"In a way, there is no 'Major League' without Bob Uecker," Director David S. Ward told me in a phone call.
The world became a sadder and much less funny place on Thursday when it was announced that Bob Uecker passed away at the age of 90.
Ueck, as he was lovingly referred to by anybody who knew of him, was a legendary baseball broadcaster. After a self-admittedly sub-par playing career, he served a remarkable 53 years in the Brewers radio booth. He was a must-listen for Milwaukee fans from multiple generations, known for classic calls and endless hijinks.
But some of his most famous moments may actually have come from his time serving as a fictional broadcaster. For that team out in Cleveland. When he starred as the iconic Harry Doyle.
When David Ward started making the movie "Major League," he knew he wanted Uecker to play Harry Doyle. There was nobody else who could play the part as well.
"We pretty much thought, 'This has gotta be Uecker.'" Ward remembered. "He's funny, he's irreverent, but he has a certain gravitas, too. There were two parts in the movie where I couldn't see anyone else: One was James Gammon as Manager Lou Brown and the other was Uecker as Harry Doyle."
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And that humor and gravitas was on full display almost right away.
Although he was only available for a quick two or three days to get all his scenes in (he was on a tight schedule with the Brewers), Uecker made his presence known. He would make the entire crew crack up, he sometimes said things that were even too much to include in the R-rated film, but he also struck a nice balance the other way. He was professional and concerned about doing a good job.
"He'd crack everyone up, and then he had this sort of favorite saying, 'Hey, we're not messing around here,'" Ward said. "And it was back to business."
And like in the movie itself, Uecker was somebody all the other actors wanted to watch. These Hollywood stars, who'd had roles in hundreds of films and plays and TV shows, didn't want to miss seeing what might come out of this baseball broadcaster's mouth.
"He didn't really interact with Charlie [Sheen] or Tom [Berenger] or Corbin [Bernsen] or any of the other actors, because his scenes were up in the booth," Ward told me. "But they would come to the set just to watch him. To be there. It was so entertaining to be around Bob. He kept everyone in stitches."
And what about Doyle's best lines?
Did Uecker actually come up with his famous "Juuuust a bit outside" phrase that's been used by broadcasters and baseball fans for any outside pitch ever thrown ever since?
"That was in the script," Ward laughed. "But what he improvised was the line right after it: 'Tried the corner and missed.'" That was him, and it cracked me up when he said it."
Drinking the bottle of Jack Daniels mid-game? That was Uecker's own doing. (Not surprising).
The mannerisms, the rolling of the eyes, the looks around the stadium like, 'Is everyone watching what I'm watching?' All him.
"You just hope somebody brings those things, and he did," Ward told me. "He was Harry Doyle. And I think he had fun with it. It was fun for him to be able to take it any place he wanted. There was almost no place you could go with Doyle that wasn't out of bounds."
Many of the remembrances flooding in about Uecker spoke of his ability to make people feel better after talking with him. Ward recalled one such experience ... while he was sick in the hospital.
During filming of "Major League 2," the director was hospitalized for exhaustion. He was on IVs and guiding Uecker through one of his scenes on a monitor while lying in a bed. Uecker took full advantage of the situation.
"He gave me no end in grief," Ward told me. "He said, 'You're in the hospital? From what? From saying 'Cut!' too much? How do directors get to go to the hospital and miss work?'"
It gave Ward, who missed being on set with everybody, a good laugh. It helped him feel more normal and more a part of the movie -- even when he was so far away from the action. That's the sort of effect Bob Uecker had on people.
"He made everybody's life a little brighter," Ward said.