Bob Uecker to be Inducted into National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame Tomorrow
The legendary voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, Bob Uecker, will be inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Hall of Fame during the NAB Show Radio Luncheon tomorrow afternoon in Las Vegas.
Affectionately known as “Mr. Baseball,” Uecker is currently in his 42nd year calling play-by-play on Newsradio 620 WTMJ-AM and the Brewers Radio Network. The former-player-turned-broadcaster has completed 30 seasons as the club’s lead announcer and is celebrating his 57th year in professional baseball in 2012.
Uecker’s popularity with baseball fans, both on radio and television, afforded him other opportunities. He did color commentary and play-by-play announcing on NBC and ABC covering regular season baseball, the League Championship Series, the World Series and MLB All-Star Games.
In addition to his baseball work, Uecker was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and hosted two syndicated television shows, “Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports” and “Bob Uecker’s War of the Stars.” He also appeared as a spokesman for Miller Lite Beer, in a major role on the ABC hit series “Mr. Belvedere,” and in six feature films including Major League and Major League II.
Uecker was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2001 and honored with the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence in 2003. The five-time Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year is also in the Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame. During his days as a player, Uecker was a member of the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals World Series Championship team.
Previous NAB Radio Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductees with baseball ties include Vin Scully, Jack Buck, Harry Caray and Mel Allen.
Uecker will miss tomorrow’s Brewers game at Miller Park to attend the induction ceremony. Dave Nelson will join Joe Block in the broadcast booth for the game. Uecker will be back in the booth on Wednesday for the Brewers-Dodgers game at Miller Park.
It was announced last month that the Brewers will honor Uecker with a statue placed outside Miller Park. The statue will be placed near the Home Plate Plaza and will be dedicated on August 31.
