The Milwaukee Brewers currently honor three incredibly important franchise legends and Bud Selig outside of Miller Park, as the team has previously installed statues of Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Bob Uecker. All three of these men played for Milwaukee during their careers, but Aaron and Yount were obviously a little more successful than Uecker, who batted just .200 over his seven year career. He did, however, win a World Series, but like many players, he had to go to St. Louis to do so.
Uecker’s legacy has always extended far beyond the field, though, as his incredible charisma has made him one of sports’ most beloved personalities, from his role as Harry Doyle in Major League (and the other two movies that never happened) to his stints as a ringside announcer at WrestleMania III and IV, and his eventual induction into the WWF Hall of Fame. But to the Brewers, he’ll always be Mr. Baseball, one of the game’s greatest play-by-play announcers, and for that he is getting his second statue at Miller Park on April 25.
Except this one’s not going outside the stadium.
The statue will pay tribute to the popular Miller Lite “All Stars” ad campaign which featured Uecker’s famous tagline, “I must be in the front row.” In the commercial, Uecker ended up in the last row. instead of the great seats he expected.
The statue will sit atop the Uecker Seats in the Terrace Level (Section 422) and will feature an open seat next to it allowing for a perfect photo opportunity. It will be dedicated on the afternoon of Friday, April 25, with more details provided as that date approaches.
“I can’t think of a better place to put this statue,” Uecker said. “This will be great for fans and even better for pigeons. You might even be able to see a little part of the field.” (Via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
I’ll always wonder how we were stuck with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver for years while Uecker was out there being awesome on the local stage. Oh well, at least he has two statues. Now the Cleveland Indians have to do the right thing and put a Harry Doyle statue in their broadcast booth (or at least play the Brewers once a year for moments like this).
And here’s Uecker’s interview with Andre the Giant from WrestleMania IV that should always be played any time Uecker is mentioned.
