Ed. PS: Bob Uecker, who died Thursday at the age of 90, meant a lot to many people. Maybe you know him as the beloved voice of the Milwaukee Brewers. Maybe you remember his role in the “Major League” movie (“Yuust A little outside”). Or you might associate him with the character in the Miller Lite commercials or the hit ’80s sitcom “Mr.” Belvedere.
Uecker, or “Ueck” as he’s often called, is at least one thing more: a golfer. He started playing for the Milwaukee Braves in the 1960s and reduced his handicap to about 12.
In 2020, GOLF’s Chris Nashawaty spoke to Uecker about his passion for golf and more. The interview is reproduced below.
***
GOLF: You are 86 years old.
Bob Ecker: Back when I was playing professional baseball, my teammate Clete Boyer and I used to hang out in the offseason. It was very frustrating at first. The ball would sit on the tee, and I’d hit it out of bounds, or hook it, or hit a grounder. It’s not like someone throwing a ball at you at 100 miles an hour. You can swing and miss it. This is understandable. But when you swing at a ball lying on the ground and no one says anything, there’s really no excuse.
Maybe you just need hecklers, like on the pitch…
perhaps! I think I need people yelling obscenities at me and my family like they did when I was playing in the major leagues.
How are you? What is your lowest hurdle?
I hit about 13, 12. I mean, I could put a stick of dynamite in my driver and I’d still only hit it 200 yards, but I don’t care. It was a bit embarrassing, though, when I was spotted hitting the ball from the kid’s tee in the middle of the fairway.
What’s the best golf tip you’ve ever received?
Put my clubs away.
You finished your major league career with a .200 batting average. Are you feeling a little relieved that there’s no more hitting?
I never paid much attention to that stuff. I did However, I hit 14 home runs in my career and a couple of them are Hall of Famers. I always apologize to Sandy Koufax when I see him because I think it might keep him from getting into the Hall of Fame.
you were there Johnny Carson Tonight Show 65 times. Why did you hit it off so well?
I don’t know because he can never make me laugh. We are good friends. And none of this was scripted or planned. One night he asked me if I wanted the notes on his desk. I said, “No, I thought they were for you!”
Mike Schmidt is a baseball legend. But he is addicted to golf
go through:
Michael Bamberger
You improvised most of the lines in the movie Major League Baseball Right?
Yeah, the director told me, “You can say whatever you want; use your own stuff. So like”Yuust A Little Outside” was improvised. “Eight-ball,” “nine-ball”—all that stuff.
Can Charlie Sheen really bring the heat with “Wild Things”?
Charlie is great! All I had to do was watch him finish and I knew. He can really throw it away!
How fun was it to shoot the Miller Lite commercials in the 1980s? I mean, you, Billy Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, John Madden…
It was like a crazy week with these guys. Rodney was often late for filming. i made one [Boston Celtics coach] Tommy Heinsohn, we were all there looking for Halley’s Comet, which appears once every hundred years. We were on top of a mountain and I started talking to him, “Now would be a good time to buy a Miller Lite.” So I reached down to get the Miller Lite, but I missed Halley’s Comet.
Not many people can say that their career was choked by Andre the Giant…
Yeah, when I announced WrestleMania. He scared me. He did it himself. He was supposed to be ranting and ranting and talking about Hulk Hogan, and then all of a sudden he started strangling me! That’s interesting…I thought.
You will always be the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers. How weird is it that there will be no baseball on Opening Day this year?
This year will be my 50th year with the Brewers and my 65th year in baseball. This is what I do. This is where I’m supposed to be. So very sad.
What do you think will happen?
We will eventually start again, but there will likely be no one in the stands. Now, I don’t care if you’re a baseball player or Tiger Woods, players live off the adrenaline of their fans. Thinking about playing baseball in an empty ballpark doesn’t seem right.
Well, hopefully we can resume baseball soon and we’ll see you in the booth.
