Bob Uecker Quotes

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present an unprecedented collection of baseball related quotes spoken by Bob Uecker and about Bob Uecker.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"I led the league in go get 'em next time." - Bob Uecker in Broadcasting Baseball: A History of the National Pastime on Radio and Television (Eldon L. Ham, McFarland Publishing, 07/19/2011, Page 175)

Bob Uecker Quotes

Quotes From & About Bob Uecker | Baseball Quotes | Bob Uecker

"Anybody with ability can play in the big leagues. To last as long as I did with the skills I had, with the numbers I produced, was a triumph of the human spirit." Source: Catcher in the Wry (Bob Uecker, 1982)

"At all those banquets, stars get up and give credit to their coaches and parents. I give credit to no one. I made myself what I am today." Source: Baseball Digest (June 1972)

"Baseball hasn't forgotten me. I go to a lot of Old Timers games and I haven't lost a thing. I sit in the bullpen and let people throw things at me. Just like old times." Source: Widely Attributed

"Career highlights? I had two. I got an intentional walk from Sandy Koufax and I got out of a rundown against the Mets." Source: Widely Attributed

"I didn't get a lot of awards as a player. But they did have a Bob Uecker Day Off for me once in Philly." Source: Widely Attributed

"If a guy hits .300 every year, what does he have to look forward to? I always tried to stay around .190, with three or four RBI. And I tried to get them all in September. That way I always had something to talk about during the winter." Source: Widely Attributed

"I had slumps that lasted into the winter." Source: Widely Attributed

"I hit a grand slam off Ron Herbel and when his manager Herman Franks came out to get him, he was bringing Herbel's suitcase." Source: Widely Attributed

"I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture." Source: Widely Attributed

"I led the league in go get 'em next time." Source: Widely Attributed

"In 1962 I was named Minor League Player of the Year. It was my second season in the bigs." Source: Widely Attributed

"I set records that will never be equaled. In fact, I hope 90% of them don't even get printed." Source: Baseball Digest (June 1972)

"I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for three-thousand dollars. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn't have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up." Source: San Francisco Examiner (March 29, 1984)

"It is dangerous for an athlete to believe his own publicity, good or bad." Source: Catcher in the Wry (Bob Uecker, 1982)

"One time, I got pulled over at four a.m. I was fined seventy-five dollars for being intoxicated and four-hundred for being with the Phillies." Source: Widely Attributed

"People don't know this but I helped the Cardinals win the pennant. I came down with hepatitis. The trainer injected me with it." Source: The Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson)

"Sporting goods companies pay me not to endorse their products." Source: Widely Attributed

"The biggest thrill a ballplayer can have is when your son takes after you. That happened when my Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh, I was proud." Source: Sports Illustrated (September 8, 1980)

"The highlight of my career? In '67 with St. Louis, I walked with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in an intersquad game in spring training." Source: Widely Attributed

"Let's face it. Umpiring is not an easy or happy way to make a living. In the abuse they suffer, and the pay they get for it, you see an imbalance that can only be explained by their need to stay close to a game they can't resist."Source: Widely Attributed

"The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up." Source: Widely Attributed

"They said I was such a great prospect that they were sending me to a winter league to sharpen up. When I stepped off the plane, I was in Greenland." Source: Baseball Digest (June 1972)

"When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes." Source: Baseball Digest (June 1972)

"When I looked to the third base coach for a sign, he turned his back on me." Source: Baseball Digest (June 1972)

"When I played, they didn't use fancy words like that (emotionally distressed). They just said I couldn't hit." Source: Widely Attribued

"In 1971, Uecker was hired by the Brewers to provide color commentary alongside announcers Merle Harmon and Tom Collins. One day Uecker was left to do play-by-play coverage and his talent could not be denied." - The Radio Hall of Fame

"Known for his humor, particularly about his undistinguished playing career, Uecker actually became much better known after he retired." - Wikipedia (website)

"The Milwaukee Brewers biggest star today is a career .200 hitter who's never even played for the team. But Bob Uecker, the radio voice of the team for 32 years, has just about done it all. Nationwide, fans still remember Uecker as an actor, comedian and author. To Brewers fans, though, he's a no nonsense scholar of the game who's not afraid to criticize a pitcher who can't throw strikes. Here in Milwaukee, we also appreciate him for his dry sense of humor that can keep any game entertaining, even when the team is mired in a slump."- Columnist Andy Tarnoff in OnMilwaukee.com (April 4, 2002)

"Thank you, Joe, thank you very much. And thank you ladies and gentlemen. And my congratulations to Hal (McCoy / winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in 2003), Gary Carter, Eddie Murray, and to all of the members of the staff of the Hall of Fame, thank you very much. This has been a wonderful, wonderful time.

