As the sun rises on Milwaukee this Tuesday, a familiar voice will once again resonate from American Family Field: Bob Uecker. His unmistakable tones will be reverberating through airwaves and earpieces as the Milwaukee Brewers take to the field for their home opener against the Minnesota Twins. Uecker, much like a seasoned maestro ready to conduct a symphony, will be back behind the microphone, though the extent of his broadcasting duties for the 90-year-old throughout the remainder of the season remains clouded in mystery.
Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers’ president of business operations, affirms that the euphonic crackle of Uecker’s voice signaling the first pitch is akin to the official ascension of summer in Milwaukee. With an unparalleled dedication and spirit, Bob’s eager anticipation of calling the game on WTMJ and the network on April 2nd was confirmed, but Schlesinger maintains that this commitment to the mic will be taken one day at a time.
A veritable wordsmith of baseball, Uecker has been the vocal identity of the Brewers since 1971, a bond that has grown steadily over half a century. While he has whittled down his radius of relay to home radio assignments in recent years, his constant pregame presence on the field and yearly visits to the locker room have kept him close at the heart of the action.
Just as much a part of the Brewers as the team itself, Uecker was there, soaking in the champagne showers of their locker-room celebration, when they clinched their NL Central title last season. Milwaukee holds Uecker in such high esteem, two statues were erected in his honor, one gracing the entrance of American Family Field and another placed cunningly in the terrace level’s back row- lip service to Uecker’s classic Miller Lite commercial where he humorously declared, “I must be in the front row!”
The year 2020 was a landmark for Uecker, marking his 50th broadcasting season. Despite having played in the majors from 1962-1967 with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies, it was his charismatic personality post-playing that earned him acclaimed fame.
Not only did he serve as a national color commentator for ABC and NBC baseball telecasts, but he also built a unique repertoire of appearances on late-night talk shows, beer commercials, and even gained cinematic accolades with the movie “Major League.” The cherry on top? Starring in “Mr. Belvedere,” an ABC sitcom airing over 100 episodes from 1985-1990. As the Brewers’ season unfurls, Milwaukee can take comfort knowing it’s their man, Bob Uecker, up in the box.
