JACK BUCK, 1925-2002: Sad news last night that legendary baseball broadcaster Jack Buck, who was the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals for five decades, has passed away at the age of 77 after a long illness. The signature voice of the team in perhaps the nation's best baseball town, Buck also did national announcing work for CBS in the '80s and Fox in the '90s, announcing such landmark moments as Kirk Gibson's limping home run to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series and Mark McGwire's record-tying 61st homer in 1998 (Buck's son Joe, now Fox's lead baseball and football announcer, did the honors for McGwire's 62nd). I couldn't help getting a little choked up last night watching SportsCenter's obituary, with Buck's calls of those historic homers and then his unforgettable final public appearance: On the Monday following September 11, when Major League Baseball returned after a week's absence, the ailing Jack Buck spoke to the St. Louis fans before the game, reminding them that yes they should be there, and that the terrorists could break neither the national spirit nor the national pastime. I guess that's the difference between New York and St. Louis— New York gives a hero's funeral to a thug like John Gotti, while the Gateway to the West will likely do the same for the great Jack Buck.
Posted by Stephen Silver at June 19, 2002 10:29 PMhow
Posted by: at January 26, 2005 01:17 PM