I, in deference to Hal McCoy, was asked to quit many times. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Actually, I was born in Illinois. My mother and father were on an oleo margarine run to Chicago back in 1934, because we couldn't get colored margarine in Wisconsin. On the way home, my mother was with child. Me. And the pains started, and my dad pulled off into an exit area, and that's where the event took place. I remember it was a nativity type setting. An exit light shining down. There were three truck drivers there. One guy was carrying butter, one guy had frankfurters, and the other guy was a retired baseball scout who told my folks that I probably had a chance to play somewhere down the line.

I remember it being very cold. It was January. I didn't weigh very much. I think the birth certificate said something like ten ounces. I was very small. And I remember the coldness on my back from the asphalt. And I was immediately wrapped in swaddling clothes and put in the back of a '37 Chevy without a heater. And that was the start of this Cinderella story that you are hearing today.

I did not have a lot of ability as a kid, and my dad wanted me to have everything that everybody else had. I think the first thing that he ever bought me was a football. And I was very young. He didn't know a lot about it, he came from the old country. I mean, we tried to pass it and throw it and kick it, and we couldn't do it. And it was very discouraging for him and for me. Almost, we almost quit. And finally we had a nice enough neighbor, came over and put some air in it, and what a difference.

I got a lot of my ability from my father. As a lot of these other guys did. My father actually came to this country as a soccer player. He didn't play, be blew up the balls is what he did. And they didn't have pumps in those days. And to see a man put that valve in his mouth and insert it into a soccer ball, and blow thirty pounds of air. And then have the ability to pull that thing out without it fracturing the back of his mouth was unbelievable. You had to see his neck and his veins popping. It was unbelievable. How proud I was as I watched him do it time after time.

My first sport was eighth grade basketball. And my dad didn't want to buy me the supporter johnny, you know, to do the job. So my mother made me one out of a flour sack. And the tough thing about that is, you put that thing on, you whip it out of your bag in the gym. You know all the guys are looking at it. And you start the game. The guy guarding you knows exactly where you're going since little specks of flour keep dropping out. And then right down the front it says 'Pillsbury's Best.'

I signed a very modest $3,000 bonus with the Braves in Milwaukee, which I'm sure a lot of you know. And my old man didn't have that kind of money to put out. But the Braves took it. I remember sitting around our kitchen table counting all this money, coins out of jars, and I'm telling my dad, 'Forget this, I don't want to play.' He said, 'No, you are going to play baseball. We are going to have you make some money, and we're going to live real good.' My dad had an accent, I want to be real authentic when I'm doing this thing. So I signed. The signing took place at a very popular restaurant in Milwaukee. And I remember driving, and my dad's all fired up and nervous, and I said, 'Look, it will be over in a couple of minutes. Don't be uptight.' We pull in the parking lot, pull next to the Braves automobile, and my dad screwed up right away. He doesn't have the window rolled up far enough and our tray falls off and all the food is on the floor. And from there on it was baseball.

Starting with the Braves in Milwaukee, St. Louis, where I won the World's Championship for them in 1964, to the Philadelphia Phillies and back to the Braves in Atlanta, where I became Phil Niekro's personal chaser. But during every player's career there comes a time when you know that your services are no longer required, that you might be moving on. Traded, sold, released ,whatever it may be. And having been with four clubs, I picked up a few of these tips. I remember Gene Mauch doing things to me at Philadelphia. I'd be sitting there and he'd say, 'Grab a bat and stop this rally.' Send me up there without a bat and tell me to try for a walk. Look down at the first base coach for a sign and have him turn his back on you.

