Jack Buck | |
|---|---|
 Buck in 1987 | |
| Born | John Francis Buck (1924-08-21)August 21, 1924 Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | June 18, 2002(2002-06-18) (aged 77) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Resting place | Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 1950–2001 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 8, includingJoe |
| Awards | Name honored by St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | U.S. Army |
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | 9th Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | World War II –European theater |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
John Francis Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an Americansportscaster, best known for his work announcingMajor League Baseball games of theSt. Louis Cardinals. Hisplay-by-play work earned him recognition (or induction in some cases) from numeroushalls of fame (Baseball,Pro Football, andRadio).[1] He has also been inducted as a member of theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. He was the father ofESPN sportscasterJoe Buck.
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Buck was born inHolyoke, Massachusetts, the third of seven children of Earle and Kathleen Buck.[2] His father was a railroad accountant who commuted weekly toNew Jersey. From an early age, Buck dreamed of becoming a sports announcer with his early exposure to sports broadcasting coming from listening toBoston Red Sox baseball games announced byFred Hoey.[3]
Part of his childhood coincided with theGreat Depression, and Buck remembered his family sometimes using a metal slug to keep a coin-operated gas meter going during the winter to provide heat for their home.[4] In 1939, his family moved toCleveland, Ohio to join their father, who had a job with theErie Railroad.[5] Soon after though, Buck's father died at the age of 49 due touremic poisoning related tohigh blood pressure.[5]
Buck planned to quit high school in 1941 to take a full-time job in an effort to support his family. Dissuaded by one of his teachers, Buck decided to finish high school, graduating fromLakewood High School in the winter of 1942.[6] After graduation, he followed one of his friends and began working on an iron orefreight boat operated on theGreat Lakes by theCleveland Cliffs Iron Company.[7]
Buck served on a 700-foot (210 m) steamer namedThe Sheadle, where he began as porter and was later promoted to night cook and baker.[8] After performing various other shipping related jobs, Buck attempted to become a "deck watch." A required physical examination revealed Buck wascolor blind, unable to differentiate between the colors green and brown.[9] Ineligible for the promotion to deck watch, Buck subsequently became eligible for the military draft, and was drafted into theUnited States Army in June 1943.[8]
After completion of his military service in 1946, Buck enrolled at (and graduated from)Ohio State University. His early sportscasting career included work for the minor league affiliates of theSt. Louis Cardinals. In 1954, he was promoted to radio play-by-play of Cardinal games onKXOK radio; the team's radio broadcasts would move in 1955 toKMOX. Buck maintained this position for nearly all of the next 47 years. He was known in St. Louis for his trademark phrase "That's a winner!", which was said after every game that the Cardinals had won.
In addition to his work with the Cardinals, Buck also earned assignments on many national sportscasts, including radio coverage of 18Super Bowls and 11World Series. Some of his famous play-by-play calls include the dramatic walk-off home runs hit byOzzie Smith in Game 5 of the1985 National League Championship Series, byKirk Gibson in Game 1 of the1988 World Series, and byKirby Puckett in Game 6 of the1991 World Series.
The later part of his career found him working side by side in the Cardinals booth with his sonJoe Buck, who also has risen to national sportscasting prominence.
After graduating from high school, he worked on large shipping boats that traveled theGreat Lakes. Buck was drafted into theU.S. Army in June 1943. The physicality of Buck's work on the Great Lakes left in him good physical condition at the time he entered the Army.[10] Buck, who was 19 years old, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall, and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg).[10] His first assignment was anti-aircraft training, and was sent toFort Eustis, Virginia to undergo his 13-weekbasic training regimen.[10]
After completing his basic training in 1943, Buck was designated as an instructor, and assigned the rank ofcorporal.[10] In addition to his instructor duties, Buck participated inboxing as a form of recreation.[11] In February 1945, Buck shipped out to theEuropean theater of the war, where he was assigned to K Company,47th Infantry Regiment,9th Infantry Division.[12]
During the night of March 7, 1945, Buck and his compatriots crossed theLudendorff Bridge at the town ofRemagen, Germany.[13] United States forces' successful capture of this bridge led to theBattle of Remagen from March 7–25. On the morning of March 15, Buck was the squad leader of a patrol that came under German fire in the Remagen zone. Wounded in his left forearm and leg byfragmentation, Buck received medical treatment on the battlefield from the only medic K company had at that time,Frank Borghi.[14] He received further medical treatment at the 177th General Army Hospital inLe Mans, France, where he was awarded thePurple Heart. Buck recovered, and rejoined his outfit sometime after German forces hadsurrendered.[15]
Declining to re-enlist, and turning down requests to enroll in theOfficers Training School, Buck joined his compatriots in guard duty ofGerman prisoners of war.[16] Buck received orders to ship home in April 1946, effectively ending his military service.[17]
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After returning to the United States, Buck worked in various industrial-related jobs.[18] When his friend Bill Theil told Buck he needed a roommate to attendOhio State University with him, Buck decided on the spot to join Theil and enroll at Ohio State inColumbus. The suddenness of Buck's decision meant he had no corresponding paperwork that could be used to formally enroll at the university, so Buck attended classes of his own choosing until he was able to formally enroll.[19]
Buck majored in radio speech and minored in Spanish. He worked several jobs while attending college, including one position at an all-night gas station. He crafted his play-by-play skills broadcastingOhio State basketball games.
