Jim Paschke and the other voices who are Wisconsin sports broadcasting royalty

JR Radcliffe
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Jim Paschke (left) and Jon McGlocklin have been calling Bucks games since 1986.

Television play-by-play announcer Jim Paschke said Tuesday that his 35th season calling Milwaukee Bucks games would be his last, bringing a decorated career to an end.

He's one of many celebrated broadcasting voices that have brought Wisconsin sports to life, many of whom will live on forever as state sports royalty. Consider our embarrassment of riches:

Bob Uecker

Sportscaster Bob Uecker celebrates in the clubhouse after the Milwaukee Brewers clinched a playoff berth defeating the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Let's start with the obvious. Uecker has been the radio voice of the Brewers since the franchise's infancy, and he's perhaps the most identifiable personality with Brewers baseball.

You can still catch his eternally familiar voice emanating from the radio during Brewers home games, even at age 87.

The Wisconsin sports treasure was given the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, and his trademarked humor guided Milwaukee fans through long stretches of sub-.500 baseball. Generations of fans know the reference when you say "Get up, get outta here, gone!"

He's had some great partners too, including several announcers who are now lead play-by-play voices for other MLB teams: Pat Hughes, Jim Powell, Cory Provus and Joe Block. His current partner, Jeff Levering, takes lead during road games and also appears on television broadcasts.

Eddie Doucette

Eddie Doucette brought color to the broadcasts of early-1970s Milwaukee Bucks games.

Just as the Brewers were getting off the ground in the early 1970s, so were the Milwaukee Bucks, and radio/TV personality Eddie Doucette was tasked with making the 1968 expansion team interesting.

RELATED:Point Forward Podcast: Radio and TV voice Eddie Doucette looks back at the 1971 championship Bucks

Employing an arsenal of nicknames and coining such terminology as "skyhook" and "Bango," Doucette helped make the Bucks a city mainstay, and the addition of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sure didn't hurt. For 16 years, he was the voice of the franchise.

Earl Gillespie

From left, Earl Gillespie, Ward Allen, Tom Hooper and Carl Zimmerman in a 1966 photo of the TV 6 newscast.

Before "Holy cow!" belonged to Harry Carey, it was employed by this Milwaukee Braves play-by-play announcer, who brought the team to life for fans from 1953-1963, a heyday for Wisconsin sports fans.

The eight-time Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year, alongside partner Blaine Walsh, called both Braves' World Series appearances and only title, and he also called Marquette University sports, Packers games and Wisconsin football. 

RELATED:Nine of Hank Aaron's greatest moments in a Milwaukee uniform

Merle Harmon

Merle Harmon, right, and Tom Collins were part of the first Milwaukee Brewers' broadcasting team in 1970.

When Gillespie was forced to retire because of a heart condition, it was Harmon who stepped in, first announcing Braves games and then Brewers games when Milwaukee got a baseball team again in 1970 and worked both radio and TV through the 1979 season.

Harmon called games alongside Blaine Walsh and Tom Collins for two years, and his career included a number of national assignments in a variety of sports before he came back permanently to Milwaukee as lead Brewers announcer, eventually pairing with a young Uecker. In all, Harmon served on announcer teams for five Major League teams. 

Harmon and Uecker also worked with Mike Hegan, who became a key part of the TV broadcasts for a decade.

Ray Scott

Sports commentator Ray Scott, play-by-play announcer for the CBS broadcast of the NFL-AFL World Championship game, talks to Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr on the sidelines at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Scott, who became synonymous with the great Packers teams of the Vince Lombardi era, was among those freezing and describing perhaps the NFL's most legendary moment, the 1967 NFL Championship Game, better known as the Ice Bowl. 

Scott began with the Packers in 1956, paired with Tony Canadeo, and was on the call for Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II. He kept things simple and understated: "Starr to Dowler, touchdown, Green Bay."

Scott became a lead broadcaster for CBS when the NFL dovetailed away from team-specific broadcast crews, and he called four Super Bowls. He also performed play-by-play duties for the Brewers for two years.

Ted Moore

Ted Moore, shown here in 1969, spent 48 years in radio and on TV.