But you know what? Things like that never bothered me. I'd set records that will never be equaled, 90% I hope are never printed: .200 lifetime batting average in the major leagues which tied me with another sports great averaging 200 or better for a ten-year period, Don Carter, one of our top bowlers.

In 1967 I set a major league record for passed balls, and I did that without playing every game. There was a game, as a matter of fact, during that year when Phil Niekro's brother (Joe) and he were pitching against each other in Atlanta. Their parents were sitting right behind home plate. I saw their folks that day more than they did the whole weekend.

But with people like Niekro, and this was another thing, I found the easy way out to catch a knuckleball. It was to wait until it stopped rolling and then pick it up. There were a lot of things that aggravated me, too. My family is here today. My boys, my girls. My kids used to do things that aggravate me, too. I'd take them to the game and they'd want to come home with a different player. I remember one of my friends came to Atlanta to see me once. He came to the door, he says, 'Does Bob Uecker live here?' He says, 'Yeah, bring him in.' But my two boys are just like me. In their championship little league game, one of them struck out three times and the other one had an error that allowed the winning run to score. They lost the championship, and I couldn't have been more proud. I remember the people as we walked through the parking lot throwing eggs and rotten stuff at our car. What a beautiful day.

You know, everybody remembers their first game in the major leagues. For me it was in Milwaukee. My hometown, born and raised there, and I can remember walking out on the field and Birdie Tebbetts was our manager at that time. And my family was there: my mother and dad, and all my relatives. And as I'm standing on the field, everybody's pointing at me and waving and laughing, and I'm pointing back. And Birdie Tebbetts came up and asked me if I was nervous or uptight about the game. And I said, 'I'm not. I've been waiting five years to get here. I'm ready to go.'

He said, 'Well, we're gonna start you today. I didn't want to tell you earlier. I didn't want you to get too fired up.'

I said, 'Look, I'm ready to go.'

He said, 'Well, great, you're in there. And oh, by the by, the rest of us up here wear that supporter on the inside.' That was the first game my folks walked out on, too.

But you know, of all of the things that I've done, this has always been number one, baseball. The commercials, the films, the television series, I could never wait for everything to get over to get back to baseball. I still, and this is not sour grapes by any means, still think I should have gone in as a player. Thank you very much.

The proof is in the pudding. No, this conglomeration of greats that are here today, a lot of them were teammates, but they won't admit it. But they were. And a lot of them were players that worked in games that I called. They are wonderful friends, and always will be. And the 1964 World's Championship team. The great Lou Brock. And I remember as we got down near World Series time, Bing Devine, who was the Cardinals' general manager at that time, asked me if I would do him and the Cardinals, in general, a favor. And I said I would. And he said, 'We'd like to inject you with hepatitis. We need to bring an infielder up.' I said, 'Would I be able to sit on the bench.' He said, 'Yes, we'll build a plastic cubicle for you because it is an infectious disease.' And I've got to tell you this. I have a photo at home, I turned a beautiful color yellow and with that Cardinal white uniform. I was knocked out. It was beautiful, wasn't it, Lou? It was great.

Of course, any championship involves a World Series. The ring, the ceremony, the following season in St. Louis at old Busch Stadium. We were standing along the sideline. I was in the bullpen warming up the pitcher. And when they called my name for the ring, it's something that you never ever forget. And when they threw it out into left field. I found it in the fifth inning, I think it was, Lou, wasn't it? And once I spotted it in the grass man, I was on it. It was unbelievable.

But as these players have bats, gloves—I had a great shoe contract and glove contract with a company who paid me a lot of money never to be seen using their stuff. Bat orders—I would order a dozen bats and there were times they'd come back with handles at each end. You know, people have asked me a lot of times, because I didn't hit a lot, we all know that, how long a dozen bats would last me? Depending on the weight and the model that I was using at that particular time I would say eight to ten cookouts.

I once ordered a dozen flame-treated bats, and they sent me a box of ashes, so I knew at that time things were moving on. But there are tips that you pick up when the Braves were going to release me. It is a tough time for a manager, for your family, for the player to be told that you're never going to play the game again. And I can remember walking in the clubhouse that day, and Luman Harris, who was the Braves' manager, came up to me and said there were no visitors allowed. So again, I knew I might be moving on.

