2026 Ford C. Frick Award winner Joe Buck

Joe Buck followed his father’s footsteps to Cooperstown.

Along the way, Buck became the national voice of baseball for more than a quarter of a century.

Born April 25, 1969, in St. Petersburg, Fla., Buck grew up in St. Louis as his father, Jack Buck, called Cardinals games on KMOX radio. He matriculated at Indiana University, and by 1989 was calling games for the Triple-A Louisville Redbirds. In 1991, Buck joined his father on Cardinals broadcasts and remained with the team through 2007.

In 1994, Buck was hired by FOX Sports as an NFL play-by-play announcer and soon added baseball to his national resume. In 1996, Buck called his first World Series at age 27, becoming the youngest World Series voice since 25-year-old Vin Scully in 1953. Buck would be behind the mic again for the 1998 World Series and then each year from 2000 through 2021. From 1996 through 2021, when he left FOX, Buck called 26 League Championship Series and 21 All-Star Games while voicing the network’s Saturday game of the week.

Working with partners at FOX that included 2012 Frick Award winner Tim McCarver and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, Buck set a record (with McCarver) for most All-Star Games as a broadcast duo with 15 Midsummer Classics.

Buck and his father, 1987 Frick Award winner, are the first father/son Frick Award recipients. At 56, Buck became the second-youngest Frick Award winner, trailing only Scully, who was 54 when he was named the 1982 winner.