Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
It’s baseball. Beer commercials and late night television. The Major League again Mr. Belvedere.
Bob Uecker became a pop-culture fixture for many generations, from backup hunter to broadcaster, pitchman and actor, among many different roles.
Add the Milwaukee Admirals to that list as well.
When it came to a self-described “former major leaguer” like Uecker, the Admirals were always first in line with him.
Uecker, a native of Milwaukee, died last Thursday at the age of 90 at his home in Menomonee Falls. His death sparked many memories for fans in Milwaukee, across Wisconsin, the sports world, and for the Admirals.
The Admirals’ relationship with Uecker goes back more than three decades.
While playing in the International Hockey League in the early 1990s, the Admirals found themselves looking for a way to advertise. Then the owner Lloyd Pettita former Chicago broadcaster who called games for the Blackhawks, Cubs, White Sox and Bears, and the front office reached out to Uecker. Would he be interested in acting in a commercial for the group?
Uecker was already the star of Miller Lite commercials (“I’ve got to be on top!”), and he was just a few years removed from his breakout role as radio host Harry Doyle in the 1989 hit film. The Major League (“Juuust a bit outside”) and five seasons starring as George Owens on the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere. But if it meant helping Milwaukee and its hockey team, Uecker was on board.
“Bob was very open to the idea of being part of the campaign,” the Admirals president said Jon Greenberg. “Part of his whole thing was, ‘I’m a Milwaukee boy.’ If I can do something to help Milwaukee, I will. This is exciting. I’m totally into this.’
He said it never seemed like work.
Despite his fame – including national broadcast work for ABC and NBC and more than 100 guest appearances on the show The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson – Uecker’s relationship with Milwaukee never wavered. After a six-year MLB career that began with the Milwaukee Braves, he returned to the city in 1971 as a broadcaster with the Brewers. His irreverent humor was already attracting attention during his playing career, and he settled into the Milwaukee broadcast scene, a role he would hold for 54 seasons. In 2003, Uecker was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his contributions to the game.
The first trades for the Admirals went well, and the team acquired one of the most popular players in the sport. A series of spots followed, called “The Adventures of Lloyd and Bob.” Pettit played a low-key, deadpan role in Uecker’s clever comedy. Lloyd’s wife, owner Jane Pettitand the coach Phil Wittliff he also participated.
Like Uecker, Greenberg’s Milwaukee roots run deep. In 1984 he became the Brewers’ bat; he eventually became the director of the media relations team. When Harris Turerwhich held minority ownership in the Brewers, purchased the Admirals in 2005, Greenberg was named president of the AHL team.
In 2006, the Admirals took to the ice in jerseys reminiscent of the 1970s-era sports jackets that had become some of Uecker’s trademarks. Greenberg still has one of those jerseys signed by Uecker hanging in his office. Over the years the two became friends; Greenberg still thinks back to the more than 40 years since he got to know Uecker.
“That’s as low as you can go,” Greenberg joked about being a bat. “But he treated the bat boys well. Bob was larger than life to many of us. Feeling like we were one of the guys was a big deal. “
The Admirals want to make sure they thank Uecker for everything he has done for the team and the city. This past weekend in Texas, players’ helmets were emblazoned with a “Ueck” sticker. Milwaukee will also take a break from Wednesday’s home game, as the team works on ways to honor Uecker.
After all, Greenberg explained, “Bob was talking about Milwaukee.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