Paul Richards was the general manager and told me the Braves wanted to make me a coach for the following season. And that I would be coaching second base. So again, gone.

But that's when the baseball career started as a broadcaster. I remember working first with Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson. And I was all fired up about that, too, until I found out that my portion of the broadcast was being used to jam Radio Free Europe. And I picked up a microphone one day and my mic had no cord on it, so I was talking to nobody. But it's such a wonderful, wonderful thing today to be here. And one of my first partners was mentioned earlier, Merle Harmon, and Tom Collins, he's here today. All of those who I have worked with from Merle to Lorn Brown to Dwayne Mosley, Pat Hughes, who now works for the Chicago Cubs, and my current partner today, Jim Powell and Kent Summerfeld. My thanks to all of you.

To my good pal Bob Costas out there. Thank you, Bobby. All of the network people, that has been as much a part of broadcasting for me as anything. The days with ABC and 'Monday Night Baseball' with the late Bob Prince and Keith Jackson and Al Michaels and my great pal, Don Drysdale. All of those people have played such a big part in me being here today. Dick Ebersol, the head of NBC Sports. All of them are a big part of what I am. My family is seated over here. I love them very much.

Ulice Payne is here, the president of the Brewers. The commissioner of baseball is a guy that gave me my start. He said, 'I want to bring you back to Milwaukee.' And I said, 'I'll come.' And here I am, 33 years later. Thank you, Al. I call him Al, Bud Selig. Wife Sue is here. To all of my Brewer family, Wendy, Laurel Selig, Wendy Selig-Prieb, Laurel Prieb. Tony Migliaccio, one of my great friends. Mike LaBoe, all my people. Jon Greenberg, I didn't even know you were here. You took care of Hal McCoy, what the hell's going on. But all of these people play such a big part in all of our lives.

And to all of you baseball fans around America and any place else, for your letters, your thoughts, your kindness, for all of these years, it's been a great run, but number one has always been baseball for me. No matter what else I ever did, baseball was the only way I wanted to go. I thank you very much for your attention today, thank you for having me, and congratulations to everybody here. Thank you very much everybody, thank you."

Quotes From & About Bob Uecker
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Bob Uecker's ability to make fun of himself, in person, on television, while broadcasting ballgames, is truly second to none. Did we mention he was also the first former player turned broadcaster to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame?

Bob Uecker's quotes came primarily from his broadcasting career where he is one of the most popular radio announcers in baseball history. So popular in fact, that in 2003 he was the recipient of the Ford Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting. The National Baseball Hall of Fame described Uecker in the following press release:

Bob Uecker, the longtime voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, was named the 2003 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award.

Recognized five times as Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year, Uecker joined the Brewers broadcasting tandem of Merle Harmon and Tom Collins in 1971. The illustrious "Voice of the Brewers," the catcher-turned-broadcaster's self-effacing personality and eternally optimistic outlook made him an instant fan favorite. He has broadcast the World Series, League Championship Series and All-Star Game, as well as ABC's "Monday Night Baseball" in the 1970s and 1980s.

A world-renowned comedic voice in broadcasting, Uecker earned his break at Al Hirt's nightclub in Atlanta in 1969. Hirt was so impressed with Uecker's dead-pan comedy that he arranged for him to appear on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show." His instant success led to some 100 appearances with Carson, and appearances on ABC network television shows, including a starring role in "Mr. Belvedere" beginning in 1985. Uecker also hosted a pair of syndicated television shows, appeared in popular commercials, was cast as a radio announcer in the films "Major League" and "Major League II" and authored the hilarious book entitled "Catcher in the Wry," which recounts his major league career. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2001.

Uecker spent six seasons in the major leagues with the Braves, Cardinals and Phillies, hitting .200 with 14 HR and 74 RBI. He played on one World Series winner with the 1964 Cardinals.

Source: National Baseball Hall of Fame (link).

Did you know that Bob Uecker's Miller Lite commercial made him a world wide star? Share your memories of this unique player, legendary broadcaster, and this truly memorable baseball commercial on Baseball Fever.