Jack Buck
Encyclopedia
John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an American sportscaster
, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball
games of the St. Louis Cardinals
. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award
from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987
, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame
. Buck was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
Hall of Fame in 1990. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. The recently finished I-64/US-40
in St. Louis, Missouri is named in Buck's honor. He is the father of Fox Sports
lead NFL
and MLB announcer Joe Buck
.
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 walk-off grand slam home run against the New York Mets
in April 1987
("A Grand Slam-a!"), Kirby Puckett
's iconic walk-off 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!").
, the third of seven children by Kathleen and Earle Buck, who was a railroad accountant who commuted weekly to New Jersey
. In spite of his association with the St. 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 was ultimately awarded a Purple Heart
after spending time in a Paris
hospital. (Years later, Buck discovered that fellow future sportscaster Lindsey Nelson
was also with the 9th Infantry and was wounded in the same battle.)
Prior to his broadcasting career, Buck attended Ohio State University
, where he majored in radio speech and minored in Spanish
. 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 called games for the Columbus Red Birds
, a Triple-A (American Association
) affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in 1950
-51
. He spent the 1953
season as voice of another AAA Cardinals affiliate, the International League
Rochester Red Wings
on WHEC (AM). His work there earned him an invitation to join the big-league Cardinals' broadcast team in St. Louis the following season.
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. (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.
In addition to Joe, Buck has three daughters who worked in broadcasting--Julie Buck on KYKY
98.1 in St. Louis (she now works at KLOU-FM 103.3
, also in St. Louis), Bonnie Buck, who currently works in television in Los Angeles, and Christine Buck, who started her career at KPLR-TV
in St. Louis. In addition, Buck’s late younger brother, Bob Buck
was a sportscaster and sports director at KMOX/KMOV
-TV in St. Louis.
Buck was well respected in the St. Louis community, where he lived and regularly volunteered time to host charity events.
Buck is featured in many of the stories in the book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings
(2004), a compendium of short stories by former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine
.
broadcaster. In 1964
he began calling National Football League
games for CBS
television, following a four-year stint doing telecasts of the rival American Football League
for ABC
. Buck called Chicago Bears
games in his first two CBS seasons, then switched to Dallas Cowboys
games, including the famous "Ice Bowl" championship game in 1967. After the network moved away from dedicated team announcers, Buck continued to call regional NFL action through 1974
, as well as several NFC Championship Game
s and Super Bowl IV
. He also called the 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic for CBS.
In 1975
, Buck temporarily left his Cardinals baseball duties in order to host the NBC
pregame show, GrandStand, alongside Bryant Gumbel
. In the 1976
and 1977
seasons, he called regional NFL play-by-play for NBC. On August 16, 1976, Buck called the first-ever NFL game played outside of the United States
, a preseason exhibition between the St. Louis Cardinals
and San Diego Chargers
held at Korakuen Stadium
in Tokyo, Japan. (Buck also worked NBC's backup Game of the Week
during the 1976
baseball season before returning to the Cardinals full-time in 1977
.)
Buck served as the CBS Radio
voice of Monday Night Football
(teaming with Hank Stram
) for nearly two decades (1978
–1984
and again from 1987
–1995
). Ironically, in 1970 ABC's Roone Arledge
had asked via telephone about Buck's interests in becoming the first television play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football, but because of personal animosity surrounding his previous stint with the network, Buck wouldn't return their phone call. (The television play-by-play role would go to Keith Jackson
instead.) In addition to MNF, Buck called numerous playoff games for CBS Radio, including 17 Super Bowl
s (the most of any announcer). Buck also served as a part-time radio broadcaster for the football Cardinals in 1980
and 1981
(filling in when regular announcer Dan Kelly
was busy doing hockey), and returned to calling Sunday NFL games for CBS television from 1982
to 1987
.
Late in the 1990 NFL season
, Buck's onetime CBS broadcasting partner, Pat Summerall
, was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer after vomiting on a plane during a flight after a game, and was out for a considerable amount of time. While Verne Lundquist
replaced Summerall on games with lead analyst John Madden, Buck (who was at the time the network's lead Major League Baseball announcer) filled in for Lundquist, teaming with Dan Fouts
to call two games (both of which coincidentally featured the Cardinals, who had moved from St. Louis to Arizona
by that time).
