'He was always like that': From backyard baseball to snatching corn, childhood friend of Bob Uecker shares favorite stories

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The concrete surface that now covers the playground at Siefert School was once a large field. It's where George Mustas says Bob Uecker once impressed peers as a teen during baseball and football games held after school or on weekends.

Uecker passed Thursday, Jan. 16, at the age of 90. The beloved Milwaukee broadcaster and entertainer made an early mark on Mustas and other young ballplayers.

Mustas, 92, said he could still vividly recall the first time Uecker showed up to one of their games.

"He came up, and he said, 'Hey, do you need a ballplayer?'" Mustas said. "And we said, 'You any good?' He said, 'You'll find out.' And he was."

Mustas said Uecker impressed the other boys with his strong throwing arm, both as a quarterback in pickup football games and as a catcher, the position he'd go on to play in the big leagues with the Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies.

As a teen, Mustas got a glimpse at the personality that Milwaukee, and all of America, would eventually come to love.

"He was always like that. You know, we'd go out riding around in the country when we were teenagers," Mustas recalled. "He'd see a cornfield. He's say, 'Stop!' He'd run out and grab a couple ears of corn and 'chomp, chomp!'"

As he ascended into becoming a celebrity entertainer and baseball icon, Mustas said Uecker never forgot about his friends from the sandlots at 14th and Cherry or 10th and State.

He recalled times Uecker would mention those playground ballgames during radio broadcasts, and he welcomed Mustas when he attended Brewers games.

"I'd go up and see him at the ballpark every once in a while, and renew old memories," he said. "If we have a tailgate, we'd take some sandwiches up to him."

Still, Mustas said he was surprised by what happened when he called the Brewers one day during the 1999 season. The team was on the road in Cincinnati, and Mustas' younger brother, Peter, died.

"I said, 'Tell Bob his best friend died.' And that night, he talked for three innings in between batters about coming over to our house and eating that Greek food," Mustas said. "He mentioned the whole family and everything."

While he remembers Uecker as a family friend, Mustas said he also understands why an entire city felt like it lost a relative Thursday.

"He said he's from Milwaukee. He could've gone anywhere," Mustas said. "He'd say, 'But I know where I am, where I came from, and that's where I'm staying."

'Go-Go' remembers Ueck

Throughout his decades in the game, many players put Uecker at the center of their time in Milwaukee.

That includes Carlos Gomez, who played center field for the Brewers from 2010 to 2015. With a fiery demeanor, Gomez was one of the catalysts for the 2011 team that won the National League Central and made it to the National League Championship Series.

Speaking from the Dominican Republic Thursday night, Gomez got emotional reflecting on how Uecker helped restore his confidence amid early struggles in Milwaukee.

"He's one of the guys to make me feel like [I belong in MLB]," Gomez said. "That's why it's so painful."

Gomez noted multiple times in the interview it meant a lot that after his retirement, he was able to thank Uecker for his encouraging words.

"At least I had the opportunity to share with him how important he was for me in my career," he said.