Brewers fans everywhere are still riding the high of the team’s World Series victory. The only way it could’ve been better is if Bob Uecker — fondly known as Ueck — was around to see it. After 54 seasons behind the microphone, this first World Series for the Brewers was without the legendary announcer's voice.
While Ueck wasn’t there physically, he was definitely there in spirit — from Brewers Manager Pat Murphy reading “letters” from Ueck to the team throughout the series run, to players and fans alike declaring, “Do it for Ueck!” The Brewers finally delivered a World Series victory on October 28th, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 in Florida. On Oct. 30, Milwaukee honored our home team with a parade that went by the Bob Uecker mural, and his family was present along with his prized Corvette and motorcycle.
Two people who really got to know Ueck before he passed were UECK documentary co-directors Michael Vollmann and Steve Farr. Filmed over what would be the last three years of Uecker's life, the documentary gives audiences an intimate look into his life, work, family, friends and what he meant to all the generations of people who knew his voice. The film's ending was right after the Brewers 2025 season when they captured the National League Central title but did not go on to the World Series, and Uecker passing away in January of 2025 at the age of 90 following a multi-year battle with small cell lung cancer.
For the filmmakers, watching the World Series was a fan-first experience.
"I really was just pulling for [the Brewers] to win, and you know, I was pretty confident too," says Farr. "I didn't think any team could beat them four times in the seven game series. So I really did go into it thinking, 'We're gonna win a World Series!' Obviously it's not gonna hurt the film to have a happy ending for us to tack it on — and that is our plan to revise the ending. It's not going to be a wholesale re-edit of the film or anything like that, but it might be an opportunity to tweak a few different areas also."
Farr was out filming during the parade and rally celebration for the Brewers in Milwaukee on Oct. 30 to get more footage to add to their documentary. "It was kind of like you could point the camera in any direction. You'd find people having fun and dancing and singing and it was special ... Michael said, 'Make sure you get it in slow motion,'" he recalls.
Vollmann says the presence of Ueck began immediately after the Brewers won Game 5 with shoutouts from players like Captain Christian Yelich, manager Pat Murphy and more. "I wonder how much that motivation came from wanting to win for Ueck like last year, and kind of in my head I want to believe in the supernatural or the magical, so this is about as close as you're going to get me."
"The fact that they didn't win it last year ... I think of it like, well, maybe Ueck didn't want the focus to be on him, he kind of wanted to wait till the next year so it's really more about the team and what they have accomplished. And, you kind of think through all these things and, people just posting on Facebook and saying, 'This happened Ueck' or people saying 'He's looking down and is proud,' you know, it definitely has an emotional feel to it," he adds.
It's miraculous that the film will get the ending it deserves, to be honest. So we're excited to adjust that and get it out into the world.Michael Vollmann
The UECK documentary was screening at the Summerfest Grounds during the celebration on Oct. 30 ahead of the victory rally at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. It first premiered in April during the Milwaukee Film Festival and had another brief summer run in Marcus Theatres across Wisconsin. It is currently back in select Marcus Theatres until Nov. 6 "then there's a potential for it to go beyond that if the sales are good enough," says Farr.
Vollmann says they are still trying to find ways to share the film with audiences in and outside of Wisconsin. "The winning of the World Series probably can't hurt with potential distribution deals or streamers, so we're hoping that that'll happen because there has been a lot of requests on social media from all over the country [asking when/where they can see it]. And we really want it to be available to anybody in this country that wants to see it."
If there is a streaming deal, Farr notes that the film would have to be the version that incorporates the new ending with the World Series. "It's going to be a happy ending for sure," he says.
"Yeah, it's miraculous that the film will get the ending it deserves, to be honest. So we're excited to adjust that and get it out into the world," adds Vollmann.
