Jack Buck
Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.
Buck was recognizable by his deep, gravelly voice, penchant for sardonic irony, and his distinctive play-by-play calls.
Among these were Buck's descriptions of Kirk Gibson's dramatic game-winning pinch hit home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series ("I don't believe what I just saw!"), Ozzie Smith's walk-off home run in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series ("Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!"), Jack Clark's three-run home run two days later in Game 6 ("Adios! Goodbye! And maybe, that's a winner!"), Tom Herr's grand slam walk-off home run against the New York Mets in April 1987 ("A Grand Slam-a!"), Kirby Puckett's game-winning home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series ("And we'll see you tomorrow night!"), and Mark McGwire's single season record-tying home run in 1998 ("Pardon me while I stand up and applaud.").
Biography
Early life
Jack Buck was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the third of seven children by Kathleen and Earle Buck, who was a railroad accountant who commuted weekly to New Jersey. Louis Cardinals, Jack grew up a Boston Red Sox fan and idolized Jimmie Foxx.
When Jack was 15, his father got a job in Cleveland with the Erie Railroad. A year later, Earle Buck died at the age of 49 due to high blood pressure.
As a teenager, Jack worked as a deck hand on the iron ore boats of the Great Lakes.
He was soon drafted into the Army where he served in World War II. In 1943, Buck became a corporal and instructor with K Company, 47th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.
On March 15, 1945, Buck was wounded in his left leg and forearm by shrapnel while crossing the last (Remagen) bridge into Germany to stop enemy fire. Buck paid for college by working at an all night gas station.
Buck crafted his play-by-play skills broadcasting Ohio State basketball games.
After college, he spent the 1953 season as voice of the International League (AAA baseball) Rochester Red Wings on WHEC (AM). Louis Cardinals career
Buck started broadcasting Cardinals games for KMOX radio in 1954, teaming with Harry Caray, Milo Hamilton (1954), and Joe Garagiola (from 1955).
Buck was dropped from the Cardinals booth in 1959 to make room for Buddy Blattner; the following year, he called Saturday Game of the Week telecasts for ABC. Buck was re-hired by the Cardinals in 1961 after Blattner departed; Garagiola left the following year, leaving Caray and Buck as the team's broadcast voices through 1969.
After Caray was fired by the Cardinals following the 1969 season, Buck ascended to the team's lead play-by-play role.
(Oddly enough, 1969 was also the year that Jack Buck divorced his first wife Alyce Larson - who he had married in 1948 and had six children with - and married his second wife, Carole Lintzenich, who gave birth to their son Joe Buck in the same year).
Buck teamed with ex-Yankees and Pirates announcer Jim Woods in 1970–71. In 1972, retired Cardinals third baseman Mike Shannon joined Buck in the broadcast booth, beginning a 28-year partnership.
On Cardinals broadcasts, Buck routinely punctuated St.
Louis victories with the expression, "That's a winner!"
According to his autobiography, That's a Winner, Buck's children helped his career in the 1970s.
Buck has three daughters who worked in broadcasting including Julie Buck on KYKY 98.1 in St. In addition, Buck’s late younger brother, Bob Buck was a sportscaster and sports director at KMOX/KMOV-TV in St.
Louis community, where he lived and regularly volunteered time to host charity events.
The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. Buck called Dallas Cowboys games for CBS throughout the 1960s, including the famous "Ice Bowl" championship game in 1967; as the network moved away from dedicated team announcers in the 1970s, he continued to call regional NFL action as well as Super Bowl IV.
In 1975, Buck temporarily left his Cardinals baseball duties in order to host the NFL on NBC pregame show, GrandStand with Bryant Gumbel.
(The television play-by-play role would go to Keith Jackson instead.) Buck also called numerous playoff games for CBS Radio, including 17 Super Bowls (the most of any announcer).
During the 1990 NFL season, Buck's onetime CBS broadcasting partner, Pat Summerall, was hospitalized after vomiting on a plane during a flight after a game, and was out for a considerable amount of time. Buck was paired with Jay Randolph and Gus Kyle on the broadcasts and covered the 1968 Stanley Cup Final on St.
After the 6.9 magnitude quake rocked the Bay Area, Buck told the listening audience:
He is most famous for his call in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series of Kirk Gibson's game-winning home run, and his disbelief at the feat by Gibson, who at the time had two injured legs. Buck later rued that "CBS never got that baseball play-by-play draws word-pictures.
So they said, 'Let McCarver run the show...In television, all they want you to do is shut up. The next day, CBS Sports executive producer Ted Shaker spotted Buck in the hotel lobby and told Buck that he was in trouble.
Although looking rather frail (Buck at the time was sick with lung cancer) and struggling to maintain his composure (Buck was obviously showing the signs of Parkinson's disease as well), Buck stirred emotions by reading a patriotic-themed poem during the pregame ceremonies. He had stayed in the hospital for all but the first two days of January 2002.
He was in the hospital to undergo treatment for lung cancer, Parkinson's disease, and to correct an intestinal blockage. His spot on the KMOX Cardinals broadcasts was subsequently filled by former Colorado Rockies announcer Wayne Hagin.
Joe Buck is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for both Major League Baseball and the NFL on the FOX network. Joe Buck also does occasional local telecasts for the Cardinals as well as commercials for a local automobile dealership.
During postseason telecasts, Joe often pays homage to his late father by signing off with "We'll see you tomorrow night!" When the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, Joe quoted his father again saying, "For the first time since 1982, St.
Louis has a World Series winner!", referencing Jack's line when the Cards won in 1982, "And that's a winner! That's a winner! A World Series winner for the Cardinals!"
Notable calls
He takes off his cap.