited to do a workout with the Milwaukee Braves, according to Major League Baseball. "I was a pretty good pitcher," Uecker told MLB. "I threw upper 80s, low 90s, maybe." The pitching coach for the team, Johnny Cooney, then came up to Uecker. "'All right, now let me see your good fastball,'" Uecker remembered him saying. "I said, 'I have been throwing my good fastball!' And he says, 'Well, then I recommend you get a job.'" Although he noted that Cooney didn't remember him when they crossed paths again years later, Uecker did, in fact, heed the coach's advice.

Bob Uecker continued to play pitcher in his early years of baseball, though he switched to catcher while playing in the County Major League as a teen, per MLB. Uecker recalled the day he quit pitching and said he was having a bad game on Wick Field in Milwaukee. "I'm throwing pitches all over. It was a bad day," he told MLB. "And the catcher, a guy who has since passed, isn't doing much better." When they both left the field, Uecker told the catcher he thought he did better than him. The catcher dared him to put on the catching gear and go back out, so Uecker did and enjoyed it.

Uecker joined the Army when he was 18, according to MLB. When the Army baseball team needed a new catcher, Uecker volunteered himself and claimed he used to play at Marquette University in order to impress a lieutenant. After two weeks, Uecker said, "They put me in special services, I joined the team, and I played baseball all over the country."

In 1956, Uecker made his baseball debut as the catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, a hometown club team. He also played for the then-Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though he wasn't an exceptional player, he became known for making people laugh and keeping baseball lighthearted, according to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

Bob Uecker retired from baseball in 1967 after suffering injuries and set his sights on sportscasting, per SABR. He began calling play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers' radio broadcasts and commentated for televised major league baseball games. Even more opportunities opened up in the 1970s, when Uecker started working for "Monday Night Baseball" on ABC.

Also in the 1970s, Uecker started appearing on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson, per "The Dan Patrick Show." When sports radio host Dan Patrick asked Uecker how he ended up on "The Tonight Show," Uecker said it all began when his good friend and famous trumpeter, Al Hirt, told him he was going to get Uecker on the show. "I said, 'Oh yeah, sure,'" Uecker recalled. "Well, I got a call from 'The Tonight Show' about two weeks later." After a brief audition and another two-week wait, Uecker was called back and performed on the show. "The one thing that was funny about it," he recalled, "was at the end of the show ... I heard Johnny say to Ed [McMahon], 'Did that guy really play baseball?'"

In the 1980s, Uecker decided to further his entertainment career. He appeared in several commercials for Miller Lite and was cast as George Owens in the series "Mr. Belvedere." He also appeared as himself in a variety of shows, including "LateLine" in the 1990s and "Futurama" in 2002.

Beyond baseball, Bob Uecker loved to fish, as noted by On Milwaukee. He became a regular at charity fishing tournaments held in Wisconsin hosted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In addition, Uecker wrote a book published in 1986 called "Catcher in the Wry: Outrageous but True Stories of Baseball." According to GoodReads, Uecker used the book to memorialize his time behind the plate and his relationships with his famous teammates, including Hank Aaron and Bob Gibson.

Though not much is known about Uecker's first wife, he married his second wife, Judy, in 1976 in Louisiana, per AP News. The couple welcomed four children together: Steve, Leann, Sue Ann, and Bob Jr. (via SABR). He and Judy got divorced after 25 years of marriage in 2001. At the time, AP News reported that Judy Uecker received $4.27 million in assets. Unfortunately, Uecker's son, Steve, died in 2012 at 52 years old, per WISN. Uecker is survived by his three living children.