MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bob Uecker would be “incredibly proud” of these Milwaukee Brewers, the family of the Hall of Fame broadcaster said Wednesday in a statement released by the team.
The Brewers are making their first World Series appearance since 1982 and less than two years after Uecker died Jan. 16, 2025, at the age of 90. The Brewers host the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 on Friday.
Uecker broadcast Brewers games for 54 years and continued working through the 2023 and 2024 seasons while battling small cell lung cancer.
“Some moments are worth waiting for,” Uecker’s family said. “Generations of Brewers fans have held hope in their hearts, season after season, that someday this city would have its chance at another championship.
"That day has come. And with it, a truth we’ve always known is finally getting its due: Milwaukee is special. Its people are special. Our team is special. We are filled with elation and pride, but also longing. A wish that Bob was here to see it, too.”
Uecker remains as synonymous with the Brewers franchise as anyone who ever played for the team. There’s a statue honoring him both outside American Family Field and in the back row of the upper level behind home plate, a nod to Uecker’s “I must be in the front row” comment in one of his most famous Miller Lite commercials. Milwaukee's downtown area has a mural of Uecker that's 80 feet wide and 100 feet high.
“While we could never speak for him, this is certain: Milwaukee, the Brewers, and the fans meant everything to Bob,” the family said. “Wherever we gather — in a packed stadium, a neighborhood bar, or a living room with the radio turned all the way up — we know he’s right here cheering alongside us.”
Uecker’s family thanked the players specifically and said that “Bob would have been so incredibly proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
Uecker’s family also offered thanks to Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio and manager Pat Murphy. They thanked Brewers fans for how they’ve “kept Bob’s spirit alive” and the Brewers broadcast team “for honoring him in ways both big and small” and “for being a part of our family.”
When the Brewers clinched their World Series berth by making the final out in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, radio broadcaster Jeff Levering said, “The Brewers win the pennant! Oh my God, the Brewers win the pennant!” Levering was paying homage to Uecker, whose Harry Doyle character said, “The Indians win it! The Indians win it! Oh my God, the Indians win it!” in the climactic scene of the movie “Major League.”
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FILE - Cans and bottle of beer, along with other items, adorn the base of the the Bob Uecker statue in front of American Family Field following a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day, March 31, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf, File)
FILE - Milwaukee Brewers' radio announcer Bob Uecker works out of the radio booth during a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, July 7, 2003, at Miller Park in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's political groups have spent more than one-quarter of a billion dollars to bolster Republicans in the final stretch of this year's midterm elections, an unprecedented amount for a sitting president that underscores the stakes on Nov. 3.
In total, Trump's flagship super PAC, MAGA Inc., has reported spending nearly $277 million since the beginning of September, according to new federal campaign finance filings. That includes major transfers to two affiliated groups that have been spending millions on advertising: $200 million to No Going Back PAC Inc. and $25 million to Safety & Affordability PAC Inc.
“It’s more than any president has ever spent, by far, on the midterms,” said Corry Bliss, a GOP Senate and House campaign strategist who was the executive director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, House Republicans’ super PAC in the 2018 campaign.
Trump had been under intense pressure to help Republican candidates as his party struggles to hold onto their slim majorities in the House and Senate. While the party in power almost always loses seats in midterm elections, Republicans are facing an especially challenging climb after Trump helped defeat several of the party's longtime incumbents and as he has been mired in low approval ratings amid deep voter frustration over persistently high costs and the unpopular war with Iran.
One bright spot for Republicans has been their huge financial advantage over Democrats this election cycle, aided by billionaires such as Elon Musk.
Trump-affiliated groups are now on track to spend potentially more.
So far, the three that have to report their donors have spent more than $256 million on advertising, according to AdImpact, which tracks media spending and reservations. That includes tens of millions of dollars in Texas to help embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton in his race against Democrat James Talarico.
Musk has also invested heavily in Texas, leading Talarico to accuse him of trying to buy the seat.
MAGA Inc. had more than $164 million cash left in the bank as of Oct. 14, meaning it still has plenty left to spend.
But the Trump team's decision to wait until late in the cycle to begin advertising has diluted their spending power. The groups are paying far higher ad rates because of the shrinking availability of air time — sometimes more than five times what they would have spent if they had acted sooner.
In a post on his social media site Tuesday, Trump said that he planned to spend "over 400 Million Dollars by Election Day,” including $300 million he said had already been spent on advertising, voter contact, rallies, tele-rallies, get-out-the-vote programs and efforts to prevent voters from cheating.
MAGA Inc. began September with nearly $416 million in the bank. It has continued to raise huge sums of cash from billionaire backers including businessperson Diane Hendricks, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman and casino magnate Steve Wynn.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to attendees as he kicks off his campaign's bus tour during an event at the Rockwall Municipal Airport Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Rockwall, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
President Donald Trump waves as he walks to depart on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
