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John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 - June 18, 2002), born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, was a Hall of Fame sportscaster who is best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals for KMOX radio.
His most famous calls include 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 game-winning home run in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS ("Go crazy, folks!"), 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-breaking home run in 1998 ("Excuse me while I stand and applaud.").
Jack Buck was recognizable through his distinctively deep, gravelly voice. Buck for the most part, crafted his announcing voice by years of heavy smoking.
Buck's two longtime partners on Cardinals games were fellow Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Caray and former Cardinal Mike Shannon. Buck started calling Cardinals games in 1954 but he wasn't the #1 announcer until 1969 when Caray was fired. Incidentally, Buck beat out legendary Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn for the job.
Just prior to joining the Cardinals, Jack Buck attended Ohio State where he majored in radio speech and minored in Spanish. Buck crafted his play-by-play calling skills when he broadcast Ohio State basketball games. Buck and his family actually moved to Cleveland when Jack was 15 years old.
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. 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.
An intresting tidbit about Jack Buck's television work for CBS was the fact that he originally wasn't intended to be their main play-by-play announcer. Buck was promoted at practically the last minute after Brent Musburger was fired on April Fools Day of 1990.
After two years of calling baseball telecasts (including the All-Star Game, National League Championship Series, and World Series) CBS fired Buck. The official reasoning behind Buck's ouster was that he simply had poor chemistry with lead analyst Tim McCarver. Buck was soon replaced by Boston Red Sox announcer Sean McDonough.
Prior to becoming a sportscaster, Buck (as a teenager) worked as a deck hand on the iron ore boats of the Great Lakes. He was soon and was drafted into the Army where he served in World War II. While serving in World War II, Buck was wounded in left leg and forearm by shrapnel in Germany. Buck was ultimately awarded a Purple Heart after spending time in a Paris hospital.
One of Jack Buck's final public appearances was on September 17, 2001 in Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was the first night that Major League Baseball resumed after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Although looking rather frail (Buck at the time was sick with lung cancer) and obviously showing the signs of Parkinson's Disease, Buck stirred emotions with a patrotic themed poem that he read during the pre-game ceremonies.
He died June 18, 2002 at the age of 77 in Barnes-Jewish Hospital (http://www.barnesjewish.org/) in St. Louis. Buck will long be remembered for his catch phrase "That's a winner!" which he spoke after Cardinal victories. His son Joe Buck is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for both MLB and the NFL on the Fox network.
Buck died just four days before Cardinal pitcher Darryl Kile, who passed away at the age of 33.
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