On this day in 1935, Robert George Uecker was born in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Braves signed him as an amateur free agent in 1956 and he made his big league debut with them in 1962, playing in 46 games over parts of two seasons. All told Uecker hit .200/.293/.287 while appearing in 297 major league games as a member of three teams over his six seasons in the big leagues before being released in October of 1967.
Fortunately, Uecker had another skill that's kept him busy since then. In 1971 he made his first appearance on the radio calling games for the Brewers, and he's been there ever since. He also made countless appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, starred as Harry Doyle in Major League and appeared in over 100 episodes of "Mr. Belvedere."
Uecker was inducted into the Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2003 he was enshrined in Cooperstown as the winner of that year's Ford C. Frick award. He's also a member of the Brewers Walk of Fame, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame.
Uecker turns 77 today. With help from Brewerfan.net we'd also like to wish a happy birthday to:
- AZL Brewer Andres Martinez, who turns 20.
- Brevard County Manatee Josh Prince, who turns 24.