jack buck

For nearly 50 years, Jack Buck was the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals on KMOX/St. Louis since 1954. Upon his arrival in St. Louis, he became the station's Sports Director after stints in Columbus, Ohio and Rochester, New York.

Born on August 21, 1924, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Buck was raised in Cleveland and graduated from Ohio State University.

During his career, he covered some of baseball's greatest moments and players, including Stan Musial, Lou Brock and Bob Gibson. He called Mark McGuire's record-breaking 70th home run in 1998 and Kirk Gibson's "unbelievable" home run in Game One of the 1988 World Series. In addition, he called three world championship seasons in 1964, 1967 and 1982.

Buck's career also includes work for the CBS Radio Network and play-by-play assignments of the 1965 and 1976 All-Star Games, the National League Championship Series from 1979 to 1982, and the World Series from 1982 to 1989. Known for his sense of fair play, Buck never let his love of the Cardinals intrude upon his mission of reporting the action.

In 1978, Buck teamed with Hank Stram as CBS's primary NFL radio announcers. From 1970 to 1974 and from 1982 to 1988, Jack also called NFL action on the CBS Television Network.

Jack Buck died on June 18, 2002.

He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.