 | This articlemay beunbalanced toward certain viewpoints. Please helpimprove it by adding information on neglected viewpoints. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page.(October 2024) |
Joe Buck | |
|---|---|
.png) Buck in 2018 | |
| Born | Joseph Francis Buck (1969-04-25)April 25, 1969 (age 56) St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Indiana University Bloomington |
| Occupation | Sports commentator |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | Jack Buck (father) |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport(s) | NFL,MLB,USGA |
| Employer |
|
Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969)[1][2] is an Americansportscaster forESPN.
The son of sportscasterJack Buck, he worked forFox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for Fox'sNational Football League andMajor League Baseball coverage. He served as a televisionplay-by-play announcer for theWorld Series over a 25-year span from1996 to2021 (with the exceptions of1997 and1999, in whichBob Costas called those particular World Series forNBC). He is known for his distinctive smooth and focused style of playcalling.
In 2022, Buck moved toESPN fromFox Sports. He is the lead play-by-play announcer forMonday Night Football.[3]
Buck was born inSt. Petersburg, Florida and raised in theSt. Louis area, where he attendedSt. Louis Country Day School.[4] He began his broadcasting career in 1989 while he was an undergraduate atIndiana University Bloomington.[5]
Buck called play-by-play for the then -Louisville Redbirds, aminor league affiliate of the Cardinals, and was a reporter forESPN's coverage of theTriple-A All-Star Game in 1989. In 1991, he did reporting for St Louis' CBS affiliateKMOV. Also, in1991 Buck began broadcasting for the Cardinals on local television andKMOX Radio, filling in while his father was working onCBS telecasts. In the 1992–93 season, he was the play-by-play voice forUniversity of Missouri basketball broadcasts.
Buck continued to call Cardinals games after being hired by Fox Sports, initially with his father on KMOX and later onFSN Midwest television. As his network duties increased, however, his local workload shrank, and before the2008 season, it was announced that he would no longer be calling Cardinals telecasts for FSN Midwest. This marked the first time since1960 that a member of the Buck family was not part of the team's broadcasting crew.[6]
In1994, Buck was hired byFox, and at the age of 25 became the youngest man ever to announce a regular slate ofNational Football League (NFL) games on network television.[7]
In 1996, he was named Fox's lead play-by-play voice forMajor League Baseball, teaming withTim McCarver, who had previously worked with his father on CBS. That year, he became the youngest man to do a national broadcast (for all nine innings and games, as a network employee as opposed to simply being a representative of one of the participating teams) for aWorld Series, surpassingSean McDonough, who called the1992 World Series forCBS at the age of 30. McDonough had replaced Jack Buck as CBS's lead baseball play-by-play man after he was fired in late 1991.
On September 8, 1998, Buck calledMark McGwire's 62ndhome run that brokeRoger Maris' single-season record.[8] The game was nationally televised live in prime time on Fox. It was a rarity for a nationally televised regular season game not to be aired oncable since the end of theMonday/Thursday Night Baseball era onABC in 1989.
During Fox's broadcast of the2002 World Series, Buck paid implicit tribute to his father, who had died a few months earlier (he had read the eulogy at his father's funeral) by calling the final out of Game 6 (which tied the series at 3–3, and thus ensured there would be a Game 7 broadcast the next night) with the phrase, "We'll see you tomorrow night." This was the same phrase with which Jack Buck had famously calledKirby Puckett's home run offBravespitcherCharlie Leibrandt, which ended Game 6 of the1991 World Series. Since then, Joe has continued to use this phrase at appropriate times, including Game 4 of the2004 ALCS, in which theBoston Red Sox famously rallied offNew York Yankees closerMariano Rivera in the 9th inning to avoid elimination. WhenDavid Ortiz's walk-off home run finally won it for the Red Sox in the 12th inning, Buck uttered, "We'll see you later tonight," alluding to the fact that the game had extended into the early morning. Most famously however, he also used the phrase at the end of Game 6 of the2011 World Series when theCardinals'David Freese hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning against theRangers to send the series to a seventh game (it was 20 years and a day since Kirby Puckett's home run).[9] The similarity of both the call and the game situation resulted in mentions on national news broadcasts.
