Bob Uecker, MLB Announcer and Mr. Belvedere Star, Dead at 90

Dave Nemetz

16 January 2025 at 12:28 pm·2-min read

Hall of Fame baseball announcer Bob Uecker, who also had memorable film and TV roles on Mr. Belvedere and in Major League, has died at the age of 90. He had been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in 2023.

The Milwaukee Brewers, for whom Uecker called games for more than five decades, commemorated his life in a statement: “Today we take on the heaviest of burdens. Today, we say goodbye to our beloved friend, Bob Uecker. Ueck was the light of the Brewers, the soundtrack of our summers, the laughter in our hearts, and his passing is a profound loss… We are left with a giant void in our hearts, but also remember the laughter and joy he brought to our lives.”

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Uecker was born and raised in Milwaukee and played catcher in the major leagues, winning a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964. After his playing days ended, he turned to broadcasting, becoming the Milwaukee Brewers’ play-by-play radio announcer in 1971. He went on to call Brewers games for the next 54 seasons, being inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2001 and receiving the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 2003.

Uecker’s sense of humor also made him a media star outside of baseball, leading to him appearing in Miller Lite’s popular TV ads in the 1980s and being a frequent guest on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. In 1985, he took on the role of dad and sportswriter George Owens on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere, which ran for six seasons. In 1989, Uecker played Cleveland Indians announcer Harry Doyle in the baseball movie Major League, coining the catchphrase “Juuuuuust a bit outside” when calling a badly errant pitch from Charlie Sheen’s Ricky Vaughn. Uecker reprised the role of Harry Doyle in two Major League sequels.

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