After college, he called games for theColumbus Red Birds, aTriple-A (American Association) affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in1950–51. He spent the1953 season as voice of another AAA Cardinals affiliate, theInternational LeagueRochester Red Wings onWHEC radio. His work there earned him an invitation to join the big-league Cardinals' broadcast team in St. Louis the following season.
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 | |
| Jack Buck was honored alongside theretired numbers of theSt. Louis Cardinals in 2002. |
Buck started broadcasting Cardinals games forKMOX radio in1954, teaming withHarry Caray,Milo Hamilton (1954), andJoe Garagiola (from1955). Buck was dropped from the Cardinals booth in1959 to make room forBuddy Blattner; the followingyear, he called SaturdayGame of the Week telecasts forABC. Buck was re-hired by the Cardinals in1961 after Blattner departed; Garagiola left after1962, leaving Caray and Buck as the team's broadcast voices from1963 through1969.
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—whom he had married in 1948 and had six children with—and married his second wife, Carole Lintzenich, who gave birth to their sonJoe Buck in the same year).
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 to 2, on a home run by the Wizard! Go crazy!
Buck teamed with ex-Yankees andPirates announcerJim Woods in1970–71. In1972, retired Cardinals third basemanMike 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!"
In addition to Joe, Buck has three daughters who worked in broadcasting. Two are from his first marriage - Bonnie Buck, who currently works in television in Los Angeles, and Christine Buck, who started her career atKPLR-TV in St. Louis. From his second marriage is Julie Buck onKYKY 98.1 in St. Louis (she now works atKTRS-AM 550, also in St. Louis). In addition, Buck's 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. In addition to his sportscasting work, Buck served as the original host of the KMOX interview/call-in programAt Your Service beginning in 1960. His guests on the program includedEleanor Roosevelt.[21]
Buck can be heard calling a (fictional)1964 Cardinals broadcast in the1988 filmMississippi Burning,[22] and makes a cameo appearance in a 1998 episode of the television seriesArliss. He also lent his voice toR.B.I. Baseball '95 andRelief Pitcher (video game).
Jack Buck was also a renownedfootball broadcaster. In1964, he began callingNational Football League games forCBS television, following a four-year stint doing telecasts of the rivalAmerican Football League forABC, which included the 1962 AFL Championship game between the Houston Oilers and the Dallas Texans—at that point the longest game ever played. Buck calledChicago Bears games in his first two CBS seasons, then switched toDallas Cowboys games, including the famous "Ice Bowl" championship game in1967. After the network moved away from dedicated team announcers, Buck continued to call regional NFL action through1974, as well as severalNFC Championship Games andSuper Bowl IV. He also called the1965 Cotton Bowl Classic for CBS television and several later Cotton Bowl games for CBS Radio.
In1975, Buck temporarily left hisCardinals baseball duties in order to host theNBC pregame show,GrandStand, alongsideBryant Gumbel. In the1976 and1977 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 theSt. Louis Cardinals andSan Diego Chargers held atKorakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. (Buck also worked NBC's backupGame of the Week during the1976 baseball season before returning to the Cardinals full-time in1977.)
Buck served as theCBS Radio voice ofMonday Night Football (teaming withHank Stram) for nearly two decades (1978–1984 and again from1987–1995 after CBS regained the radio rights fromNBC). Ironically, in 1970 ABC'sRoone Arledge had asked via telephone about Buck's interests in becoming the first television play-by-play announcer forMonday Night Football, but because of personal animosity surrounding his previous stint with the network, Buck would not return their phone call. (The television play-by-play role would go toKeith Jackson instead, and later to Buck's CBS colleague,Frank Gifford.)
