The Sporting Life: Jack Buck's death leaves us without an old friend

I lost a close friend the other day.

Legendary St. Louis Cardinals baseball broadcaster Jack Buck died June 18. He was 77.

He was sports royalty a member of both the baseball and football halls of fame.

Cardinals fans remember him as a summer companion, letting them share the joys of St. Louis baseball. He had broadcast the Cardinals games since 1954. Nineteen-fifty-four! It was comforting to know that no matter what else was happening in the world, Jack would be there; a friend on the radio who could take you away from your troubles and put you in a place of contentment.

The Cardinals greats came and went, but Jack was always there. Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Whitey Herzog and Mark McGwire are all gone from the Cardinals; now Jack is gone, too.

While he belonged to St. Louis, the nation also knew him well.

He broadcast Kurt Gibson's dramatic home run in the 1988 World Series for the Dodgers "I don't believe what I just saw!" was his call.

He also broadcast Monday Night Football on radio for 16 years. He was a television broadcaster for the 1970 Super Bowl and the famous "Ice Bowl" game. That was Green Bay's 21-17 victory over Dallas for the NFL title in 1967, a game played when the temperature at kickoff was 13 below zero.

But my fondest memories well, they're my life. Just as some people are reminded of a certain time in their life by a special song, I remember my life by Jack and the Cardinals.

My first memory of the Cardinals was Sept. 10, 1974. That night Brock got stolen bases 104 and 105 to break Maury Wills' record. I didn't know a whole lot at that time because I was only 5 years old, but Jack made me a Cardinals fan. Naturally, the next thing I learned was to dislike the Chicago Cubs.

My grandfather, who died in 1978, was a Cardinals fan. I remember every time I went to visit my grandparents in Niangua, he'd be listening to Jack and the Cardinals. When I visit my grandmother, I can still see Grandpa sitting in his old chair with the Cardinals game on the radio.

While in college, I remember skipping classes one beautiful spring day and heading to the lake.

While hanging out with good friends, I recall the Cardinals playing and Jack's gravelly voice. Though I have no memory of who won or even who we were playing, I remembered those friends every time I heard Jack's voice on a nice spring afternoon.

Even going to the games with my brothers one by birth, two by friendship I hear Jack. When I replay those games in my mind, Jack's always doing the play-by-play.

I remember where I was when McGwire hit his record-tying 61st home run "Pardon me for a moment while I stand and applaud," was Jack's call in 1998. I was sitting on the floor at home, hand on my wife's leg. We cheered together.

My most recent memory and perhaps most indelible is the game on Sept. 17, 2001. It was the first night of baseball since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. My wife Danielle and I wanted to be at Busch Stadium that night to honor the American spirit.

We took our 5-month-old son Bryce to the game it was his first game and, of course, he'll have no memories of it. But we will, thanks to Jack.

Before the game with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cardinals had a tribute and Jack read a poem he composed to show the spirit of the country was still intact. Jack's poem summed up the mix of pride, sadness, patriotism and anger in the stadium that night. In the eighth inning, wafting in from outside the stadium was the sound of a saxophone. A street performer was outside playing "God Bless America." It was the perfect ending.

Jack didn't broadcast any games this year because of his battle with lung cancer and other health problems. Jack will always be there for Cardinals fans his statue is outside the stadium, and his voice will live on in highlight tapes.

And he'll never leave the hearts of St. Louis fans because Jack was an old friend we just never had the pleasure of meeting him in person.

(Brent Lawrence is copy editor for Springfield Business Journal.)