The Pro Football Hall of Fame
presented Buck with its Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
in 1996
.
. Buck was paired with Jay Randolph
and Gus Kyle
on the broadcasts and covered the 1968 Stanley Cup Final
on St. Louis radio. He was succeeded after one season by another St. Louis broadcasting legend, Dan Kelly
.
Buck also broadcast for the St. Louis Hawks and Rochester Royals
of the National Basketball Association
, and called professional boxing
, professional wrestling
, and bowling
at various times in his career.
From 1983
-1989
, Buck teamed with the likes of Sparky Anderson
, Bill White, and Johnny Bench
for World Series
radio broadcasts on CBS
. Buck, along with CBS Radio colleagues Johnny Bench and John Rooney
, was on hand at San Francisco
's Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989, when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. 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. His call of the play is so famous that it's usually played over the television footage of the play, and often confused for the television call, which was actually done by Vin Scully
on NBC.
Buck wasn't intended to be the main play-by-play announcer for CBS baseball telecasts when the network acquired the sport from NBC and ABC. Originally assigned to the network's #2 crew (and therefore, work with Jim Kaat
), he was promoted at practically the last minute after Brent Musburger
was fired on April Fools Day of 1990
.
After two years of calling baseball telecasts (including the Saturday afternoon Game of the Week
, All-Star Game
, National League Championship Series
, and World Series
), Buck was dismissed by CBS. The official reasoning behind Buck's ouster was that he simply had poor chemistry with lead analyst Tim McCarver
. Buck was soon replaced by Boston Red Sox
announcer Sean McDonough
. Buck later rued that "CBS never got that baseball play-by-play draws word-pictures. All they knew was that football stars analysts. So they said, 'Let McCarver run the show...In television, all they want you to do is shut up. I'm not very good at shutting up." Buck was criticized by some for his alleged habit of predicting plays on air.
Buck made controversial statements about singer Bobby Vinton
prior to Game 4 of the 1990 National League Championship Series
. After Vinton muffed the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner
" in his home town of Pittsburgh
, Buck lightly referenced Vinton's Polish heritage. Buck soon got death threats from Pittsburgh Pirate
fans, who even went as far as leaving a footprint on Buck's hotel pillow. The next day, CBS Sports
executive producer Ted Shaker spotted Buck in the hotel lobby and told Buck that he was in trouble. The final baseball play that Jack Buck narrated for CBS television was Gene Larkin
's game winning bloop single in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
In all, Buck called 11 World Series
, 18 Super Bowl
s, and four Major League Baseball All-Star Game
s.
, diabetes
, a pacemaker
, cataract
s, sciatica
, and vertigo
. Buck once joked, "I wish I'd get Alzheimer's
, then I could forget I've got all the other stuff." In 1997
, Buck published his aptly titled autobiography
That's a Winner! In 1998
, the Cardinals dedicated a bust of Buck that showed him smiling with a hand cupping his left ear.
in St. Louis. It was the first night that Major League Baseball resumed after the terrorist attacks of September 11. 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 concluded by silencing critics who thought baseball had come back too soon: "I don't know about you, but as for me, the question has already been answered: Should we be here? Yes!"
Buck wrote a poem named For America that he read at the first Cardinals game after the 9/11 attacks to describe his opinion and the general opinion, regarding defeating terrorism, of Americans after September 11. The poem went:
from a combination of illnesses. 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 death shook the St. Louis community: within two hours of his death, fans were leaving flowers at the base of his bust outside Busch Stadium
even though it was the middle of the night. The flags at St. Louis City Hall and the St. Louis County Government Center were lowered to half-staff, the local television news anchors all wore black suits for the next several days, and a public visitation was held in the stadium before the next baseball game after his death, with free admission to the game for all the mourners who filed past his coffin.
Buck was interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
in south St. Louis County. His spot on the KMOX Cardinals broadcasts was subsequently filled by former Colorado Rockies
announcer Wayne Hagin. Hagin, now with the New York Mets
, moved over to television, and his spot was filled by one of Buck's protégés, former Chicago White Sox
announcer John Rooney
.
Buck's youngest son, Joe
read the eulogy at his father's church funeral. Jack Buck had eight children in all; five daughters and three sons. Joe Buck is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for both Major League Baseball and the NFL
on the Fox network
. Joe Buck has also done occasional local telecasts for the Cardinals as well as commercials for a local automobile dealership.
