90 Years of Mr. Baseball: 5 things you (probably) don’t know about Bob Uecker

Most major leaguers are lucky to spend a decade with a team. Bob Uecker has earned 54 (and counting.) 

The Brewers broadcasting legend’s Milwaukee roots go back as far as he does: Uecker was the first Milwaukeean to play for the city’s first baseball team, the Braves, from 1962-63. After retiring from playing the game, Uecker returned to Cream City to call it. And the rest, as they say, is history. 

Here are a few of the best moments in Uecker’s story:

Uecker admittedly wasn’t the greatest ballplayer, but his best years were in Milwaukee.
The career backup catcher finished his six seasons in the major leagues with a .200 average (146 hits in 731 at-bats). However, during his two seasons as a Milwaukee Brave (1962-63), he averaged .250 (20 hits in 80 at-bats). No wonder he returned!

While Uecker didn’t get any play time during the 1964 World Series, his manager at the time partially credits him for the win. “If Bob hadn’t been on the Cardinals, then it’s questionable whether we could have beaten the Yankees,” St. Louis manager Johnny Keane told reporters of the impact Uecker had on the 1964 pennant race. While he had just 106 at-bats and hit .198 that World Series season, Ueck was credited with “keeping the team loose.”

“Anyone with ability can play in the big leagues,” Uecker later quipped. “But to be able to trick people year in and year out the way I did, I think that was a much greater feat.”

Uecker’s big mainstream break came in 1969. Johnny Carson’s bandleader, Al Hirt, arranged for Uecker to appear on “The Tonight show.” He quickly became a favorite and, over the next two and a half decades, went on to make 100 appearances before Carson retired in 1992.

From 1985-96, Uecker hosted his own show: a 30-minute sports blooper production called “Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports.”

He gained worldwide notoriety after his role in “Major League.” Uecker played disgruntled broadcaster Harry Doyle in the 1989 comedy. Despite being set in Cleveland, the film was primarily shot in Milwaukee because it was cheaper! But look closely, and you’ll see they didn’t do a perfect job: the sign for the TV station atop the scoreboard is for WTMJ, Milwaukee’s NBC affiliate.

As for Uecker, he was pretty perfect in his role. So perfect, in fact, that the director encouraged him to ad-lib many of his most famous lines, including, “This guy threw at his own SON in a father-son game” and “Heywood crushes one towards South America!” Uecker went on to reprise the character in two Major League franchise sequels.

Uecker is the only member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization with two statues at AmFam Field. The first (dedicated in 2012) is located in front of the stadium, west of downtown Milwaukee. The second (dedicated in 2014) is in the last row of section 422, way up in the upper deck – a nod to Uecker’s Miller Lite ads of the 1970’s and 80’s.

Hank Aaron, Bud Selig, and Robin Yount are the only other Brewers with statues at AmFam.

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