Category - Outdoors
Famed MLB Pitcher, Broadcaster, and Actor Dies at 90
Legendary baseball player, broadcaster, and actor Bob Uecker, known for his broadcasting career with the Milwaukee Brewers, died Thursday at 90. The team confirmed the news on X, writing, "We are heartbroken to announce that Brewers icon and Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Uecker passed away today at the age of 90.”
Uecker began his career as a minor-league pitcher in 1959 for the Milwaukee Braves before entering the MLB in 1962. Before he retired in 1967, Uecker played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he won a World Series.
Shortly after his retirement, Uecker began commentating for the Brewers. In the process, he became a beloved fixture of the team and one of the most famous sports broadcasters in the world. The fandom around his announcing career gave way to frequent guest appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, which in turn led to a late-era acting career for Uecker. He’s best remembered for his roles in Major League and its two sequels as well as for playing George Owens on 118 episodes of Mr. Belvedere. Uecker hosted the sports bloopers show Bob Uecker’s Wild World of Sports from 1985 until 1997, and also contributed his voice to the cartoons Teacher’s Pet, Futurama, and Teen Titans Go!.
Related: MLB Legend and Former All-Star Dead at 91
Uecker’s family shared with ESPN that since 2023 he had been battling small cell liver cancer. "Even in the face of this challenge, his enthusiasm for life was always present, never allowing his spirit to falter," they said.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred paid tribute to Uecker in his own statement. "Bob was the genuine item: always the funniest person in any room he was in, and always an outstanding ambassador for our National Pastime," he wrote. "We are grateful for this baseball life like no other, and we will never forget him. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest sympathy to Bob's family, his many friends across the game, Brewers fans, and the countless baseball fans who admired him."