In addition toMNF, Buck called numerous playoff games for CBS Radio, including 17Super Bowls (the most of any announcer). Buck also served as a local radio broadcaster for the football Cardinals in1980 and1981, and returned to calling Sunday NFL games for CBS television from1982 to1987.
Late in the1990 NFL season, Buck's onetime CBS broadcasting partner,Pat Summerall, was hospitalized with ableeding ulcer after vomiting on a plane during a flight after a game, and was out for a considerable amount of time. WhileVerne Lundquist replaced Summerall on games with lead analystJohn Madden, Buck (who was at the time the network's leadMajor League Baseball announcer) filled in for Lundquist, teaming withDan Fouts to call two games (both of which coincidentally featured the Cardinals, who had moved from St. Louis toArizona by that time).
While much better known for his baseball and football commentary, Jack Buck was also the original voice of theSt. Louis Blues of theNational Hockey League. Buck was paired withJay Randolph andGus Kyle on Blues broadcasts and covered the1968 Stanley Cup Finals for KMOX radio.
He was succeeded afterone season by broadcasterDan Kelly. Buck also broadcast for theSt. Louis Hawks andRochester Royals of theNational Basketball Association, and calledprofessional wrestling,boxing, andbowling at various times in his career.
Showing his versatility, Buck also hosted the syndicated Top Star Bowling during the early 1960s.
In1960, Buck along withCarl Erskine broadcast a series of late-afternoon Saturday games onABC.[23][24] They were the lead announcing crew for this series, which lasted one season.[25]
Despite temporarily losing theGame of the Week package in1961, ABC still televised several games in prime time (with Buck returning to call the action). This occurred asRoger Maris[26][27] was poised to tie and subsequently breakBabe Ruth's regular season home run record of 60.
For a number of years Buck called baseball events nationally for theCBS Radio network, teaming withBrent Musburger to call theAll-Star Game in1976 and withJerry Coleman to call theNLCS from1979–1982. From1983–1989, Buck variously teamed withSparky Anderson,Bill White, andJohnny Bench to callWorld Series radio broadcasts onCBS Radio, including appearances by the Cardinals in1985 and1987. (As a Cardinals announcer, Buck had previously called the World Series in1968 (onNBC Radio) and1982 (locally on KMOX).) Buck, along with his CBS Radio colleagues Johnny Bench andJohn Rooney, was on hand at San Francisco'sCandlestick Park on October 17, 1989, when theLoma Prieta earthquake hit. After the 6.9 magnitude quake rocked theBay 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 coast-to-coast radio call ofKirk Gibson'sgame-winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 1 of the1988 World Series and his disbelief at Gibson knocking it out while hobbled by injuries to his right hamstring and left knee. His call of the play is so famous that it is sometimes played over the television footage of the play. The television call was handled by long-time Dodgers announcerVin Scully onNBC.
This was Buck's call. It begins here with Buck speculating on what might happen if Gibson manages to reach base:
... then you would run for Gibson and haveSax batting. But, we have a big 3–2 pitch coming here fromEckersley. Gibsonswings, and a fly ball to deep right field!This is gonna be a home run! Unbelievable! A home run for Gibson! And theDodgers have won the game, five to four; I don't believe what I just saw!
The last sentence is often remembered and quoted by fans. Buck followed it with,
I don'tbelieve what I just saw! Is this really happening, Bill?
Buck concluded his comments on Gibson's amazing feat with this thought:
One of the most remarkable finishes to any World Series Game ... a one-handed home run by Kirk Gibson! And the Dodgers have won it ... five to four; and I'm stunned, Bill. I have seen a lot of dramatic finishes in a lot of sports, but this one might top almost every other one.
Buck was not intended to be the main play-by-play announcer forCBS baseball telecasts when the network acquired the sport from NBC andABC. Originally assigned to the network's #2 crew (and therefore, work withJim Kaat), he was promoted at practically the last minute afterBrent Musburger[28] was fired onApril Fools' Day of1990.
After two years of calling baseball telecasts (including the Saturday afternoonGame of the Week,All-Star Game,National League Championship Series, andWorld Series), Buck was dismissed by CBS. The official reasoning behind Buck's ouster was that he simply had poor chemistry with lead analystTim McCarver.[29][30][31]
Buck was soon replaced byBoston Red Sox announcerSean McDonough. Buck later noted 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.[32]
Buck made controversial statements about singerBobby Vinton prior to Game 4 of the1990 National League Championship Series. After Vinton muffed the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in his home town ofPittsburgh, Buck lightly referenced Vinton'sPolish heritage ("Well, when you're Polish & live in Pittsburgh, you can do anything you want with the words!").[33] Buck soon got death threats fromPittsburgh Pirates 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 wasGene Larkin's game winning bloop single in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
TheTwins 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!
