| Jack Buck | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 21, 1924 Holyoke, Massachusetts |
| Died | June 18, 2002 (aged 77) St. Louis, Missouri |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Spouse |
Alyce Larson (divorced in 1969) Carole Lintzenich |
| Children | Sons: Jack, Jr., Dan and Joe Buck Daughters: Beverly, Christine, Bonnie, Betsy and Julie |
| Parents | Earle and Kathleen Buck |
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!").
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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. 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.
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. (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.
Jack Buck was also a renowned football 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 Games 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 Bowls (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.
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 League. 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:
| “ | I must say about Johnny Bench, folks, if he moved that fast when he played, he would have never hit into a double play. I never saw anybody move that fast in my life. | ” |
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.[1][2][3] 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.[4]
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.[5] 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.
| “ | The Twins are going to win the World Series! The Twins have won it! It's a base hit! It's a 1-0 10th inning victory!" | ” |
In all, Buck called 11 World Series, 18 Super Bowls, and four Major League Baseball All-Star Games.
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 disease, diabetes, a pacemaker, cataracts, 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.
One of Jack Buck's final public appearances was on September 17, 2001 at Busch Memorial Stadium 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[6] 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:
Jack Buck died on June 18, 2002 in St. Louis's Barnes-Jewish Hospital 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 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!". During 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.[7] However, when the Cardinals won Game 7, he did not quote his father.[8]
The Jack Buck Award is named in his honor.
He takes off his cap. He mops his brow. He looks in and gets the sign. He starts the windup. Here's the pitch and it's...A STRIKE CALLED! A NO-HITTER FOR GIBSON! Simmons roars to the mound, embraces Gibson who is engulfed by his teammates as the Cardinals win the game 11-0!—Calling the final out of Bob Gibson's 1971 no-hitter. Gibson struck out Willie Stargell to secure the only no-hitter of his legendary career.
Brock takes the lead, Ruthven checks him. He is...GOING! The pitch is a strike, the throw...he is there! HE DID IT! 105 for Lou Brock!—Calling Lou Brock's single season record-breaking 105th stolen base of the 1974 season.
He's going! The pitch is high, the throw is...safe! He stole it! The throw got by the shortstop and Brock has done it! They would've thrown him out, but the shortstop couldn't handle the bad throw and this is it, folks. Brock has now stolen 893!—Calling Lou Brock's career record breaking 893rd stolen base in 1977.
Breaking ball, hit off the pitcher, TO THE THIRD BASEMAN!!! No play! Base hit! Three thousand for Lou Brock!—Calling Brock's 3,000th career hit in 1979.
Montana lines up at the five. And on third-down-and-three he rolls right, looking to throw...looking to throw...and he throws into the end zone, touchdown! Touchdown! Touchdown, San Francisco, by Dwight Clark!—Calling "The Catch" in the 1981 NFC Championship Game.
Smith corks one into right, down the line! It may go...Go crazy, folks! Go crazy! It's a home run! And the Cardinals have won the game, by the score of 3-2, on a home run by The Wizard! Go crazy!—Calling Ozzie Smith's walk-off home run off Tom Niedenfuer of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series.[9]
The Dodger right-hander is set and here's his pitch to Jack Clark. Swing and a long one into left field! Adios, goodbye, and maybe that's a winner! A three-run homer by Clark and the Cardinals lead by the score of 7 to 5 and they may go to the World Series on THAT one, folks!—Calling Jack Clark's 9th inning three-run home run off Niedenfuer in Game 6 of the 1985 National League Championship Series to give the Cardinals the lead and the National League Pennant.
Orta, leading off, swings and hits it to the right side, and the pitcher has to cover he is...SAFE, SAFE, SAFE, and we'll have an argument! Sparky, I think he was out!—Calling Don Denkinger's blown call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series that ignited a Royals game-winning rally.
Here's the pitch to Mookie Wilson. Winning run at second. Ground ball to first, it is a run...an error! An error by Buckner! The winning run scores! The Mets win it 6 to 5 with three in the 10th! The ball went right through the legs of Buckner and the Mets with 2 men out and nobody on have scored three times to bring about a seventh game, which will be played here tomorrow night. Folks, it was unbelievable. An error, right through the legs of Buckner. There were 2 on, nobody out, a single by Carter, a single by Mitchell, a single by Ray Knight, a wild pitch, an error by Buckner. 3 in the 9th for the Mets. They've won the game 6-5 and we shall play here... tomorrow night! Well, open up the history book, folks, we've got an entry for you.—Calling the final moments of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.
Off the stretch, Orosco, here's the pitch...swing and a long one into left field! Way back in the corner...GRAND SLAMMMMMAAHHH! A grand slam home run by Herr! And that's a winner! Twelve to eight!—Calling Tom Herr's game-winning grand slam home run on Seat Cushion Night against the New York Mets in April 1987.
Here's the pitch...Swing and a fly ball, you want another winner here? Coleman going to it...YOU GOT IT! That's a winner! 6-0 Cardinals!—Calling the final out of the 1987 National League Championship Series as the Cardinals advanced to the 1987 World Series.
Gibson...swings and a fly ball to deep right field. This is gonna be a home run! UNBELIEVABLE! A home run for Gibson! And the Dodgers have won the game, five to four; I don't believe what I just saw! I don't BELIEVE what I just saw!—Calling an injured Kirk Gibson's walkoff home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series off of Dennis Eckersley.[10]
Montana is back to throw. He looks and throws, endzone...TOUCHDOWN! Touchdown...to John Taylor with 34 seconds left! A 10 yard touchdown pass to John Taylor, and the 49ers lead by three, and the extra point will put the nail in the Cincinnati coffin.
Into deep left center...for Mitchell ... and we'll see you .. .tomorrow night!—Calling Kirby Puckett's walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.
(Buck's son Joe paid homage with a nearly identical call on David Freese's walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.)
The Twins are gonna win the World Series! The Twins have won it! It's a base hit! It's a 1-0, ten inning victory!—Calling Gene Larkin's game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
Mike Morgan is the pitcher. Here's the pitch to McGwire...SWING..looky there! LOOKY THERE!!!! Looky there! McGwire's number sixty-one!!! McGwire's flight 61 headed for Planet Maris! History! Bedlam! What a moment! Pardon me while I stand up and applaud!—Calling Mark McGwire's single season record-tying 61st home run in 1998.