Bob Uecker played a key role in both my long marriage and short cycling career.
It started back in1985, when my coworker at the Marquette Tribune asked me if I wanted to bike in Bob Uecker’s Ride for the Arts. Bob Uecker, the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, hosted the ride, which raised funds for the United Performing Arts Fund, from 1982 to 1990.
I said yes immediately, mostly because I thought my co-worker was cute. I never even looked up the route. I just borrowed a fat-tired bike that creaked every time my right foot passed the chain guard, and peddled on up to the start line.
“We” had chosen the 25-mile route, owing to our youthful innocence cockiness. Bob Uecker himself counted us down, so were laughing as we took off.
Rookie waste of good, clean breath.
As my co-worker glided along on the sleek racing bike he’d borrowed, I started to think I might have under prepared. Maybe a bike with a cute basket for carrying small dogs named Toto wasn’t the best choice for the Bob Uecker Ride for the Arts.
I had my pride, though, if not my breath. I chugged along, making polite conversation with my mouth while my torso disassociated itself from my throbbing legs.
Eventually, I hurled myself over the finish line and limped off to join my co-worker for a post-race beer. The guy’s name was Vince and he politely overlooked the humiliating evidence of my struggles on the course — beet-red face, wild hair, previously cute outfit splotched with gross sweat stains.
He even asked me out,
Thanks to Bob Uecker, I ended up marrying that guy 38 years ago…and I never biked in a road race again.
But, I went to countless Brewer games, listened to plenty of others on the radio and admired Mr. Uecker for most of my life.
Vince and I both grew up on Bob Uecker’s masterful commentary. We loved his self-deprecating humor and witty observations. It is astonishing that we Brewer fans have enjoyed the luxury of his genius for 54 years.
“I make fun of situations and try and find the humor in things, but it’s never at the expense of the other guy,” he once said.
Rest in peace, Mr. Baseball.
We were lucky to know you.
“Bob Uecker’s impact on the game of baseball will be recognized for generations to come, and we feel blessed that Indianapolis was a steppingstone toward his long and illustrious career in baseball,” he said. “We extend our condolences to the Uecker family, his loved ones and the Milwaukee Brewers organization.”
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Love this and reshared! Some of the best stories of celebrities are how they interface with people like us creating a lifetime memory and don’t even know it! I had Tommy Lasorda on an LA Dodgers charter. We chatted throughtout the flight. Right before landing he “timidly” … yeah right… asked me if I wanted an autographed picture. “Sure!” He presented me with an 8″x10″ black and white autographed picture to me by him. “Now, don’t just stick a thumbtack in this. Go out and buy a nice frame.”