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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 played a factor in this, as Buck suffered from such ailments asParkinson's disease,diabetes, requiring apacemaker,cataracts,sciatica, andvertigo. Buck once joked, "I wish I'd getAlzheimer's, then I could forget I've got all the other stuff."[34] In 1998, the Cardinals dedicated a bust of Buck that showed him smiling with a hand cupping his left ear. In 1999, he lent his name to a restaurant venture calledJ. Buck's, with the restaurant's name being shared with son Joe and daughter Julie.[35]
In the final years of his life, Buck became recognized for writing poetry, culminating in national attention for his poem "For America", written afterthe terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. One of Buck's final public appearances was on September 17, 2001, atBusch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. It was the first night that Major League Baseball resumed after theterrorist attacks of September 11. Sick with lung cancer and also showing the signs of Parkinson's disease, Buck looked frail and struggled to maintain his composure.[36] 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!"[37]
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Jack Buck died on June 18, 2002, in St. Louis'sBarnes-Jewish Hospital from a combination of illnesses. He had stayed in the hospital since January 3 of that year to undergo treatment for lung cancer,Parkinson's disease, and to correct anintestinal blockage.
Within two hours of his death, fans were leaving flowers at the base of his bust outsideBusch Stadium even though it was the middle of the night. The flags atSt. 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 atJefferson Barracks National Cemetery in south St. Louis County. His spot on the KMOX Cardinals broadcasts was subsequently filled by formerColorado Rockies announcer Wayne Hagin beginning in 2003. Hagin (who went on to theNew York Mets after his stint in St. Louis) moved over to television for the 2006 season, and his spot was filled by one of Buck's protégés, formerChicago White Sox announcerJohn Rooney. Rooney and Hagin had worked together on radio for the White Sox in the late 1980's and 1990's.
Buck's youngest son,Joe, read the eulogy at his father's church funeral. Jack Buck was married twice and had eight children in all; five daughters and three sons. Joe Buck was the lead play-by-play announcer for bothMajor League Baseball andthe NFL on theFox 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. The pair bookended a 50-year championship drought for theKansas City Chiefs; Jack having called Super Bowl IV (the Chiefs first SB victory), and Joe announcing the team's victory inSuper Bowl LIV.[38]
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 the2006 World Series, Joe quoted his father again saying, "For the first time since1982, 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 the2011 Series, Joe punctuatedDavid 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 his father.[39] When the Cardinals won Game 7, he did not quote his father.[40][39]
Buck received theFord C. Frick Award for broadcasting from theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in1987, and thePete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from thePro Football Hall of Fame in1996.
TheMissouri Sports Hall of Fame inducted Buck twice, as a media personality (1980) and Missouri sports legend (2000). TheNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association named Buck as Missouri Sportscaster of the Year 22 times, and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1990. Buck was also inducted into theAmerican Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1990, theMissouri Athletic Club Hall of Fame in 1993, theNational Radio Hall of Fame in 1995, and theNAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2005. The American Sportscasters Association ranked Buck 11th in its listing of the Top 50 Sportscasters of All Time in 2009.[41]
Buck is honored with a star on theSt. Louis Walk of Fame.[42]
A bronze statue of him was erected at the entrance toBusch Memorial Stadium in 1998 (and moved to a new location outside the currentBusch Stadium in 2007).
A section ofI-64/US-40 in St. Louis is named the Jack Buck Memorial Highway in his honor.
In January, 2014, the Cardinals announced Buck among 22 former players and personnel to be inducted into theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for the inaugural class of2014.[43]
TheJack Buck Award, presented by the Missouri Athletic Club "in recognition of the enthusiastic and dedicated support of sports in St. Louis", is named in his honor.
| Preceded by | World Series network television play-by-play announcer 1990–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series national radio play-by-play announcer 1983–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Monday Night Football national radio play-by-play announcer 1978–1984 1987–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | NFL on CBS lead play-by-play announcer 1968 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Super Bowl television play-by-play announcer (NFC package carrier) 1969 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | Studio host,NFL on NBC 1975 (withBryant Gumbel) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | LeadMajor League Baseball Game of the Week television play-by-playannouncer 1960 (withCBS'Dizzy Dean andNBC'sLindsey Nelson) 1990–1991 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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| Other | |
