A Baseball Icon's Connection to ALS

Image: ©[Bigley Baseball Fields - Capital Midwestern] via Canva.com

In light of the recent passing of Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Famer, sports commentator, and actor Bob Uecker, I'd like to not only take time to remember him but also talk about his ALS connection — Uecker's oldest daughter Leann who was diagnosed with ALS in 2019.

Uecker played with the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1960s. He later went on to broadcast for the Brewers for 54 seasons. Although I wouldn't consider myself a diehard baseball fan or really even a big fan of sports, I do enjoy history and that includes the stories behind sports legends such as Uecker. And having grown up just south of Milwaukee, how could I not know who he was. He was an icon and a treasure. Having been a child of the 70s and 80s, I also knew him well from his role on Mr. Belvedere, a sitcom centered around a posh English butler.

Even before Uecker's daughter was diagnosed with ALS, Uecker was somewhat familiar with ALS having heard the story of Lou Gehrig and other stories, but he didn't complete understand the devastation of the disease and its impact on the person living with the disease as well as their loved ones.

Following his daughter's diagnosis, and as she began to progress, Uecker moved his daughter so he could be closer to her. He began to witness the harsh reality of watching someone die in front of him. He struggled with how to comfort his daughter during this challenging time as he expressed during an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. prior to the 2022 baseball season.

"The really sad part of that whole thing as (her death) got closer was she kept talking about dying," said Uecker. "She’d send me texts about dying. How do you answer those? You don’t (know how)."

Leann passed away in March 2022 at the age of 65. Following her passing, Uecker became an ALS advocate, creating awareness by participating in a public service announcement and in other ways, including making sure to wear his ALS Association baseball cap during interviews. The ALS community is fortunate to have had an advocate like Bob Uecker, creating awareness and leveraging his audience to spread that awareness to more communities.

On behalf of the ALS community, we thank you Mr. Uecker for helping to educate the public about ALS and creating more awareness around this terrible disease so that at some point in the future no one will have to experience the devastation of losing a loved one to ALS as you did.