Brewers unveil patch they will wear on their uniforms to honor Bob Uecker

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers have unveiled a patch they will wear on their uniform this season to honor longtime broadcaster Bob Uecker, who died last month.

The patch will appear on the sleeve of the Brewers’ uniforms. It features Uecker’s signature over a gold-and-navy plaid print to honor the various sportscoats he occasionally wore.

The patch was introduced Monday and will make its debut when the Brewers open their preseason schedule Feb. 22 by facing the Cincinnati Reds in Phoenix.

Uecker died Jan. 16 at the age of 90. He had completed his 54th season of broadcasting Brewers games last year even as he battled small cell lung cancer.

The Milwaukee native continued broadcasting Brewers games even as his comedic skills earned him regular commercial appearances and starring roles in the movie “Major League” and the long-running television series “Mr. Belvedere.” Uecker was honored by the Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award in 2003.

Brewers fans showed their appreciation for Uecker after his death by putting baseballs, flowers cans of the Miller Lite beer he endorsed and various other mementos at the base of a statue honoring him outside Milwaukee’s American Family Field.

“We miss Bob every day, and all the more as we approach our first season without him at our side,” Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said in a statement. “Ueck was a great friend to all of us. He was a fixture at the ballpark and in our lives. We cannot fill the hole that his absence has created, but the jersey patch will be a way to honor his memory whenever we take the field.”

The Brewers plan to hold a public celebration of life honoring Uecker sometime this year. Details will be announced later.

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