2025’s “Top” Ten Losses: Bob Uecker (#1)

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The month, and the look back at the greats we lost last year, closes today. I’m sure there are many more “popular” people you would have included, but this man was one of the most delightful people in sports and movies. Farewell to this great. #1: Bob Uecker Believe it or not, Bob Uecker was a World Series champion. Uecker was a member of the world champion St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. It just goes to show that even the worst can get lucky. As a player, Bob Uecker wasn’t that good. His highlight was hitting a home run off of the legendary Sandy Koufax, one of fourteen Ueck hit in his career. (He later said he was thankful that the home run wasn’t held against Koufax when it came time for Koufax’s Baseball Hall of Fame induction. ) And you know what? He made a career out of being bad. Starting with the Miller Lite commercials and moving on to countless appearances on the Carson show, Uecker became “Mr. Baseball.” HOW legendary are those commercials? In Milwaukee’s baseball park, there are two Bob Uecker statues: one outside, and one behind a support post in the top of the stadium, lovingly referred to as the “Uecker seats.” Then there was Major League, where he, as he did with his Baseball Hall of Fame speech (linked below), ad-libbed most of his lines. “Juuuuuuuuust a bit outside” is a line that’s part of the popular culture lexicon now. I’m not a Brewers fan, but listening to Bob Uecker made any game more special. Farewell, Ueck. Thank you for the laughs over the countless summers. And thank you all for reading. Bob Uecker Born Robert George Uecker, January 26, 1934, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Died January 16, 2025, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (lung cancer) (age 90) HALL OF FAMES: National Baseball, 2003; National Radio, 2001; National Sportscasters and Sportswriters, 2011; WWE, 2010; Wisconsin Advertising, 2017 This is long, but MAN what hilarity. Bob Uecker’s completely improvised acceptance speech when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: