Uecker lives on plus a few more stories

We will always have the Indians because of Bob Uecker

We will always have the Indians because of Bob Uecker: We learned of Bob Uecker's death. I had no idea that he was ill but it happens. He died two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Amazing. Uecker was the local kid who played with the Milwaukee Braves and then called the Milwaukee Brewers' ..

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We will always have the Indians because of Bob Uecker - American Thinker https://t.co/dZypa78IjH

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) January 18, 2025

We learned of Bob Uecker’s death. I had no idea that he was ill but it happens. He died two weeks shy of his 91st birthday. Amazing.

Uecker was the local kid who played with the Milwaukee Braves and then called the Milwaukee Brewers’ games on the radio for 50 years. He got the job when President Nixon was in the White House, so that’s a long time ago. (For a little history, the Braves moved to Atlanta after the 1965 season and the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee before the 1970 season. That’s how baseball came back to the old County Stadium.)

For many fans outside of Milwaukee, Uecker made TV commercials and was the Cleveland Indians’ announcer in the hilarious movie Major League. Yes, the Indians, before political correctness renamed them Guardians.

According to every baseball fan I know, the movie is worth your time. The characters are classic and no one was better than Uecker as the team’s announcer. This is from Drew Weisholtz:

Bob Uecker had the kind of career stat line that would be sad if it wasn’t so funny. But funny is what would ultimately cement his legacy.

Uecker, who died Jan. 16 at the age of 90, was a career .200 hitter across six seasons in Major League Baseball. He ultimately embraced his own ineptitude, often mocking himself for his lack of ability on the diamond.

Uecker took his schtick and ran with it, all the way to Hollywood. Nicknamed “Mr. Baseball,” he was a frequent, gut-busting guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” for years after he retired. He appeared in several well-known Miller Lite commercials, in which he poked fun at himself when he declared, “I must be in the front row” after an usher at a game informs him that he’s in the wrong seats. He parlayed those efforts into a starring role on the small screen, playing George Owens on the ABC sitcom “Mr. Belvedere,” which ran for six seasons from 1985 until 1990.

But all of that may have just been a prologue for what seems like a casting job that was as natural as a tailor-made 4-6-3 double play. In the hit 1989 movie “Major League,” Uecker played Cleveland play-by-play announcer Harry Doyle, whose wit would often serve as cover for how awful the team was, only for him to get caught up in the fervor when the team begins winning.

“Juuuust a bit outside,” he casually says early in the movie, stretching out the word “just” when Charlie Sheen’s Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn throws a pitch more than a few feet off home plate during the team’s first game. It’s one of the movie’s best and most memorable lines. Doyle is also crestfallen when he tries to amplify the sound of the crowd on Opening Day and gets feisty when he curses on air.

“Don’t worry. No one’s listening anyway,” he says.

It’s funny, but it may have also been pioneering.

It was all too funny, especially in January counting down to spring training. Some of the lines are not suitable for a family gathering with little kids or grandmothers but that’s life sometimes. You are warned!

Of course, Harry Doyle gave us the Indians forever. Every future generation that laughs to tears over the movie will probably ask the same question: What happened to the Indians?

You can answer the question with a Rocky Colavito card and a comment of how PC killed one of the greatest franchise names ever. After all, does anyone want Bob Feller on a Guardians’ uniform? Not me.

So thanks to Uecker for his humor and to a movie that enshrined the Indians in our minds.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

 

We remember David Ruffin (1941-91)

We remember David Ruffin who was born in Mississippi on this day in 1941.  

In the 1960's, David was one of The Temptations, the great Motown group.  He sang lead on "My girl".

David died in 1991.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Happy # 84 Bobby Goldsboro

We remember Bobby Goldsboro who was born in Florida on this day in 1941.  

Bobby Goldsboro had many hits in the 1960's and the 1970's.    In fact, he put 16 on the Billboard Top 40, from "Little things" to "See the funny little clown".    

His biggest hit was "Honey", a huge bestseller from 1968. 

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

1976: Steelers beat Cowboys in Super Bowl X

On this day in 1976, Pittsburgh defeated Dallas 21-17 in Super Bowl X.   

Coach Tom Landry took Dallas to the Super Bowl 5 times in the 1970’s.    It was the second of 4 Super Bowl wins by the Steelers under Coach Chuck Noll.    

Dallas and Pittsburgh met again in Super Bowl XIII, one of the greatest games ever.

P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

US-China: What could go wrong?

We hear a lot about China and the US.  We are told that China is stealing us blind or just taking all of our manufacturing jobs.  

What happens when one country buys billions of dollars in public bonds or literally makes just about everything that we can consume?  The answer is that we are vulnerable to that country.

My guess is that we've reached a point where a US president needs to sit down with China and reset the rules of the game.  Yes, we want free trade but that's not what we have now.

There are also national security implications when one country can exercise undue influence because they hold a lot of your debt.

It's time to reset the relationship.  We can start by making it more profitable for US companies to manufacture in the US and to attract more foreign investment into our economy.

Click here for the show with Orestes Matacena and his movie "Two de Force":

1964: LEAVING CUBA 50-PLUS YEARS AGO WITH ORESTES MATACENA

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We recorded this November 2014............ 

LEAVING CUBA AGO WITH ORESTES MATACENA....Listen in now at.................

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The death of Cleopatra and the movie with Elizabeth Taylor

We discussed the death of Cleopatra with Leslie Eastman and Barry Jacobsen.  

Of course, this is another anniversary of Elizabeth Taylor's role as Cleopatra in 1963.      Leslie has a link to a review of the movie.

I have not seen all of the Cleopatra movies but it's hard to top Elizabeth Taylor.

Click for our show:  The Battle of Actium and the Murder of Cleopatra.........click to listen.

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Camelot: Myth or reality with Leslie Eastman & Barry Jacobsen

We spoke with Barry Jacobsen and Leslie Eastman about the story of Camelot.  

This Leslie's post:

"In it, we will be comparing the Myth and Legend of Camelot to what is actually known about 5th and 6th century Britain via written and archeological records. Some of the topics to be covered.

• Was there a King Arthur who ruled Britain?
• Who exactly were the “Knights of the Round Table”?
• Was there a Queen Guinevere, and if she existed, would she have been involved with Sir Lancelot?
• Was Merlin real or fantasy?
• How did Arthur die?"

Click here for the show: