Jack Buck
From SoSH
John Francis Buck (August 21, 1924 - June 18, 2002) was the longtime voice of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Contents |
Broadcasting Biography
Buck began as a basketball broadcaster at Ohio State University, majoring in radio speech with a minor in Spanish. In 1953, he was the primary broadcaster for the AAA Rochester Red Wings, who were associated with the Cardinals at the time. His work with the AAA club earned him a call-up to the major league broadcasting booth in 1954.
As a broadcaster for KMOX Radio, Buck worked with Harry Caray, Milo Hamilton, and Joe Garagiola. He was removed from the booth briefly and spent that time as a broadcaster for ABC's Game of the Week. He rejoined the Cardinals in 1961, where he remained for the rest of his career. He and Caray worked together until Caray was fired after the 1969 season. Buck worked briefly with Jim Woods before being joined by Mike Shannon in 1972. The Buck/Shannon partnership lasted 28 seasons.
Aside from serving as the Cardinals' lead announcer, Buck was a broadcaster for Monday Night Football on CBS Radio across two different stints (1978-1984; 1987-1995) and served as host of the NFL on NBC pregame show (temporarily relieving him of his Cardinals broadcasting duties). Buck also spent a season as the announcer for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League and called baseball games for CBS on radio and television.
Buck cut down on his broadcasting duties in the 1990s due to his health; he suffered from, among other things, Parkinson's Disease, lung cancer, and diabetes. Buck once joked that he wished he'd get Alzheimer's just so he'd forget he had all of the other problems. One of Buck's most famous acts in his later life was the poem that he read at Busch Stadium on September 17, 2001, the day that baseball resumed after the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. He was also honored with the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 1996. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.
Famous Calls
Lou Brock's 3,000th Hit
"Breaking ball, hit off the pitcher, to the third baseman! No play! Base hit! Three thousand for Lou Brock!"
1982 World Series
Buck called Bruce Sutter's strikeout of Gorman Thomas, which brought St. Louis its first championship since 1967.
"A swing and a miss! And that's a winner! That's a winner! A World Series winner for the Cardinals!"
1985 National League Championship Series
"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!"
1988 World Series
Whether Buck or Vin Scully had the better call of Kirk Gibson's Game 1 homer off Dennis Eckersley remains up for debate. They're both pretty good. As Jack said,
"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!
Trivia
- Responsible for the existence of Joe Buck, but we won't hold that against him.
