Athletes - Jack Buck

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	Athletes - Jack Buck

John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002), born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Buck was recognizable by his deep, gravelly voice (acquired through years of the heavy smoking which eventually led to his death) and his distinctive play-by-play calls. Among these were Buck's descriptions of Kirk Gibson's dramatic game-winning pinch hit home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series ("I don't believe what I just saw!"), Ozzie Smith's walk-off home run in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series ("Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!"), Jack Clark's three-run home run two days later in Game 6 ("Adios! Goodbye! And maybe that's a winner!"), Kirby Puckett's game-winning home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series ("And we'll see you tomorrow night!"), and Mark McGwire's single season record-tying home run in 1998 ("Pardon me while I stand up and applaud."). On Cardinals broadcasts, he routinely punctuated St. Louis victories with the expression, "That's a winner!"

Buck's two longtime partners on Cardinals games were fellow Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray and former Cardinal Mike Shannon. Buck started broadcasting Cardinals games for KMOX radio in 1954 but he wasn't the team's lead announcer until 1969 when Caray was fired. Oddly enough, 1969 was also the year that Jack Buck divorced his first wife Alyce Larson (whom he married in 1948 and had six children with), and married his second wife, Carole Lintzenich, who gave birth to their son Joe in the same year. Incidentally, Buck beat out legendary Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn for the Cardinals announcing job.

A possibly interesting sidebar to the Caray situation is that Caray was an employee of the Cardinals, while Buck was paid by KMOX. In addition to his play-by-play chores, Buck had a regular radio show (called At Your Service) on KMOX for some years. Another interesting sidebar about Jack Buck himself is that many Cardinals fans, in retrospect, were taken aback by the contrast in Buck's voice from the 1982 World Championship season to the final years of his career. Buck's voice sounded considerably lower in the latter part of his broadcasting career.

Early life

Jack Buck was the third of seven children by Kathleen and Earle Buck, who was a railroad accountant who commuted weekly to New Jersey. In spite of his association with the St. Louis Cardinals, Jack grew up a Boston Red Sox fan and idolized Jimmie Foxx. When Jack was 15, his father got a job in Cleveland with the Erie Railroad. A year later, Earle Buck died at the age of 49 due to high blood pressure.

As a teenager, Jack worked as a deck hand on the iron ore boats of the Great Lakes. He was soon drafted into the Army where he served in World War II. In 1943, Buck became a corporal and instructor with K Company, 47th Reginment, 9th Infantry Division. On March 15, 1945, Buck was wounded in his left leg and forearm by shrapnel while crossing the last (Remagen) bridge into Germany. Buck was ultimately awarded a Purple Heart after spending time in a Paris hospital.

Prior to his broadcasting career, Buck attended Ohio State University where he majored in radio speech and minored in Spanish. Buck paid for college by working at an all night gas station. Buck crafted his play-by-play skills broadcasting Ohio State basketball games.

Football

Jack Buck was also a legendary football broadcaster, serving as the CBS Radio voice of Monday Night Football (teaming with Hank Stram) for nearly two decades (1978-1995 to be exact). Buck also called the famous Ice Bowl and Super Bowl IV for CBS television, and numerous regular-season and postseason baseball contests on CBS radio and television. In 1975, Buck temporarily left his Cardinals baseball duties in order to host the NFL on NBC pregame show, Grandstand with Bryant Gumbel. On August 16, 1976, Buck called the first ever pro football game outside of the United States. The game was played in Japan between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers. Prior to calling National Football League games for CBS television beginning in 1963, Jack Buck spent three years calling games for the American Football League for ABC. He was also the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals football team during the 1970s and 1980s. The Pro Football Hall of Fame presented Buck with its Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award in 1996.

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Athletes - Jack Buck

Early life

Football

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