Jack and Joe Buck are also the only father and son to call play-by-play of Super Bowl telecasts.
During postseason telecasts, Joe has often paid homage to his 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 , 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!". During the the 2011 Series
, Joe punctuated David Freese
's 11th inning walk-off homer for the Cardinals in Game 6 with "We will see you...tomorrow night!", near similar to the 1991 Puckett home run description, a call he said he did to celebrate Jack, but would never repeat again in the same situation. However, when the Cardinals won Game 7, he did not quote his father.
The Jack Buck Award
is named in his honor.
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
games of the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award
Ford C. Frick Award
The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball." It is named for Ford Christopher Frick, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball...
from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987
1987 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals ; Frank Viola, MVP**American League Championship Series: Gary Gaetti, MVP**National League Championship Series: Jeff Leonard, MVP...
, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame
St. Louis Walk of Fame
The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there...
. Buck was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association
American Sportscasters Association was founded in 1979 by broadcaster Dick London and associate attorney Harold Foner as a non profit association to represent sportscasters by promoting and supporting the needs and interests of the professional sports broadcaster.-History:In 1980, Louis O...
Hall of Fame in 1990. He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995. The recently finished I-64/US-40
Interstate 64 in Missouri
In the U.S. state of Missouri, Interstate 64 passes through in the St. Louis area. The entire route overlaps U.S. Route 40. Because the road was a main thoroughfare in the St. Louis area before the development of the Interstate Highway System, it is not uncommon for locals to refer to the stretch...
in St. Louis, Missouri is named in Buck's honor. He is the father of Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
lead NFL
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
and MLB announcer Joe Buck
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
.
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
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
's dramatic game-winning pinch-hit home run
Kirk Gibson 1988 World Series home run
Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run occurred in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, on October 15, , at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Gibson, pinch hitting for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning, with injuries to both legs, hit a two-run walk-off home run off the Oakland...
in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series
1988 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 15, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaBecause of using ace Orel Hershiser in Game 7 of the NLCS, the Dodgers had to open with rookie Tim Belcher in Game 1. Meanwhile, Oakland sent a well-rested Dave Stewart to the mound. Both pitchers, however, would have...
("I don't believe what I just saw!"), Ozzie Smith
Ozzie Smith
Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith is an American former baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996...
's walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series
1985 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 9, 1985 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe opening contest in Los Angeles pitted Dodgers screwballer Fernando Valenzuela against the Cardinals' twenty-game winner, John Tudor. The pitchers matched zeroes through the first three innings, but in the bottom of...
("Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!"), Jack Clark
Jack Clark (baseball)
Jack Anthony Clark , also known as "Jack the Ripper," is a former Major League Baseball player. From 1975 through 1992, Clark played for the San Francisco Giants , St. Louis Cardinals , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox...
's three-run home run two days later in Game 6 ("Adios! Goodbye! And maybe, that's a winner!"), Tom Herr
Tom Herr
Thomas Mitchell Herr is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1979 to 1991 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets...
's walk-off grand slam home run against the New York Mets
1987 New York Mets season
The New York Mets' 1987 season was the 26th regular season for the Mets. They went 92-70 and finished 2nd in the NL East. They were managed by Davey Johnson. They played home games at Shea Stadium.-Offseason:...
in April 1987
1987 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals ; Frank Viola, MVP**American League Championship Series: Gary Gaetti, MVP**National League Championship Series: Jeff Leonard, MVP...
("A Grand Slam-a!"), Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 12-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins and he is the Twins franchise's all-time leader in career hits, runs, doubles, and total bases...
's iconic walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series
1991 World Series
The 1991 World Series pitted the Minnesota Twins of the American League against the Atlanta Braves of the National League. The series was played from Saturday, October 19 to Sunday, October 27....
("And we'll see you tomorrow night!"), and Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
's single season record-tying home run in 1998
1998 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:*Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs...
("Pardon me while I stand up and applaud!").
Early life
Jack Buck was born in Holyoke, MassachusettsHolyoke, Massachusetts
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range of mountains. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 39,880...
, the third of seven children by Kathleen and Earle Buck, who was a railroad accountant who commuted weekly to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. In spite of his association with the St. Louis Cardinals, Jack grew up a Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
fan and idolized Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....