Buck also paid tribute to his late father during the2006 World Series by calling the final out of Game 5 with the phrase "St. Louis has a World Series winner", which echoed his father's line "And that's a winner, that's a winner, a World Series winner for the Cardinals!" at the end of the1982 World Series.
Another notableRed Sox game in the ALCS was in2013, Game 2 against theDetroit Tigers at Fenway Park. The Red Sox were trailing 5–1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, with the bases loaded with David Ortiz at-bat. Ortiz hit a game-tyinggrand slam off Tigers' closerJoaquín Benoit. His call: "Hard hit into right, back at the wall," and then he calls, "TIE GAME!" as the ball flies overTorii Hunter, who flipped over the outfield wall.[10]
Buck also called the final out of three World Series in which the Red Sox,White Sox, andCubs ended the longest championship droughts in 2004, 2005, and 2016, respectively. His calls were:
Later with Fox, Buck called a limited selection of regular-season games each year (typically featuring big-market teams such as theYankees,Red Sox,Dodgers,Cardinals in which he called games for, and/or Cubs), as well as theAll-Star Game, one of theLeague Championship Series, and theWorld Series. From 2016 to 2021, he was paired with color analystJohn Smoltz and field reporterKen Rosenthal. Besides working withTim McCarver for 18 seasons (1996–2013), Buck also worked with former MLB player and current MLB Network/Fox Sports analystHarold Reynolds and baseball insiderTom Verducci for 2 seasons (2014–2015). About a month or two after the2015 World Series, Reynolds and Verducci were demoted to the #2 team and John Smoltz moved up from the #2 team (withMatt Vasgersian) to take Reynolds and Verducci's places.
From 1996 to 2021, Buck called 23World Series and 21All-Star Games for Fox, the most of any play-by-play announcer on network television.
As the lead play-by-play announcer for MLB on Fox, Buck called games between theNew York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox that were broadcast on Fox and FS1. He called many notable moments in the rivalry, includingAaron Boone's walk off home run in Game 7 of the2003 ALCS, saying "The Boston Red Sox...were five outs away in the eighth inning, leading by three, as Boone hits it to deep left. That might send the Yankees to the World Series. Boone the hero of Game 7!" and the Red Sox historic comebackthe following year, calling "This would be the fifth pennant for the Red Sox...since that 1918 season, here it is, ground ball to second, Reese, the Boston Red Sox...have won the pennant."
Soon after arriving at Fox, Buck became the play-by-play man on Fox's #4NFL broadcast team, withTim Green as his color commentator. After four years, he stopped doing NFL games to concentrate on his baseball duties full-time. During the 2001 season, Buck occasionally filled in forCurt Menefee as Fox's number-six play-by-play man.
Buck became Fox's top play-by-play man in2002, replacingPat Summerall. For many seasons, he was teamed withTroy Aikman ascolor commentator andErin Andrews as thesideline reporter. (Buck also worked withCris Collinsworth from 2002 to 2004, before the latter's move toShowtime,NFL Network, andNBC.) Buck is only the third announcer to handle a television network's lead MLB and NFL coverage in the same year (followingNBC'sCurt Gowdy andABC'sAl Michaels). By 2002, his Fox duties forced him to cut his localCardinals schedule to 25 games. (Eventually, Buck left the Cardinals altogether to join Fox Sports "full-time" in 2008.)[11] Notable games he called includedSuper Bowl XLII,Miracle at the New Meadowlands,Super Bowl LI, theMinneapolis Miracle, and thefinalGreen Bay Packershome game in Milwaukee atCounty Stadium.
During the2006 season, Buck briefly hosted Fox's pre-game showFox NFL Sunday, with him andCurt Menefee jointly replacingJames Brown. To accommodate his involvement, the show began to broadcast on-site from the location of Fox's top game of the week. In 2007, Buck stepped down as host to focus on his play-by-play duties, andFox NFL Sunday reverted to primarily being broadcast from Fox Sports' studios in Los Angeles.[12]
On October 14, 2012, Buck called a doubleheader, first with theNew York Giants-San Francisco 49ers game atCandlestick Park at 1:25 PM PDT, then traveled viatrolley for the seven-mile journey up the west shore of theSan Francisco Bay to call Game 1 of theNLCS between theSt. Louis Cardinals and theSan Francisco Giants atAT&T Park at 5:15 PM PDT.[13]
The opportunity presented itself again on October 28, 2018, when Fox would carry theGreen Bay Packers andLos Angeles Rams from theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum as its featured NFL game before Game 5 of the2018 World Series between theBoston Red Sox and theLos Angeles Dodgers, to be played five miles away atDodger Stadium. However, Buck chose to concentrate on baseball, citingtraffic concerns in Los Angeles and already being busy calling the NFL and MLB simultaneously.Thom Brennaman, who had served as Buck's fill-in during the MLB postseason in the past, handled the Packers-Rams game.[14]
In April 2014, it was announced that Buck would team withGreg Norman to anchor Fox'snew package ofUnited States Golf Association telecasts, most prominently theU.S. Open tournament.[15] The pair made their broadcast debut at theFranklin Templeton Shootout (an event also hosted by Norman) on December 12–14, 2014.[16] Norman was fired by Fox and replaced withPaul Azinger in 2016.
