Editing Jack Buck (section)

==Final years==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2018}}
[[File:Jack Buck 9-11 Speech.jpg|thumb|300px|Video Replay on the scoreboard at [[Busch Stadium]] shown on the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks of Buck reading his ''For America'' poem at [[Busch Memorial Stadium]] before the first Cardinals game after the 9/11 attacks.]]
Over the course of the 1990s, Buck decided to reduce his schedule to calling only Cardinals home games (or 81 games a year unless there was a special occurrence). Health concerns played a factor in this, as Buck suffered from such ailments as [[Parkinson's disease]], [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetes]], requiring a [[Artificial pacemaker|pacemaker]], [[cataract]]s, [[sciatica]], and [[Vertigo (medical)|vertigo]]. Buck once joked, "I wish I'd get [[Alzheimer's disease|Alzheimer's]], then I could forget I've got all the other stuff."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/2001/05/07/the-spirit-of-st-louis|work=Sports Illustrated  |last=Reilly |first=Rick |title=The Spirit of St. Louis|date=May 7, 2001}}</ref> In 1998, the Cardinals dedicated a bust of Buck that showed him smiling with a hand cupping his left ear. In 1999, he lent his name to a restaurant venture called [[J. Buck's]], with the restaurant's name being shared with son Joe and daughter Julie.<ref>{{cite news|title=J. Buck's opens downtown St. Louis restaurant|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/06/18/daily22.html|work=St. Louis Business Journal|date=June 19, 2007|access-date=2013-01-06}}</ref>

In the final years of his life, Buck became recognized for writing poetry, culminating in national attention for his poem "For America", written after [[September 11 attacks|the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001]]. One of Buck's final public appearances was on September 17, 2001, at [[Busch Memorial Stadium]] in St. Louis. It was the first night that Major League Baseball resumed after the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks]] of September 11. Sick with lung cancer and also showing the signs of Parkinson's disease, Buck looked frail and struggled to maintain his composure.<ref>[http://www.nesn.com/2010/02/top-10-motivational-sports-speeches-of-all-time.html Top 10 Motivational Sports Speeches of All Time], nesn.com, February 2010.</ref> He concluded by silencing critics who thought baseball had come back too soon: "I don't know about you, but as for me, the question has already been answered: Should we be here? Yes!"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beattie |first1=John |title=Jack Buck's Post-9/11 Poem 'For America' Fondly Recalled in Wake of Osama Bin Laden's Death (Video) |url=https://nesn.com/2011/05/jack-bucks-post-911-poem-for-america-fondly-recalled-in-wake-of-osama-bin-ladens-death-video/ |website=NESN |date=2 May 2011 |access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>