. When Jack was 15, his father got a job in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
with the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
. A year later, Earle Buck died at the age of 49 due to high blood pressure
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
.
As a teenager, Jack worked as a deck hand on the iron ore boats of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. He was soon drafted into the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
where he served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. 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
Fragmentation (weaponry)
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
while crossing the last (Remagen
Ludendorff Bridge
The Ludendorff Bridge was a railway bridge across the River Rhine in Germany, connecting the villages of Remagen and Erpel between two ridge lines of hills flanking the river...
) bridge into Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to stop enemy fire. Buck was ultimately awarded a Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
after spending time in a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
hospital. (Years later, Buck discovered that fellow future sportscaster Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...
was also with the 9th Infantry and was wounded in the same battle.)
Prior to his broadcasting career, Buck attended Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, where he majored in radio speech and minored in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Buck paid for college by working at an all night gas station.
Buck crafted his play-by-play skills broadcasting Ohio State basketball
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
The Lucas Sapp men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances...
games. After college, he called games for the Columbus Red Birds
Columbus Red Birds
The Columbus Red Birds was the name of a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as the Columbus Senators — a typical...
, a Triple-A (American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
) affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in 1950
1950 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies *All-Star Game, July 11 at Comiskey Park: National League, 4-3 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Carta Vieja *College World Series: Texas...
-51
1951 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.-Major League Baseball:...
. He spent the 1953
1953 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 14 at Crosley Field: National League, 5-1-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce *College World Series: Michigan...
season as voice of another AAA Cardinals affiliate, the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
on WHEC (AM). His work there earned him an invitation to join the big-league Cardinals' broadcast team in St. Louis the following season.
St. Louis Cardinals career
Buck started broadcasting Cardinals games for KMOXKMOX (AM)
KMOX is a radio station broadcasting from St. Louis, Missouri. It is a 50,000-watt clear channel radio station, which permits its nighttime signal to be heard in most of the continental U.S. KMOX operates as "NewsRadio 1120" and refers to itself as "The Voice of St...
radio in 1954
1954 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 73rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 63rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 72-82 during the season and finished 6th in the National League.- Offseason :...
, teaming with Harry Caray
Harry Caray
Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, was an American baseball broadcaster on radio and television. He covered four Major League Baseball teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St...
, Milo Hamilton
Milo Hamilton
Leland Milo Hamilton is an American sportscaster, best known for calling play-by-play for seven different Major League Baseball teams since 1953...
(1954), and Joe Garagiola (from 1955
1955 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 74th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 64th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 68-86 during the season and finished seventh in the National League, 30½ games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers....
). Buck was dropped from the Cardinals booth in 1959
1959 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 78th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 68th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 71-83 during the season and finished seventh in the National League, 16 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers....
to make room for Buddy Blattner
Buddy Blattner
Robert Garnett Blattner , commonly known as "Buddy" or "Bud" Blattner, was an American table tennis and baseball player and radio and television sportscaster.-Playing career:Blattner played table tennis in his youth, winning the world men's doubles championship in 1936...
; the following year
1960 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 79th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 69th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 86-68 during the season, a fifteen game improvement over the previous season, and finished third in the National League, nine games behind the World...
, he called Saturday Game of the Week
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
telecasts for ABC. Buck was re-hired by the Cardinals in 1961
1961 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 80th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 70th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 80-74 during the season and finished fifth in the National League...
after Blattner departed; Garagiola left the following year, leaving Caray and Buck as the team's broadcast voices through 1969
1969 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1969 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 88th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 78th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 87-75 during the season and finished fourth in the newly-established National League East, 13 games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series...
.
After Caray was fired by the Cardinals following the 1969 season, Buck ascended to the team's lead play-by-play role. (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
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
in the same year).
Buck teamed with ex-Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
announcer Jim Woods
Jim Woods
James M. Woods was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work on Major League Baseball broadcasts.-Early life:...
in 1970
1970 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 89th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 79th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 76-86 during the season and finished fourth in the National League East, 13 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates...
–71
1971 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 90th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 80th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 90-72 during the season and finished second in the National League East, seven games behind the eventual NL pennant and World Series champion Pittsburgh...
. In 1972
1972 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 91st season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 81st season in the National League. The Cardinals went 75-81 during the season and finished fourth in the National League East, 21½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates....
