Many familiar faces that appeared on baseball cards and went on to stay in baseball after their playing days passed away in the past few months.
Bob Uecker was one of them.
Born in Milwaukee, Uke signed a contract with his hometown Braves in 1956 and after a couple of seasons in the minor leagues where he had a well-earned reputation as a good defensive catcher, was brought to the big leagues in 1962 and saw action in 33 games and batted .250. He reached the same average again the following season but only participated in 13 games.
Dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for the ’64 season, Bob batted .189 and got into 40 games. In 1965 he did better as he batted .228 in 53 games. He wore a Philadelphia Phillies uniform in ’66 and got into 78 games, the most in his career, and batted .208. It was limited action the following year only playing in 18 games and batting .171. 1967 was his last year in the majors as he moved to the Atlanta Braves and recorded his lowest batting average only .146 in 62 games.
Uecker ended his major league playing career with a 200 batting average in 297 games. He had some big moments, including a hit off Sandy Koufax. And he could boast that he caught two of the best pitchers in the game in Warren Spahn of the Braves and Bob Gibson of the Cardinals.
I ran into Uecker several times on the baseball beat and once caught him relaxing in the visitors’ dugout at Tiger Stadium before he went to work broadcasting the upcoming game with the Brewers. I asked him if he minded if I recorded our conversation.
With his permission, this is what transpired.
ME: You played in many of the old long, gone legendary stadiums, Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Sportsman’s Park (renamed Busch Stadium) in St. Louis, and the Polo Grounds in New York. Do you miss the old parks?
UECKER: I sure do. I loved them. Broadcasting, of course, is much easier in the new stadiums as there’s much more room and the bathroom is much closer. I’ll tell you the place I really love – Tiger Stadium. I love it as a spectator and broadcaster. I love watching games there. We’re so close to the field and can hear conversations between the catcher and umpire.
ME: Fill in the time after you were released after the 1967 season until you began broadcasting.
UECKER: The Braves asked me to work in the front office in public relations. I did some speaking and asked to work on some broadcasts. Then I met Al Hirt – the great trumpet player – and we became very close friends. I worked on a gig he did in Atlanta and his agent asked if I would like to be on the “Tonight” show with Johnny Carson. Ten days later I did my first appearance (Uecker did over a hundred shows) and that was really the start of everything. It was all due to Al Hirt. In 1970 Bud Selig, owner of the Milwaukee Brewers asked me to join his broadcasts. I came back in 1971 and been there ever since. And everything – the national broadcasts, movies, television, commercials – all evolved from there.
ME: With all the celebrities you must have quite an autograph collection.
UECKER: I’m not a celebrity seeker. I would never ask for an autograph. They are just people to me. I do have a picture of Frank Sinatra. He’s like the king. I became friends with some entertainers, but it’s not a hero type thing. I’m not a collector of anything. So don’t be offended if I don’t ask for your autograph even though I read many of your articles.
Bob Uecker never finished high school, enlisted in the army at 20, and went on to quite a successful life. He was 90 when he died in the first month of 2025 less than two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. He lives on in television reruns of his many appearances in the sitcom, “Mr. Belvidere,” and his recurring role as a play-by-play man in the amusing “Major League” movies.
