Bob Uecker, Iconic Brewers Broadcaster and ‘Mr. Baseball,’ Dead at 90

Bob Uecker, the longtime Brewers broadcaster whose fame and notoriety stretched nationwide due to his roles in humorous commercials and popular television shows, has died.

He was 90 years old.

Uecker’s quick, self-deprecating wit, aimed chiefly at his own six-year MLB career as a catcher, during which he once held the dubious distinction of leading the majors in passed balls, played a large part in what was to become a legendary broadcasting career that would span more than five decades.

Uecker’s fame grew by orders of magnitude after an appearance on the Johnny Carson Show, where the nation was treated to his unique brand of humor. Uecker made several appearances with Carson over the years, and it was the late-night legend himself who gave the broadcaster the nickname that would stick: “Mr. Baseball.”

“Anybody with ability can play in the big leagues,” he said of playing in the majors. “But to be able to trick people year in and year out the way I did, I think that was a much greater feat.”

That wasn’t just a joke, either.

After enlisting in the Army at age 20, Uecker told the military that he played for the Marquette University baseball team to get assigned to play baseball for the military. An assignment to a sports team would keep Uecker stateside. The Army agreed and kept the future MLB player and broadcaster in the U.S. to play baseball. At no point did the Army do its homework to find out that Uecker didn’t even graduate high school, much less attend Marquette. Not only that, Marquette didn’t even have a baseball team.

Uecker worked solo as a broadcaster and alleviated the suffering of Brewers fans who, for many of those years, had to endure watching losing baseball. There were good years as well, however, and Uecker elevated his game to match the team’s performance.

In 2003, Uecker’s broadcasting prowess earned him the prestigious Ford Frick Award, and his speech at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown that year was quintessential Uecker.

Dozens of appearances with Carson helped his career immensely, but his Miller Lite commercials remain the stuff of legend.

That fame led to many opportunities to leave his native Milwaukee to work in radio in bigger markets and make more money. However, Uecker, who began calling Brewers games in 1971, the club’s second year in existence, always declined and chose to stay home.

“I still enjoy doing the games,” he said in an interview with Bob Costas. “I still pull for us [the Brewers] every day. Every day. The other things that I’ve done, it always came back to baseball. I never wanted to do anything else.”