Editing Jack Buck (section)

==Early years and military service==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2018}}
Buck was born in [[Holyoke, Massachusetts]], the third of seven children of Earle and Kathleen Buck.<ref>[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: 5–8</ref> His father was a railroad accountant who commuted weekly to [[New Jersey]]. From an early age, Buck dreamed of becoming a sports announcer with his early exposure to sports broadcasting coming from listening to [[Boston Red Sox]] baseball games announced by [[Fred Hoey]].<ref>[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: pp. 1, 5.</ref>

Part of his childhood coincided with the [[Great Depression]], and Buck remembered his family sometimes using a metal slug to keep a coin-operated gas meter going during the winter to provide heat for their home.<ref>[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: pp. 8-9</ref> In 1939, his family moved to [[Cleveland]], Ohio to join their father, who had a job with the [[Erie Railroad]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: 15</ref> Soon after though, Buck's father died at the age of 49 due to [[uremic poisoning]] related to [[Hypertension|high blood pressure]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Buck planned to quit high school in 1941 to take a full-time job in an effort to support his family. Dissuaded by one of his teachers, Buck decided to finish high school, graduating from [[Lakewood High School (Lakewood, Ohio)|Lakewood High School]] in the winter of 1942.<ref>[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: 19–20</ref> After graduation, he followed one of his friends and began working on an iron ore [[Lake freighter|freight boat]] operated on the [[Great Lakes]] by the [[Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.|Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company]].<ref>[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: pp. 21-24</ref>

Buck served on a {{convert|700|ft|adj=on}} steamer named ''The Sheadle'', where he began as porter and was later promoted to night cook and baker.<ref name="ReferenceB">[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: pg. 24</ref> After performing various other shipping related jobs, Buck attempted to become a "[[Able seaman|deck watch]]." A required physical examination revealed Buck was [[color blindness|color blind]], unable to differentiate between the colors green and brown.<ref>[[#Buc97|Buck, Rains, and Broeg 1997]]: pg. 30</ref> Ineligible for the promotion to deck watch, Buck subsequently became eligible for the military draft, and was drafted into the [[United States Army]] in June&nbsp;1943.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

After completion of his military service in 1946, Buck enrolled at (and graduated from) [[Ohio State University]]. His early sportscasting career included work for the minor league affiliates of the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]. In 1954, he was promoted to radio play-by-play of Cardinal games on [[KYFI|KXOK radio]]; the team's radio broadcasts would move in 1955 to [[KMOX]]. Buck maintained this position for nearly all of the next 47 years. He was known in St. Louis for his trademark phrase "That's a winner!", which was said after every game that the Cardinals had won.

In addition to his work with the Cardinals, Buck also earned assignments on many national sportscasts, including radio coverage of 18 [[Super Bowl]]s and 11 [[World Series]]. Some of his famous play-by-play calls include the dramatic walk-off home runs hit by [[Ozzie Smith]] in Game 5 of the [[1985 National League Championship Series]], by [[Kirk Gibson]] in Game 1 of the [[1988 World Series]], and by [[Kirby Puckett]] in Game 6 of the [[1991 World Series]].

The later part of his career found him working side by side in the Cardinals booth with his son [[Joe Buck]], who also has risen to national sportscasting prominence.