Beloved baseball broadcaster and actor Bob Uecker, who parlayed an unremarkable playing career into a decadeslong stint behind the mic and in front of the camera, died on Thursday, officials said.
He was 90.
“We are heartbroken to announce that Brewers icon & Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Uecker passed away today at the age of 90,” the Milwaukee Brewers said.
He was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in early 2023, loved ones said.
“Even in the face of this challenge, his enthusiasm for life was always present, never allowing his spirit to falter,” according to a family statement.
Uecker had been a fixture behind the mic in Milwaukee since 1971, though he’d cut back from a full-time 162-game schedule in recent years.
In addition to his half-century in a baseball press box, Uecker also left a mark on comedy with his memorable acting roles on the 1989 movie “Major League” and late 1980s sitcom “Mr. Belvedere.”
His deadpan call of a pitch thrown wildly off the plate by Charlie Sheen’s character Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn — “Juuuust a bit outside” — remains a favorite one-line joke to scores of baseball fans.
Uecker’s wry, self-effacing wit was on full display in a famed Miller Lite beer commercial in 1984 as he took a seat downstairs at a baseball stadium.
When an usher told him “You’re in the wrong seat buddy, come on,” Uecker famously replied, “I must be in the front row” — before ending up in the far reaches of the upper deck.
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