Jack Buck

Born

1924-08-21

Died

2002-06-18

Birthplace

Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA

Biography

Jack Buck grew up in Cleveland after his family moved from Holyoke, Massachusetts, and served in the Army during World War II, earning a Purple Heart in the European theater, before enrolling at Ohio State, where he got his start calling games on campus radio. He landed in St. Louis in 1954 as part of the Cardinals' KMOX broadcast team alongside Harry Caray, and stayed behind the mic for the franchise for nearly half a century, becoming known nationwide as "the Voice of the Cardinals" and for his signature call, "That's a winner!" Beyond baseball, Buck built one of the most versatile careers in sports broadcasting: he called NFL games for CBS for over a decade, including the 1967 "Ice Bowl," and later teamed with former Chiefs coach Hank Stram on CBS Radio for two decades of Monday Night Football and 17 Super Bowls. Over his career he also covered the NBA, NHL, and eight World Series, and he's remembered for iconic, spontaneous calls, most famously his "I don't believe what I just saw!" after Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run. Buck was inducted into the Baseball, Radio, and Pro Football Halls of Fame, and his son Joe Buck carried on the family name as a national broadcaster in his own right.