Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck's play-by-play work earned him recognition from numerous Halls of Fame, such as the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, and National Radio Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. Buck was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, but moved to the Cleveland, Ohio area with his family in 1939. After graduating high school, Buck worked on large shipping boats that traveled the Great Lakes. Buck was drafted into the United States Army in June 1943, and later was awarded a Purple Heart as part of his service. After completion of his military service in 1946, Buck enrolled at, and graduated from, Ohio State University. Buck's early sportscasting career included work for the minor league affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1954, Buck was promoted to radio play-by-play of Cardinal games on KMOX, a position he maintained for nearly all of the next 47 years. He was known in St. Louis for his trademark phrase, "That's a winner!", said after Cardinals victories. In addition to his work with the Cardinals, Buck also earned assignments on many national sportscasts, including radio coverage of 18 Super Bowls and 11 World Series. Some of Buck's famous play-by-play calls include the dramatic walk-off home runs hit by Ozzie Smith in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series, by Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, and by Kirby Puckett in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series. In the final years of his life Buck also became recognized for writing poetry, culminating in national attention for his poem "For America", written after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The latter part of Buck's career found him working side-by-side in the Cardinals booth with his son Joe Buck, who also rose to national sportscasting prominence.