, retired Cardinals third baseman Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
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.
In addition to Joe, Buck has three daughters who worked in broadcasting--Julie Buck on KYKY
KYKY
KYKY, originally known as KSTL-FM, KRCH and later, KSLQ-FM prior to October 1, 1982, is an FM radio station serving the St. Louis, Missouri radio market. The current format of the station is Adult Top 40. It operates at 98.1 MHz. KYKY is owned by CBS Radio, which also owns soft rock station...
98.1 in St. Louis (she now works at KLOU-FM 103.3
KLOU
KLOU is a radio station with an oldies format in St. Louis, Missouri, specializing in hits from the 1960s and 1970s.-History:The station began broadcasting on February 12, 1962 as KMOX-FM, by playing an easy listening/standards format. The focus then shifted to an adult contemporary style of music...
, also in St. Louis), Bonnie Buck, who currently works in television in Los Angeles, and Christine Buck, who started her career at KPLR-TV
KPLR-TV
KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KPLR is owned by the Tribune Company, and is an affiliate of The CW Television Network. The station's studios are located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in Northwest St. Louis County KPLR-TV, channel 11, is a television station...
in St. Louis. In addition, Buck’s late younger brother, Bob Buck
Bob Buck
Robert “Bob” Buck , was an American sportscaster and sports director. He was the younger brother of late St. Louis Cardinals radio broadcaster Jack Buck, and was the uncle of national television sportscaster Joe Buck....
was a sportscaster and sports director at KMOX/KMOV
KMOV
KMOV, virtual channel 4, is the CBS-affiliated television station in St. Louis, Missouri. KMOV is owned by the Dallas-based Belo Corporation, with its studio and office facilities in St...
-TV in St. Louis.
Buck was well respected in the St. Louis community, where he lived and regularly volunteered time to host charity events.
Buck is featured in many of the stories in the book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings
Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings
Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings is a book by former Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher Carl Erskine. It is a compilation of short stories about life in the glory days of Major League Baseball. The forward was penned by Hall of Fame announcer Vin...
(2004), a compendium of short stories by former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine
Carl Erskine
Carl Daniel Erskine is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959...
.
Football
Jack Buck was also a renowned footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
broadcaster. In 1964
1964 NFL season
The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...
he began calling National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
games for CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
television, following a four-year stint doing telecasts of the rival American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
for ABC
American Football League on ABC
American Football League on ABC is a television program that broadcast professional football games of the then fledging American Football League on the American Broadcasting Company...
. Buck called Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
games in his first two CBS seasons, then switched to Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
games, including the famous "Ice Bowl" championship game in 1967. After the network moved away from dedicated team announcers, Buck continued to call regional NFL action through 1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
, as well as several NFC Championship Game
NFC Championship Game
The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the...
s and Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
. He also called the 1965 Cotton Bowl Classic for CBS.
In 1975
1975 NFL season
The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...
, Buck temporarily left his Cardinals baseball duties in order to host the NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...
pregame show, GrandStand, alongside Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
. In the 1976
1976 NFL season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...
and 1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
seasons, he called regional NFL play-by-play for NBC. On August 16, 1976, Buck called the first-ever NFL game played outside of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a preseason exhibition between the St. Louis Cardinals
1976 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
The 1976 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 57th season the team was in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 11-3, winning only ten games. This was the first time in three seasons the team did not qualify for the playoffs....
and San Diego Chargers
1976 San Diego Chargers season
The 1976 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 2–12 record in 1975.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-See also:*1976 NFL season...
held at Korakuen Stadium
Korakuen Stadium
was a stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 1937, it was primarily used for baseball and was home to the Yomiuri Giants until 1988 when they moved next door, to the Tokyo Dome, which sits on the site of the Velodrome. The ballpark had a capacity of 50,000 people. In 1942 Korakuen Stadium played...
in Tokyo, Japan. (Buck also worked NBC's backup Game of the Week
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
during the 1976
1976 Major League Baseball season
The 1976 Major League Baseball season was the last season in which both the AL and the NL had the same number of teams until 1993. The season ended with the Cincinnati Reds taking the World Series Championship for the second consecutive season by sweeping the New York Yankees in four games...
baseball season before returning to the Cardinals full-time in 1977
1977 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1977 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 96th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 86th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 83-79 during the season and finished third in the National League East, 18 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.Vern Rapp took over as the...
