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CNN Live Today
Jack Buck Died Last Night in St. Louis
Aired June 19, 2002 - 12:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: One of the most beloved sportscasters in America has died after a long illness. Jack Buck died last night in St. Louis, where he broadcast Cardinal baseball games for almost 50 years. And almost immediately after hearing the sad news, local fans began leaving cards and flowers outside Busch stadium, next to the statue of Jack Buck.
CNN's Laura Okmin now with a personal look at this broadcast legend.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here it comes to McGwire, swing, look it there! Look at there! McGwire, number 61!
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LAURA OKMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sports' greatest moments. Athletes supply the images, play-by-play men give us the words. And for nearly a half century, Jack Buck's eloquence made every baseball game seem like a moment to remember. Buck became a cardinals broadcaster in 1954, teaming with fellow future hall of famer Harry Caray. Along the way, he chronicled great Cardinals players, from Stan Musial, to Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, and Mark McGwire.
And, while Midwesterners remember his calls for the cardinals, Buck covered many sports, including the first game ever played in the AFL. For 16 years, Buck was the radio voice of "Monday Night Football." He also provided play-by-play for Super Bowl IV, and was at the mike for one of the NFL's greatest games ever, the fabled 1967 "Ice Bowl" between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jack, your thoughts here moments away from the kickoff.
JACK BUCK, BROADCASTER: I think it's very cold, Ray.
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OKMIN: Buck also announced more baseball than just the Cardinals, working several all-star games, and two World Series.
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BUCK: The twins are going to win the world series! the twins have won it!
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OKMIN: But it was Cardinals games where Jack Buck was truly at home, his deep voice as welcome a part of St. Louis summers as the games themselves, and as much a signature of the Gateway City as the St. Louis Arch.
And, just as generations of fathers and sons listened to Buck, in 1991, Jack Buck's own son, Joe, joined the cardinals broadcasting team.
The crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd, they are unmistakable sounds of the national pastime that will endure as long as the game itself.
But with Jack Buck's death, another welcome sound of summer has gone silent, and the game may never sound quite as good ever again.
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