On February 5, 2009, Buck signed withHBO to host a sports-based talk show for the network calledJoe Buck Live, with a format similar to that ofCostas Now, the monthly HBO program previously hosted byBob Costas.[17] The show's debut on June 15, 2009, made national headlines due to the tension-filled banter between Buck and guestArtie Lange, a comedian fromThe Howard Stern Show, who made several jokes at Buck's expense.[18] Two more episodes aired in 2009. In March 2010, Buck told a St. Louis radio station that HBO might be planning to cancelJoe Buck Live, adding that he "won't miss" the program and that it involved "a lot more effort and hassle than I ever expected".[19] HBO subsequently confirmed the show's cancellation toBroadcasting & Cable.[20]
On March 16, 2022,ESPN announced that it had signed Buck and Aikman to a multi-year deal with ESPN, which saw them become the new lead broadcast team ofMonday Night Football beginning in the2022 NFL season, and also work on projects forESPN+. The move ended their 20-season tenure as Fox's lead NFL broadcast team.[21][22] As compensation for Buck leaving Fox Sports with one year left on his contract, ESPN sublicensed one of itsBig Tencollege football games for the2022 season to Fox.[23]
In May 2022, Buck made his on-air debut at ESPN during the2022 PGA Championship, hosting analternate broadcast onESPN2 and ESPN+ produced byPeyton andEli Manning, featuring ESPN golf analyst Michael Collins and other celebrity guests.[24]
In 2022, Buck was offered to fill in for an ESPN-broadcast MLB game as well, but declined, telling aSports Illustrated podcast that he was no longer interested in calling baseball, since "I feel like I've done all I could do there. If someday I wanna go back and call a few games—maybe. But I don't have that itch."[25] In 2025, ESPN announced that Buck would call an MLBOpening Day game that season featuring theMilwaukee Brewers andNew York Yankees withJoe Girardi andBill Schroeder.[26]
In the late 1990s, Buck hosted a weekly sports news show,Goin' Deep, forFox Sports Net cable. He also calledhorse racing and professionalbass fishing events early in his Fox career, as well as the network's firstCotton Bowl Classic telecast in1999.
Since 2001, Buck has hosted the "Joe Buck Classic", a celebrity pro-amgolf tournament that is played each May to raise money forSt. Louis Children's Hospital.[27]
In 2007, Buck filmed a pilot episode for a prospective late-night talk and comedy program with formerSaturday Night Live writer and directorMatt Piedmont. Piedmont and Buck wrote and produced the pilot with Piedmont directing, filming in New York City and Los Angeles, and featuringMolly Shannon,David Spade, andPaul Rudd. Buck co-hosted the program with Abebe Adusmussui, an actual New York City taxi driver.[28] The pilot was not picked up as a series, however.
Buck has also appeared in various national televisioncommercials for such clients asHoliday Inn andBudweiser beer. One of the more memorable spots for the latter had Buck goaded into using thecatchphrase, "Slamma-lamma-ding-dong!" A 2008 commercial forNational Car Rental had him using the catchphrase, "Now that's a good call". Buck has also done local commercials in the St. Louis market for the Suntrup chain of automobile dealerships.
He also contributes occasional opinion pieces toThe Sporting News, and is a key contributor onKSLG/Team 1380 on theITD Morning After program in St. Louis.
