Bob Uecker and I go way back.
I first heard “Mr. Baseball” on the original MLB ap, which was the AM radio on the family car in the mid-1970s.
The old four-door station wagon could find games anywhere east of St. Louis while parked outside my boyhood home in Wilmette, Ill. Milwaukee was a favorite landing spot because the Brewers were an emerging team and they had Uecker.
When I got to Marquette, Bob was appointment radio. Back then, the only way you could follow the Brewers live on a daily basis was via Uecker. Not every game was on TV. When TV took over, it didn’t matter. People stuck with Bob or synched the radio to the TV.
Since then, Bob has been a constant. He was a necessity to us second-shifters and a must-listen as we commuted between Kenosha and Chicago.
He was the embodiment of what a baseball announcer should be. I put forth because of his knowledge of the game, play-by-play skills, attachment to his city, story-telling ability and his trademark sense of humor, Bob Uecker is the greatest baseball broadcaster ever.
My wife and I had two encounters with him.
Thanks to the generosity of local baseball maven Bob Lee, we saw Uecker speak at a testimonial. In talking about his early baseball career, Bob said, “My Dad didn’t think I was any good. In fact, he thought I sucked.
“That’s OK. I thought he sucked, too.”
In June 2018, I had a more-guts-than-brains moment and entered the visitor’s radio booth at Guaranteed Rate Field where Bob was prepping for a Sunday matinee broadcast. He was making a rare road appearance to pay tribute to Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson, who was retiring at the end of the season.
After asking Uecker for a photo, I informed him we were from Kenosha and knew his pal and ex-minor league teammate Lee. “That’s too bad” he deadpanned.
Following the quick picture, I said, “Have fun with Hawk today.” His response: “I thought it was Andre Dawson (also known as “Hawk.”)
It was so Uecker.
We thought we got our own private joke but I see Scott Merkin of WhiteSox.com posted a similar story.
Let’s just say we heard that crack first!
RIP to the man who made the Brewers famous.