MILWAUKEE— Brewers fans packed American Family Field on Sunday to honor the life and legacy of Bob Uecker, the legendary voice for the team for more than five decades.
A Day For Mr. Baseball
The longtime voice of the Brewers was honored before the team’s game against the San Francisco Giants. Gates opened early for fans to explore displays featuring rare Uecker memorabilia set up throughout the ballpark. From his time in the booth to his larger-than-life personality, the exhibits gave fans a chance to reflect on what made Uecker a Milwaukee icon.
Pre-Game Ceremony
The celebration included a special program hosted by Emmy-winning broadcaster Bob Costas. Former players, friends and colleagues shared stories and paid tribute before first pitch. Ueckers’ humor, passion, and connection with the city were praised highly within this time. Fans in attendance received a commemorative lapel pin featuring the Uecker patch worn by the Brewers this season.
Tributes Throughout the Game
Thousands of fans joined baseball legends at American Family Field on Sunday to honor Bob Uecker, the longtime voice of the Brewers whose storytelling and humor defined baseball in Milwaukee for more than 50 years.
The Brewers held a pregame ceremony that mixed laughter with emotion. Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, former MLB commissioner Bud Selig, and Hall of Famer Ted Simmons each shared memories of Uecker.
Attanasio said Uecker shaped the culture of the franchise, and Simmons added that his humor left everyone smiling.
A fun story from Bob Costas:
“Brewers playing the Yankees, and Richard Nixon, who was a baseball fan, is in Steinbrenner’s box, and he looks over and sees Uekcer, and he says to Steinbrenner, I’d like to meet Uecker. So Uecker abandons the broadcast, goes over for about three innings, comes back, sits down next to Pat Hughes, and Hughes says, ’So how was it meeting the President?’ And Uecker says, ”You know, Richie’s not a bad guy.'”
‘Bigger than just a broadcaster’
Fans in the stands said they felt the same way — that Uecker was more than a broadcaster. His voice became part of their summers, whether on the radio at home or in the car on the way to the ballpark.
“I can remember from the time I was a little girl, my grandparents having him on the radio and he’s the sound of summer. And I would look forward to hearing his voice every spring. It meant baseball was back and he was the greatest voice of the Brewers,” Alicia Kreitzer tells WTMJ.
“Growing up he used to, you know, when he was doing the radio show, we would turn the game on the TV and we would mute it and then turn the radio on so we could watch the game but still listen to Uecker. So that was always great,” Paul Kreitzer tells WTMJ.
Many fans also stopped at Uecker’s statue outside the stadium, leaving flowers, hats and hand-written notes to say thank you.
“I will never give up the Milwaukee Brewers and Bob Uecker was a huge part of that. So, losing any aspect of the memories of the Brewers is a huge hit for me, and for any Milwaukeean, and any fan of baseball,” another fan, Greg Stark, tells WTMJ.
A Lasting Legacy
Uecker started calling Brewers games in 1971 and never left the booth. In 2003, he was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award in Cooperstown, the highest honor for a baseball broadcaster.
Known for his self-deprecating humor and famous one-liners like “Just a bit outside,” Uecker was as well known on late-night talk shows and in movies as he was behind the mic. But in Milwaukee, he was always family.
As Simmons put it during the ceremony:
“He helped me immeasurably, and literally introduced me to this town of Major League Baseball.”
For Brewers fans, that voice — and those memories — will carry on every summer night.
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