In the week before callingSuper Bowl XLVIII, Buck starred in a Web video forFunny or Die in which he tries to report on the game from New York City but continues to get interrupted by locals who dislike him.[29]
On February 12, 2013, Buck made a guest appearance during Fox Sports Midwest's broadcast of aSt. Louis Blues hockey game. Alongside their current commentatorsDarren Pang andJohn Kelly, he discussed his father Jack Buck havingcalled Blues hockey along with Kelly's fatherDan in the late 1960s. Buck briefly took over play-by-play from Pang and Kelly, stepping aside when theLos Angeles Kings inevitably scored a power-play goal on the Blues (joking in response that "I clearly bring no mojo to the party").[30][31][32]
In 2014, Buck was named as the new host ofNFL Films Presents, to coincide with the program's move fromESPN2 toFox Sports 1.[33]
From 2015 to 2018, Buck hostedUndeniable with Joe Buck, a sports interview series onAudience Network.
Buck published an autobiography,Lucky Bastard, in 2016.[34]
He has appeared in several television programs as himself, includingPitch,American Dad!,Family Guy,Conan,The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, andBrockmire; the filmFever Pitch (also starringJimmy Fallon); and in the "Carpet Brothers" sketch onFunny or Die Presents as The Legit Don Stritt.[citation needed] Buck's voice is also heard in recorded conversations betweenLinda Tripp andMonica Lewinsky calling Game 5 of the Yankees-Indians ALDS in 1997. The tapes were released at the height of thescandal involving Lewinsky and President Bill Clinton.[35]
Andrew Marchand of theNew York Post reported on April 17, 2021, that Buck would serve as a guest host onJeopardy! as the game show continues to search for a replacement after the death of longtime hostAlex Trebek.[36]Sony Pictures Television confirmed four days later that Buck's stint would air from August 9 to 13.[37]
In 2021, Buck and his family appeared on ABC'sCelebrity Family Feud, competing against the family of actorOliver Hudson.[38]
In 2022, Buck became the announcer on Fox'sDomino Masters hosted byEric Stonestreet.[39] Buck also competed inseason seven ofThe Masked Singer as "Ram" of Team Bad. He was unmasked in the competition's second week at the time when Stonestreet was a guest panelist as he andRobin Thicke correctly guessed Buck during the final guesses.[40]
On May 24, 2024, Buck was scheduled to call a Cardinals-Cubs baseball game onBally Sports Midwest alongside his close friendChip Caray. It would have marked the first time Buck had called a baseball game since the2021 World Series. However, the game was rained out.[41][42] He returned to the booth and called a Cardinals-Rangers game withChip Caray on July 29, 2024.
From 1993 to 2011, Buck was married to Ann Archambault, with whom he has two daughters, Natalie and Trudy. He married formerNFL Network and nowESPN reporter and formerBronco cheerleaderMichelle Beisner on April 12, 2014.[47] They have twin sons, Blake and Wyatt.[48] The couple reside inLadue, Missouri.[49]
Buck is a fan and season ticket holder of the NHL'sSt. Louis Blues.[50] He revealed in a tweet in 2023 that he was aHouston Oilers fan growing up,[51] and he supports theSt. Louis Cardinals in baseball.[52]
In 2011, shortly after broadcastingSuper Bowl XLV for Fox, Buck claimed to have developed a virus on the nerves of his left vocal fold. Despite the ailment, which according to Buck "came out of the blue" and hampered his ability to raise his voice, he continued to broadcast baseball for Fox during the 2011 season and resumed as Fox's lead NFL announcer that fall.[53][54][55][56]
In 2016, Buck revealed that the problem was not due to a virus, but rather to vocal cord paralysis likely caused byanesthesia used during multiplehair transplantation procedures.[57]
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by First | Lead play-by-play announcer, MLB on Fox 1996–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Series television play-by-play announcer (concurrent withNBC'sBob Costas in even-numbered years from1996 to2000) 1996–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lead play-by-play announcer,NFL on Fox 2002–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Fox NFL Sunday host (withCurt Menefee) 2006–2007 | Succeeded by Curt Menefee only |
| Preceded by | Super Bowl television play-by-play announcer (NFC package carrier) 2004–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Open (golf) booth announcer 2015–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Thursday Night Football play-by-play announcer 2018–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Sean McDonough (in1993) | Lead play-by-playannouncer, Major League Baseball Game of the Week 1996–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Monday Night Football play-by-play announcer 2022–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