.)
Buck served as the CBS Radio
NFL on Westwood One
The NFL on Westwood One is the brand name given to weekly National Football League games carried on the radio over the Dial Global Radio Network...
voice of Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
(teaming with Hank Stram
Hank Stram
Henry Louis "Hank" Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League's Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs of the NFL. Stram won three AFL Championships and Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs...
) for nearly two decades (1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
–1984
1984 NFL season
The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....
and again from 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
–1995
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
). Ironically, in 1970 ABC's Roone Arledge
Roone Arledge
Roone Pickney Arledge, Jr. was an American sports broadcasting pioneer who was chairman of ABC News from 1977 until several years before his death, and a key part of the company's rise to competition with the two other main television networks, NBC and CBS, in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.-Early...
had asked via telephone about Buck's interests in becoming the first television play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football, but because of personal animosity surrounding his previous stint with the network, Buck wouldn't return their phone call. (The television play-by-play role would go to Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...
instead.) In addition to MNF, Buck called numerous playoff games for CBS Radio, including 17 Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s (the most of any announcer). Buck also served as a part-time radio broadcaster for the football Cardinals in 1980
1980 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
The 1980 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 61st season the team was in the league. The team matched their previous output of 5-11. The team failed to reach the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:...
and 1981
1981 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
The 1981 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 62nd season the team was in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 5-11, winning seven games. Despite the improvement the team failed - for the sixth consecutive season - to reach the playoffs, ....
(filling in when regular announcer Dan Kelly
Dan Kelly (sportscaster)
Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
was busy doing hockey), and returned to calling Sunday NFL games for CBS television from 1982
1982 NFL season
The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...
to 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
.
Late in the 1990 NFL season
1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
, Buck's onetime CBS broadcasting partner, Pat Summerall
Pat Summerall
George Allen "Pat" Summerall is a former American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN.Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox.-High school:...
, was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer after vomiting on a plane during a flight after a game, and was out for a considerable amount of time. While Verne Lundquist
Verne Lundquist
Merton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
replaced Summerall on games with lead analyst John Madden, Buck (who was at the time the network's lead Major League Baseball announcer) filled in for Lundquist, teaming with Dan Fouts
Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
to call two games (both of which coincidentally featured the Cardinals, who had moved from St. Louis to Arizona
1990 Phoenix Cardinals season
The 1990 Phoenix Cardinals season was the team's 71st year with the National Football League and the 3rd season in Phoenix.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Roster: -References:**...
by that time).
The Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
presented Buck with its Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award
The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, created in 1989 and named for the late longtime NFL commissioner, is bestowed annually by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football". Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame's comparable...
in 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
.
Other sports
While much better known for his baseball and football commentary, Jack Buck was also the original voice of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. Buck was paired with Jay Randolph
Jay Randolph
Jennings "Jay" Randolph, Jr. is an American sportscaster whose career has spanned more than fifty years.-Early life and career:...
and Gus Kyle
Gus Kyle
Walter Lawrence "Gus" Kyle was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 203 games in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins....
on the broadcasts and covered the 1968 Stanley Cup Final
1968 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:...
on St. Louis radio. He was succeeded after one season by another St. Louis broadcasting legend, Dan Kelly
Dan Kelly (sportscaster)
Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
.
Buck also broadcast for the St. Louis Hawks and Rochester Royals
Rochester Royals
The franchise that would become the Sacramento Kings initially started in the city of Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League....
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, and called professional boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, and bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
at various times in his career.
CBS baseball career
1983 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1983 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandJohn Denver, whose Thank God I'm a Country Boy was played at the seventh-inning stretch of each Orioles home game, sang the National Anthem prior to this game....
-1989
1989 World Series
†: Game 3 was originally slated for October 17 at 5:35 pm; however, it was postponed when an earthquake occurred at 5:04 pm.-Game 1:Saturday, October 14, 1989 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California...
, Buck teamed with the likes of Sparky Anderson
Sparky Anderson
George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. He was the first manager to win the World Series in both...
, Bill White, and Johnny Bench
Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...
for World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
radio broadcasts on CBS
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio was the de facto title for the CBS Radio Network's coverage of Major League Baseball. Produced by CBS Radio Sports , the program was the official national radio broadcaster for the All-Star Game and the postseason from 1976 to 1997.-Contracts:CBS first covered...
