Bob Uecker's first career was professional baseball. He played six seasons in the majors (1962-1967), playing catcher for three different National League teams: Braves (Milwaukee, WI, and Atlanta, GA), Cardinals (St. Louis, MO), and Phillies (Philadelphia, PA). His batting, never stellar, declined steadily over his career: he finished with a .200 lifetime average. He wrote a humorous autobiography entitled "Catcher in the Wry". He appeared in a popular series of Lite beer commercials before landing his first movie role.

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