Happy (belated) 100th Birthday, Jack Buck!

Jack Buck, the GOAT of St. Louis Cardinals broadcasters and one of the greatest baseball broadcasters of all time would have been 100 years old on Wednesday. Born on August 21, 1924, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Buck grew up outside Boston, following Jimmy Foxx and the Boston Red Sox before moving to Cleveland in 1939. His early exposure to various baseball broadcasters, such as Bob Elson, Jack Graney, Mel Allen, and Red Barber, significantly shaped his love for the game growing up in northeast Ohio.

Buck graduated from Lakewood High School in 1942 and was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Second World War. He was wounded in battle in March 1945 and received the Purple Heart after being released from the hospital. Following the war, Buck returned to Ohio where he used the G.I. Bill to enroll at the Ohio State University to study speech. He worked at WOSU and WCOL during his studies and eventually called Buckeye basketball games before he graduated in 1949.

In Columbus, Buck became familiar with the St. Louis Cardinals when WCOL began to broadcast Columbus Red Bird games. Columbus was the Triple-A affiliate of St. Louis in 1949, and Buck had to audition for the broadcasting role, where he received the position. After WCOL was sold to a different owner in 1952, Buck was unemployed only briefly.

The following year, Buck broadcasted another St. Louis Cardinal minor-league affiliate team, the Rochester Red Wings. One year later, Buck got his big break when Anheuser-Busch Brewery bought the Cardinals and selected the broadcasters. Jack Buck got to join Harry Caray at KMOX in 1954 and remained there until he was replaced by Buddy Blattner in 1959. The separation was temporary at Blattner later moved to cover California Angels games in 1962.

Jack Buck rejoined Harry Caray in KMOX and both men broadcasted the great St. Louis Cardinals teams of that decade. Buck became the lead broadcaster following the shocking dismissal of Caray after the 1969 season. In 1972, a former St. Louis Cardinal, Mike Shannon, jumped into his broadcasting career as Jack Buck's KMOX radio partner. From 1972-2001, both men were staples of Cardinals baseball.

Buck endeared himself to the St. Louis community with his trademark slogan, "That's A Winner!" after every Cardinal win. That slogan became famous after the final out of the 1982 World Series. Three years later, he told everyone to "Go Crazy!" after Ozzie Smith's walk-off win in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS.

Near the end of his career, Jack Buck made one more memorable impact on St. Louis and the whole nation. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Buck shared a moving poem he wrote to the Busch Stadium II crowd to remember those who lost their lives in New York City. Jack Buck passed away in 2002 due to various health ailments, including Parkinson's disease, but his legacy lives on in St. Louis.