For 10 years, he was also the voice of the Green Bay Packers, including a famous radio call in the Ice Bowl: "Starr begins the count, takes the snap, he's got the quarterback sneak and he's in for the touchdown, and the Packers are out in front, 20-17."

In all, he oversaw five NFL championships and two Super Bowls, then called games for the Baltimore Colts in the season they won Super Bowl V.

The former program director at WTMJ also spent time with WEMP and WOKY in Milwaukee and is a member of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame. His work extended to University of Wisconsin basketball (for two decades, no less) and football teams.

Jim Irwin (and Max McGee)

Max McGee, left, and Jim Irwin in the broadcast both in 1992.

Irwin served in a number of capacities, but he'll be remembered for his 30 seasons on the microphone as Green Bay Packers radio voice, including the Super Bowl triumph early in 1997. Partnered with the laid-back, colorful former Packers player Max McGee, Irwin was the man who uttered the line, "Edgar Bennett with a hole on the right side you could drive a truck to the Super Bowl through" as the Packers clinched a win in the NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers.

Irwin also called Bucks games for 16 years, Wisconsin football games for 22 years and Wisconsin basketball games for five years, plus two years with Bob Uecker for UW-Milwaukee games. He called two memorable UW moments, an upset of No. 1 Michigan in 1981 by the football team and a full-court buzzer beater by Wes Matthews in 1979.

Wayne Larrivee

Green Bay Packers broadcaster Wayne Larrivee speaks at the Hunger Task Force Touchdowns event.

When Irwin and McGee retired in 1998, in stepped Larrivee, a former Bears announcer with a number of national assignments already under his belt.

Known for his "dagger" call on crucial late-game moments, he was on the microphone alongside Larry McCarren as the Packers won the Super Bowl in early 2011. Larrivee has also done work with the Big Ten Network and the Chicago Bulls.

Matt Lepay

Retiring UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, left, talks with sportscaster Matt Lepay during a ceremony honoring Alvarez's tenure.

Lepay, whose profile has risen to greater heights in recent years with limited appearances as play-by-play announcer for Brewers games, has been the voice of Wisconsin basketball since 1988 and Wisconsin football since 1994.

With calls such as "book it" for a big three-pointer or emphatic "touchdown Wisconsin!" Lepay has been on the mic as the programs have risen to a new level through the late '90s and into the new millennium. 

Brian Anderson

Brewers TV analyst Brian Anderson.

Anxious Brewers fans have been worried that Anderson will leave for a "national" gig for years, but the truth is Anderson has been able to maintain his role as Brewers play-by-play TV announcer and keep a schedule of national telecasts simultaneously for years.

One of the top voices during Turner's NBA postseason coverage (not to mention baseball postseason coverage), Anderson has been the primary TV man for the Brewers since 2007. He's also had assignments for the Big Ten Network and the NCAA Tournament. He's called Roy Halladay's no-hitter, Damian Lillard's ridiculous buzzer-beater in the 2019 playoffs and Washington's World Series triumph later that year, but he'll forever be known in Milwaukee for his call of Ryan Braun's eighth-inning home run in the 2008 regular-season finale.

Bill Schroeder

Brewers TV analyst Bill Schroeder.

It's hard to mention Anderson without noting the color commentator who's been by his side, the former Brewers catcher who's held his current role for a quarter century.

A member of Team Streak in 1987 (and the catcher of Juan Nieves' no-hitter), Schroeder has been a constant on Brewers broadcasts, working alongside a slew of play-by-play announcers such as Matt Vasgersian, Daron Sutton and even Paschke for two seasons. Schroeder overcame a health scare in 2020.

Jim Paschke and Jon McGlocklin 

Back to Paschke; it's hard to mention him without also mentioning his broadcast partner for three decades, former Bucks star Jon McGlocklin. They were honored for 30 years working together with a banner in the arena rafters in 2016, and McGlocklin's role as co-founder of the MACC Fund has further cemented his place in the community.

Ted Davis

One last shout out to current Bucks radio play-by-play announcer Ted Davis, who's  been calling games in Milwaukee for 24 years with his brand of infectious enthusiasm. Bucks fans know what it means when "it's in the bank and earning interest." How about that?

Udate: This story has been updated to add Ted Moore.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.