. Buck, along with CBS Radio colleagues Johnny Bench and John Rooney
John Rooney
John Rooney is an American sportscaster, currently best known for his role as a radio broadcaster for Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.-Early career:...
, was on hand at San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
's Candlestick Park on October 17, 1989, when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. After the 6.9 magnitude quake rocked the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, Buck told the listening audience: He is most famous for his call in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series
1988 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 15, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaBecause of using ace Orel Hershiser in Game 7 of the NLCS, the Dodgers had to open with rookie Tim Belcher in Game 1. Meanwhile, Oakland sent a well-rested Dave Stewart to the mound. Both pitchers, however, would have...
of Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
's game-winning home run
Kirk Gibson 1988 World Series home run
Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run occurred in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, on October 15, , at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Gibson, pinch hitting for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning, with injuries to both legs, hit a two-run walk-off home run off the Oakland...
, and his disbelief at the feat by Gibson, who at the time had two injured legs. His call of the play is so famous that it's usually played over the television footage of the play, and often confused for the television call, which was actually done by Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...
on NBC.
Buck wasn't intended to be the main play-by-play announcer for CBS baseball telecasts when the network acquired the sport from NBC and ABC. Originally assigned to the network's #2 crew (and therefore, work with Jim Kaat
Jim Kaat
James Lee "Jim" Kaat , nicknamed "Kitty", is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins , Chicago White Sox , Philadelphia Phillies , New York Yankees , and St...
), he was promoted at practically the last minute after Brent Musburger
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...
was fired on April Fools Day of 1990
1990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
.
After two years of calling baseball telecasts (including the Saturday afternoon Game of the Week
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
, All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
, National League Championship Series
National League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the National League Championship Series is a round in the postseason that determines who wins the National League pennant and advances to Major League Baseball's championship, the World Series, facing the winner of the American League Championship Series. The reigning...
, and World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
), Buck was dismissed by CBS. The official reasoning behind Buck's ouster was that he simply had poor chemistry with lead analyst Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
. Buck was soon replaced by Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
announcer Sean McDonough
Sean McDonough
Sean McDonough is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN.-Early life and career:The son of Boston Globe sportswriter Will McDonough, Sean graduated from Syracuse University in 1984. It was in Syracuse where McDonough began his broadcasting career in 1982 as the play-by-play announcer...
. Buck later rued that "CBS never got that baseball play-by-play draws word-pictures. All they knew was that football stars analysts. So they said, 'Let McCarver run the show...In television, all they want you to do is shut up. I'm not very good at shutting up." Buck was criticized by some for his alleged habit of predicting plays on air.
Buck made controversial statements about singer Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
prior to Game 4 of the 1990 National League Championship Series
1990 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Thursday, October 4, 1990 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioBob Walk was the starting pitcher for Pittsburgh and José Rijo was on the mound for the Reds. The Reds had two doubles in the bottom half of the first inning and scored three runs. This would prove to be the only runs they...
. After Vinton muffed the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
" in his home town of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Buck lightly referenced Vinton's Polish heritage. Buck soon got death threats from Pittsburgh Pirate
1990 Pittsburgh Pirates season
The Pittsburgh Pirates had 95 wins and 67 losses to win the National League East Division Title.-Offseason:* December 4, 1989: Gordon Dillard was drafted by the Pirates from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1989 rule 5 draft....
fans, who even went as far as leaving a footprint on Buck's hotel pillow. The next day, CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
executive producer Ted Shaker spotted Buck in the hotel lobby and told Buck that he was in trouble. The final baseball play that Jack Buck narrated for CBS television was Gene Larkin
Gene Larkin
Eugene Thomas Larkin is a former switch-hitting first baseman, designated hitter and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire seven-season career with the Minnesota Twins. During his playing career he wore #9 for Minnesota, and was a member of both the 1987 and 1991 World...
's game winning bloop single in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
In all, Buck called 11 World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
, 18 Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s, and four Major League Baseball All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
s.
Final years
Over the course of the 1990s, Buck decided to reduce his schedule to calling only Cardinals home games (or 81 games a year unless there was a "special occurrence"). Health concerns obviously could have played a factor in this, as Buck suffered from such ailments as Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
, a pacemaker
Artificial pacemaker
A pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart...
, cataract
Cataract
A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light...
s, sciatica
Sciatica
Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or...
