Happy Birthday, Mr. Baseball!

Today, Milwaukee's own Bob Uecker turns 82.

Today he is certainly identified with the modern day Brewers, as he is with the Braves before them, but like many Milwaukee youngsters of his era Ueck grew up watching games at Borchert Field.

In an interview with MLB.com last year, Uecker reminisced about the old wooden ballpark:

"I mean, we were up there all the time," Uecker said. "After the fifth inning, they'd let you in for nothing. Or we would just climb over the fence. It was a real neighborhood ballpark. The houses on 7th Street and 8th Street, my gosh, they used to all have broken windows. I only played one game there, a north-south high school all-star game.

"Stepping on the field, it was the big leagues. That's what you think, anyway."

By the time Uecker broke into pro ball himself, the Brewers had been displaced by the Braves and the old neighborhood ballpark had been torn down in favor of the modern concrete-and-steel park in Story Quarry. But although he never played for the Brews, his memories as a fan make him an indelible part of the history of our Brews.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Baseball!