MILWAUKEE (AP) — The city of Milwaukee offered one more toast to on Tuesday during a dedication ceremony for a giant downtown mural of the longtime Brewers broadcaster who died last year.
“We’ve always said that Ueck’s legacy would echo forever, especially in this community and the baseball community,” Lane Grindle, one of Uecker’s former broadcast partners, said while standing in front of the mural that’s 80 feet wide and 100 feet high. “And this behind me is one of those echoes. We also always said Bob is larger than life, and now he literally is exactly that.”
Uecker broadcast Brewers games for 54 seasons before at the age of 90. Milwaukee has ever since for the loyalty he showed to his hometown even after developing into a national celebrity for his appearances in movies, television shows and commercials.
There already are two statues of him at American Family Field – one outside the stadium and another at the top row to pay homage to his “Must be in the front row” line from one of his most famous Miller Lite commercials. Now, he’s being honored downtown as well.
The mural features Uecker wearing one of his trademark plaid blazers and has his signature along with his “Mr. Baseball” nickname. The mural is located on the north façade of the Wintrust Financial Center building on 731 North Jackson Street.
Installation of the mural began in mid-May. It was designed by Mauricio Ramirez, who produced a similar to honor four years before the Milwaukee Bucks the two-time NBA MVP to the Miami Heat. The Antetokounmpo mural is 53 1/2 feet high and 56 1/2 feet wide.
Tuesday’s dedication ceremony included appearances from Brewers manager Pat Murphy, outfielder Christian Yelich and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold, as well as several of Uecker’s family members.
“He was truly interested in the players,” Murphy said. “He really cared about them. He remembered things. It didn’t matter if you were at Yeli’s status or a kid just brought up from Triple-A. He was at home in that cIubhouse. He knew that was his family year in and year out.”
Yelich discussed how Uecker’s celebrity status helped make him a master storyteller.
“It was special to get to know Ueck over the years and get to see him in his environment, just with the guys, hanging out, telling stories, getting to be himself,” Yelich said. “That was special, just getting to be around him, go to dinners, be his friend and just hear about his life and experiences and all the things he got to do, not only in baseball but outside of it, with some of the acting stuff and the ‘Tonight Show’ and astronauts calling him, presidents calling him and all kinds of crazy stuff that he got to do. It was just a privilege to get to hear it.”
The first 500 people of legal drinking age to arrive for the dedication ceremony received a can of Miller Lite, courtesy of Molson Coors, to participate in a celebratory toast in Uecker’s honor as they rewarded him one more time for his dedication to the city.
“Loyalty was his brand,” Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said “He had been offered opportunities to go national, to do things, to work for other teams. I know George Steinbrenner of the Yankees kept trying to poach him. Milwaukee was his home and his love, and he never left us.”
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