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10/23/2026 07:39:00
Printable Page
10/23 19:37 CDT Robin Yount and Brewers' broadcast team pay tribute to Bob
Uecker by borrowing from his wardrobe
Robin Yount and Brewers' broadcast team pay tribute to Bob Uecker by borrowing
from his wardrobe
By STEVE MEGARGEE
AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) --- Hall of Famer Robin Yount honored Bob Uecker by wearing one
of the beloved Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster's plaid sport coats before
throwing out the first pitch prior to Game 1 of the World Series against the
Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Uecker's presence also was all over the radio broadcast room that's been named
in his honor as the Brewers played their first World Series game since 1982.
Each member of the Brewers radio crew --- Lane Grindle, Jeff Levering, Josh
Maurer and engineer/producer Kent Sommerfeld --- also wore a plaid blazer that
had been part of Uecker's wardrobe. Uecker died in January 2025 at the age of
90 after broadcasting Brewers games for 54 years.
Yount wore the sportcoat as he headed toward the mound. Before throwing the
first pitch, Yount took off the jacket to reveal a Brewers jersey that included
"Ueck" and Yount's No. 19 on the back
Grindle said Yount came up with the idea after the two-time MVP learned he
would be throwing out the first pitch at the World Series opener. Yount and
former Brewers owner and MLB commissioner Bud Selig each threw out a ceremonial
first pitch.
"He said, ?Do you think it would be appropriate if I wore a plaid jacket in
honor of Ueck?'" Grindle said. "I was like, ?I think that would be incredible
if you did that.'"
Grindle considered the possibility of wearing sport coats that actually
belonged to Uecker and brought it up to Uecker's family.
"They were very quick to say, ?Absolutely, that's incredible, that you could
have a piece of Bob with you in the radio booth, where he called home, and for
his best friend Robin Yount to wear it when he goes out to the mound,'" Grindle
said.
Maurer wore the same blazer Uecker wore while appearing in a Miller Lite
commercial alongside Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford and actor John Goodman.
Uecker also wore that sport coat on the cover of his book, "Catcher in the Wry:
Outrageous but True Stories of Baseball."
Sommerfeld wore a blazer Uecker had sported in a Miller Lite commercial with
John Madden.
Uecker's decision to stay in his hometown and continue broadcasting Milwaukee
games even as he became a national celebrity from his appearances in movies,
television sitcoms and beer commercials made him as synonymous with the Brewers
as anyone who has actually played for the team.
There are two statues of Uecker at American Family Field --- one outside the
stadium and one in the back row of an upper level to pay tribute to the Miller
Lite commercial in which Uecker says, "Must be in the front row!"
Fans placed plenty of Miller Lite beer cans at Uecker's feet on the statue
outside the stadium before Friday's game. Former Brewers slugger and 2011 NL
MVP Ryan Braun shouted, "Let's do it for Ueck!" while firing up the crowd just
before the start of the game.
___
See AP's full MLB coverage here
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