Beloved baseball player, broadcaster, raconteur, tv ("Mr. Belvedere") and movie ("Major League" and two sequels) personality Bob Uecker passed away yesterday at the age of 90. Uecker, who was known facetiously as "Mr. Baseball" because of his lifetime .200 average, was one of the most naturally self-effacing, funny people ever to appear in front of an audience or on air. His Miller Lite ad tag line "I must be in the front rowww" is a cultural marker for anyone of a certain age. He broadcasted games for the Milwaukee Brewers for 54 years. He made over 100 appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," and countless more on David Letterman's show, where he always kept the audience and host in hysterics with his baseball stories.
Multiple sports talk personalities marked his passing yesterday, including Rich Eisen and fellow Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Brian Anderson. Here's Major League Baseball's tribute to Uecker:
Ueck was one of the great American storytellers... He'll be greatly missed.
ReplyDelete