Major League Baseball lost one of its trademark personalities.
The Milwaukee Brewers announced that longtime team play-by-play announcer Bob Uecker, who gained national fame with his appearances on ‘The Johnny Carson Show’ and his role as broadcaster Harry Doyle in the ‘Major League’ movie franchise, died Thursday at 90 years old.
The Uecker family said in a statement Uecker had been in a private battle with small cell lung cancer since early 2023. The team called it ‘one of the most difficult days in Milwaukee Brewers history.’
Uecker had been the radio play-by-play voice of the Brewers since 1971, a run of more than 50 years that made him an indelible part of the MLB experience in Milwaukee and throughout the country. Uecker was a player before his broadcasting career, and eventually a comedian, actor and corporate pitchman who became ubiquitous on television and movie screens during the 1980s and 1990s.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Uecker’s influence spans generations and genres. Here’s more on the legendary life of this broadcasting legend, his crossover into the world of acting and movies and the best moments from his career:
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
Bob Uecker: ‘Mr. Baseball’ with Johnny Carson
Uecker first crossed over into the mainstream on ‘The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,’ beginning in 1971. Carson gave Uecker the nickname, ‘Mr. Baseball’ during Uecker’s first appearance and it stuck throughout Uecker’s career. Uecker was reportedly invited on the show more than 100 times with his self-deprecating humor and deadpan delivery turning him into one of Carson’s regular guests.
Bob Uecker’s ‘Major League’ star turn and acting career
Uecker’s popularity as an entertainer and broadcaster, helped by Carson’s seal of approval, eventually led to an acting career. Uecker’s biggest role was as Harry Doyle, the quick-witted, sarcastic (and sometimes-inebriated) broadcaster of the Cleveland Indians in the ‘Major League’ film franchise who was even more outlandish than Uecker. Some of Uecker’s most famous quotes from the movie are still recited today, more than 35 years after the original film’s theatrical release in 1989.
In addition to various cameo appearances playing himself since then, Uecker was a regular cast member of the sitcom ‘Mr. Belvedere. Uecker played the father and sportswriter George Owen in the the TV show, which aired from 1985-1990. Uecker also hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1984 and starred in a number of national television advertising campaigns, most notably for Miller Lite.
Bob Uecker, Andre the Giant and WWE’s Wrestlemania
Uecker’s broad base of appeal also took him inside the world of pro wrestling, where he played a role in a couple memorable Wrestlemania moments and earned a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Uecker first served as the ring announcer for the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match at Wrestlemania III at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan in 1987. A year later at Wrestlemania IV, Andre the Giant choked out Uecker for mouthing off to him during a backstage interview and produced an image still replayed now.
Bob Uecker’s broadcasting career
Uecker’s broadcasting career began at WSB-TV in Atlanta in 1969 as part of the Braves’ broadcast booth. He was named to the broadcast booth in Milwaukee by former Brewers owner and MLB commissioner Bud Selig in 1971. It was the franchise’s second season after moving from Seattle.
Uecker remained with the team for 54 years until his death Thursday. He is the fourth-longest tenured broadcaster in major-league history, behind only Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrin of the Los Angeles Dodgers (67 and 64 years, respectively) and the still-active Denny Matthews of the Kansas City Royals (56 years). Uecker’s best-known Brewers-related catchphrase was ‘Get up! Get up! Get outta here! Gone!’ when a Milwaukee player hit a home run.
In what became Uecker’s final season broadcasting games for the team in 2024, the Brewers won the National League Central before losing to the New York Mets in a wild-card series. First-year Brewers manager Pat Murphy offered a toast to Uecker when the team celebrated its division title in September.
“There is no one who epitomizes being a champion like this man does … What an example for us to be with every single day,’ Murphy said in the champagne-soaked locker room.
Uecker also served as a color commentator for national MLB broadcasts produced by ABC and NBC during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and teamed with Bob Costas and Joe Morgan to call the World Series.
Uecker’s broadcasting earned him the prestigious Ford Frick Award in 2003 for his contributions to the game, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of receiving the honor.
Bob Uecker: MLB career stats, accomplishments
Uecker’s playing career often bore the brunt of his jokes.
He signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956 after serving in the Army and made his Major League debut with the club in 1962. He hit .200 over his six seasons playing catcher with the Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, where he won a World Series as Tim McCarver’s back-up behind the plate in 1964.
‘I was once named minor league player of the year,’ Uecker once cracked. ‘Unfortunately, I had been in the majors for two years at the time.’
(This story was updated to add a new video.)