The cultural icon and former Brave passed away at age 90.
Thursday morning the baseball world was saddened with the announcement that “Mr. Baseball” Bob Uecker had passed away at age 90. The long-time voice of the Milwaukee Brewers crossed over into media after his playing career and became a notable entertainment personality appearing on ‘Late Night with Johnny Carson’, starring in the television show ‘Mr. Belvedere’ and was best known by many for his role as Harry Doyle in the legendary ‘Major League’ movie franchise.
Bob Uecker was, and will always be, the soul of Brewers Baseball#ThankYouUeck pic.twitter.com/nolBZpIgJr
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) January 16, 2025
On the field, the Milwaukee-native debuted with his hometown Milwaukee Braves in 1962 as a reserve catcher. He’d spend parts of six seasons in the big leagues – including stops with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies – before ending his career back with the Atlanta Braves in 1967.
For his career, he appeared in 297 games – 108 with the Braves. His paltry offensive output not withstanding, he was a beloved teammate, and can be seen in the clip below.
Bob Uecker’s appearance on Johnny Carson were always must see TV.
Here he is on The Tonight Show, going over photos of his career, including the famous Bob Gibson photo. pic.twitter.com/gMkX5qFddL
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) January 16, 2025
When his on-the-field career ended, he spent time in Atlanta doing local television broadcasting before joined the Brewers as their radio voice in 1971 – a role he held through the 2024 season. His humor and charisma built upon his acumen as a broadcaster for which he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 as the Ford C. Frick Award recipient.
Uecker’s work as an actor and television show host led to notoriety beyond the diamond. He hosted a variety of shows and was the well-known star in a long-running series of beer ads where Uecker’s self-deprecating sense of humor was on display “in the front row”.
He also penned an autobiography in the early 1980’s titled ‘Catcher in the Wry’.
Despite all his other endeavors, it was baseball broadcasting in which Uecker excelled. And for more than five decades he sewed a verbal tapestry for the game he loved, with his hometown team.
MLB posted a video that compiled many of his best calls and moments.
19 minutes of legendary Bob Uecker calls and moments pic.twitter.com/2gcQK2Mtzf
— MLB (@MLB) January 16, 2025
After seven decades as a MLB player and broadcaster, the game and its fans bid farewell to a true one-of-a-kind personality.