Atop American Family Field rests the statue of late Milwaukee Brewers legend Bob Uecker in his not-quite “front row” seats.
Mr. Baseball’s larger-than-life spirit lives on in the Uecker seats, where fans can take photos sitting beside the statue of the late, great voice of the Brewers.
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Despite the obstructed view from the seats in section 422, the opportunity to sit next to Ueck’s bronze statue and its still-brightly painted smile was a chance that 97 fans couldn’t pass up before the first pitch was thrown against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 7.
Fans lined up to take photos in the Bob Uecker seats at American Family Field before the Milwaukee Brewers game.
The fans flocking to the statue and its obscured view of the field wore jerseys for various teams in multiple languages.
Multiple generations paid their respects.
Children younger than 10 received history lessons on who Uecker was. Longtime admirers, meanwhile, continued to joke with the statue and personality of the man they remembered, as if he were still there in the flesh.
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“I had to tell him to get his hands off my wife,” Milwaukee native Randy Schallhorn joked.
Though one of Milwaukee’s favorite sons, Uecker was more than a local celebrity.
The view from Milwaukee Brewers legend Bob Uecker’s seats in section 422 of America Family Field lives up to the joke of his 1984 Miller Lite commercial when he expected he “must be in the front row.”
“Everyone knows who he is,” said Keith Daugherty, an MLB fan visiting from Arizona, adding that when he heard of the photo opportunity with the statue, he “had to do it.”
To many MLB fans, the self-deprecating humor of Uecker, evident during his appearances on “The Tonight Show” and in TV shows such as “Mr. Belvedere” and movies like “Major League,” made him a friendly voice regardless the origin of their fandom.
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“I love him so much,” said Michelle Frost, a Padres fan visiting from San Diego. “I have such great memories of seeing him on TV and in the movies. Every now and then, I would listen to him call a game. Whenever I think of the Milwaukee Brewers, I think of Bob Uecker.”
It was a sentiment amplified by Milwaukee local Schallhorn.
“It’s nice to see how many fans still pay their respects,” Schallhorn said. “He represents baseball in its entirety. Mr Baseball … he’s iconic.”
The Bob Uecker seats remain a popular destination at Milwaukee Brewers games in section 422 of American Family Field.
Raised in South Milwaukee, the now-retired Schallhorn recalled fond memories of his college days, coming from Minnesota to visit home, and listening to Uecker as he kept even the boring games exciting and didn’t care if he told the score of the game or not.
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“It was more than just the play-by-play; it was all the funny stories, all the jokes,” Schallhorn said. “He respected everybody. He made fun of himself, not anybody else.”
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But what the native appreciated most about Uecker was his love for Milwaukee.
“There’s not gonna be another Bob Uecker; just thinking about him having passed, I’m choked up,” Schallhorn said, his voice cracking as tears welled in his eyes. “Bob Uecker is Milwaukee.”
Though Ueck may now reside “jusst a bit outside” of American Family Field, his presence still is felt in the nosebleeds, where fans dedicated enough to climb can sit with the legend in seats that might as well be in the heavens.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bob Uecker fans flock to ‘front row’ nosebleed seats at Brewers stadium