Walking past the Bob Uecker statue on his day of celebration at American Family Field, a sportcoat caught our eye. It was plaid. It was Brewers colors. It was so Ueck.
Walking past the Bob Uecker statue on his day of celebration at American Family Field on Aug. 24, a sportcoat caught our eye.
It was plaid. It was Milwaukee Brewers colors. It was so Ueck.
It was reminiscent of the handful of Uecker's own plaid numbers that were being showcased inside the stadium — one of the several displays paying tribute to the legendary broadcaster, comedian, actor — and Milwaukee Braves catcher — as part of Aug. 24's celebration of his life.
Uecker, the voice of Brewers baseball for 54 years, died in January, just shy of his 91st birthday.
Next to the colorful collection of coats was a photo of Uecker — sporting a plaid one — during one of his around 100 appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson, who gave Ueck his nickname, "Mr. Baseball."
Back outside, Jared Blohm — the fan in plaid — turned to walk toward his tailgating setup, revealing a caricature of Uecker in a headset on the back of the blazer, with the icon's recognizable signature above and "Mr. Baseball" written below.
While Blohm, a Greenville resident, tries to make it to a few Brewers games a year, he "felt like it was really important to be here" for the one to honor Uecker.
"I've never met the man, but he felt like a family member," he said. "He's been a part of my life for so long."
Blohm got the blue and gold jacket to rep the king of "loud sportscoats," then spent an hour or so a night over the week leading up to the celebration customizing it "to make it even a little bit more over the top."
Blohm said he made stencils, spray-painted the art onto the jacket, then touched it up with paintbrushes. It was complete with a Uecker patch on the front pocket.
When asked if he's an "artsy person," Blohm said he guessed so, but that this project was a little outside of his normal comfort zone.
He donned the finished product with a blue Brew Crew shirt underneath with mugs of beer cheers-ing at the center — quite fitting since Ueck was a Miller Lite commercial fixture.
The centerpiece of Sunday was a moving pregame program hosted by Bob Costas and highlighted by special guests and video segments. The celebration also featured permanent tributes to Uecker — a medallion overlooking right field with his last name on a banner above a mic, as well as the naming of the press box's broadcasting wing after him — a limited-edition retail collection and more.
"He's just such a special character," Blohm said of Uecker. "Everything good about Brewers baseball kind of centered around him."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bob Uecker celebration: Milwaukee Brewers fan paints plaid sportcoat
Category: Baseball
