By STEVE MEGARGEE, AP

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bob Uecker would be “incredibly proud” of these Milwaukee Brewers, the family of the Hall of Fame broadcaster said Wednesday in a statement released by the team.

The Brewers are making their first World Series appearance since 1982 and less than two years after Uecker died Jan. 16, 2025, at the age of 90. The Brewers host the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 on Friday.

Uecker broadcast Brewers games for 54 years and continued working through the 2023 and 2024 seasons while battling small cell lung cancer.

“Some moments are worth waiting for,” Uecker’s family said. “Generations of Brewers fans have held hope in their hearts, season after season, that someday this city would have its chance at another championship.

"That day has come. And with it, a truth we’ve always known is finally getting its due: Milwaukee is special. Its people are special. Our team is special. We are filled with elation and pride, but also longing. A wish that Bob was here to see it, too.”

Uecker remains as synonymous with the Brewers franchise as anyone who ever played for the team. There’s a statue honoring him both outside American Family Field and in the back row of the upper level behind home plate, a nod to Uecker’s “I must be in the front row” comment in one of his most famous Miller Lite commercials. Milwaukee's downtown area has a mural of Uecker that's 80 feet wide and 100 feet high.

“While we could never speak for him, this is certain: Milwaukee, the Brewers, and the fans meant everything to Bob,” the family said. “Wherever we gather — in a packed stadium, a neighborhood bar, or a living room with the radio turned all the way up — we know he’s right here cheering alongside us.”

Uecker’s family thanked the players specifically and said that “Bob would have been so incredibly proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

Uecker’s family also offered thanks to Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio and manager Pat Murphy. They thanked Brewers fans for how they’ve “kept Bob’s spirit alive” and the Brewers broadcast team “for honoring him in ways both big and small” and “for being a part of our family.”

When the Brewers clinched their World Series berth by making the final out in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, radio broadcaster Jeff Levering said, “The Brewers win the pennant! Oh my God, the Brewers win the pennant!” Levering was paying homage to Uecker, whose Harry Doyle character said, “The Indians win it! The Indians win it! Oh my God, the Indians win it!” in the climactic scene of the movie “Major League.”

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