, and vertigo
Vertigo (medical)
Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
. Buck once joked, "I wish I'd get Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, then I could forget I've got all the other stuff." In 1997
1997 in literature
The year 1997 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Clancy signs a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. , giving him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . A second agreement gives him another US$25 million for a...
, Buck published his aptly titled autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
That's a Winner! In 1998
1998 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:*Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs...
, the Cardinals dedicated a bust of Buck that showed him smiling with a hand cupping his left ear.
September 17, 2001
One of Jack Buck's final public appearances was on September 17, 2001 at Busch Memorial StadiumBusch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
in St. Louis. It was the first night that Major League Baseball resumed after the terrorist attacks of September 11. Although looking rather frail (Buck at the time was sick with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
) 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 concluded by silencing critics who thought baseball had come back too soon: "I don't know about you, but as for me, the question has already been answered: Should we be here? Yes!"
For America
- Since this nation was founded under
- God, more than 200 years ago,
- We've been the bastion of
- Freedom...
- The light which keeps the free world
- Aglow.
- We do not covet the possessions of
- Others, we are blessed with the
- Bounty we share.
- We have rushed to help other
- Nations...anything...anytime...
- Anywhere.
- War is just not our nature...we
- Won't start, but we will end the fight.
- If we are involved we shall be
- Resolved to protect what we know is
- Right.
- We've been challenged by a
- Cowardly foe, who strikes and then
- Hides from our view.
- With one voice we say there's no
- Choice today, there is only one
- Thing to do.
- Everyone is saying the same thing
- And praying that we end these
- Senseless moments we are living.
- As our fathers did before, we shall
- Win this unwanted war.
- And our children will enjoy the
- Future, we'll be giving.
Death
Jack Buck died on June 18, 2002 in St. Louis's Barnes-Jewish HospitalBarnes-Jewish Hospital
Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the largest hospital in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the adult teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine, and is located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is consistently rated one of the top hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report...
from a combination of illnesses. 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
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, Parkinson's disease
Deep brain stimulation
Deep brain stimulation is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain...
, and to correct an intestinal
Intestine
In human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
blockage. His death shook the St. Louis community: within two hours of his death, fans were leaving flowers at the base of his bust outside Busch Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
even though it was the middle of the night. The flags at St. Louis City Hall and the St. Louis County Government Center were lowered to half-staff, the local television news anchors all wore black suits for the next several days, and a public visitation was held in the stadium before the next baseball game after his death, with free admission to the game for all the mourners who filed past his coffin.
Buck was interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
- External links :**...
in south St. Louis County. His spot on the KMOX Cardinals broadcasts was subsequently filled by former Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
announcer Wayne Hagin. Hagin, now with the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, moved over to television, and his spot was filled by one of Buck's protégés, former Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
announcer John Rooney
John Rooney
John Rooney is an American sportscaster, currently best known for his role as a radio broadcaster for Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.-Early career:...
.
Buck's youngest son, Joe
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
read the eulogy at his father's church funeral. Jack Buck had eight children in all; five daughters and three sons. Joe Buck is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for both Major League Baseball and the NFL
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. Joe Buck has also done occasional local telecasts for the Cardinals as well as commercials for a local automobile dealership.
Jack and Joe Buck are also the only father and son to call play-by-play of Super Bowl telecasts.
During postseason telecasts, Joe has often paid homage to his father by signing off with "We'll see you tomorrow night!" When the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series
2006 World Series
The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking...
, Joe quoted his father again saying, "For the first time since , 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!". During the the 2011 Series
2011 World Series
The 2011 World Series was the 107th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was played between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion St...
, Joe punctuated David Freese
David Freese
David Richard Freese is a third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. A star high school player, Freese chose not to play college baseball in his freshman year of college, but returned to the game a year later...
's 11th inning walk-off homer for the Cardinals in Game 6 with "We will see you...tomorrow night!", near similar to the 1991 Puckett home run description, a call he said he did to celebrate Jack, but would never repeat again in the same situation. However, when the Cardinals won Game 7, he did not quote his father.
The Jack Buck Award
Jack Buck Award
Jack Buck Award is an award named after former St. Louis broadcaster Jack Buck. This award was established in 1987 and is presented to individuals in recognition of enthusiastic and dedicated support of sports in the city of St. Louis, Missouri....
is named in his honor.