Bob Uecker, a commentator who earned the nickname “Mr. Baseball” over more than a half-century of calling games for the Milwaukee Brewers, has died. The former baseball player and actor was 90 years old.
His death was announced by the Brewers, who called the sarcastic and self-deprecating commentator a “beloved friend.”
“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,” they shared. “Saying goodbye to Bob shakes us all. He was so much more than a Milwaukee Brewers icon. He was a national treasure. Bob entertained us with his words and storytelling, so it is no surprise that his passing now leaves us at a loss for our own words.”
According to a statement from Uecker’s family, the broadcaster had been privately battling cancer since 2023.
Before his long tenure in the broadcast booth, Uecker was a professional baseball player. He joined the league in 1962 with the then-Milwaukee Braves playing 297 career games as a catcher and winning a World Series as a member of the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals. Uecker joined the Brewers as a scout but quickly found he could go farther with his mouth than his eyes.
“For every guy, I wrote, ‘Fringe major leaguer,’” Uecker said of his days scouring amateur games. “So in case he made it nobody could say, ‘How’d you miss that guy?’”
He joined the Brewers as a commentator in 1971 and became a fixture on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.” After honing his comedic chops in the booth and on Carson’s couch, Uecker broke into Hollywood as the fictional play-by-play man for the bedraggled Cleveland Indians in the “Major League” movies. He played sportswriter George Owens in the long-running sitcom “Mr. Belvedere.”
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred commended the Hall of Famer for always coming back to the sport.
“Near the beginning of his remarkable 54-year run in the Brewers’ radio booth, Bob’s trademark wit became a staple of television and movies. Even with his considerable success in Hollywood, Bob remained fiercely loyal to baseball and to Milwaukee,” Manfred shared in a statement. “He loved the game and used his platform to help numerous charitable causes in his hometown and beyond. Bob was the genuine item: always the funniest person in any room he was in, and always an outstanding ambassador for our National Pastime. We are grateful for this baseball life like no other, and we will never forget him.”
