When the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLCS and booked their trip to the World Series, the club’s radio play-by-play man, Jeff Levering, commemorated the moment with a call that may have sounded a bit familiar to baseball fans. “The Brewers win the pennant! Oh my god! The Brewers win the pennant!” he exclaimed.
That’s because it was a near word-for-word re-enactment of Bob Uecker’s lines from the climactic scene of the 1989 feature film Major League, where the legendary broadcaster parodied his occupation while covering a fictionalized version of the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) as they won the American League.
It was a fitting tribute by Levering, who worked with Uecker during his last decade in the booth, considering just how important Uecker was to the Brewers’ fanbase. The Milwaukee icon called the games of his hometown team for 54 seasons, the fourth-longest tenure in MLB history. In 2012, the Brewers erected a statue in his honor, and when he died 13 years later, they dedicated the broadcast wing above the press box in his name.
“You can’t talk about the Brewers and not think about Ueck,” Levering told Sportico. “He means everything to that organization.”
As the franchise prepares to make its first World Series appearance in 44 years against the Tampa Bay Rays, Uecker has returned to the forefront of the baseball world. That’s yielded an opportunity, one that his family has seemingly prepared for.
In November 2025, Uecker’s son, Robert Jr., formed a limited liability corporation in Wisconsin named MRBB LLC, an apparent reference to the broadcaster’s nickname, “Mr. Baseball.” That same month, the entity filed seven trademark applications, including a logo that consisted of a microphone and Uecker’s autograph and the phrases “Bob Uecker,” “Ueck,” “Get Up, Get Up, Get Outta Here, Gone,” “I Must Be In The Front Row,” “Just A Bit Outside” and “Mr. Baseball.”
As far as usage, the filings mentioned digital signage, baseball batting helmets, watches, clocks, jewelry, baseball cards, coffee mugs, memorabilia, clothing, bobbleheads and other goods and services, as well as entertainment and retail store services. All seven applications have passed the opposition phase and have received a notice of allowance, which means the applicant has six months to file a statement of use or ask for an extension.
And Uecker isn’t the only baseball broadcaster in the USPTO database. Los Angeles Dodgers legend Vin Scully, who died in 2022, trademarked his name nearly two decades ago in 2009. That mark is now held under a California-based LLC that is associate with the baseball legend’s foundation, Scully IP. The entity also has another pending application in the system that appears to expand the use of Scully’s existing trademark. It was granted a third extension to provide a statement of use in July.
It’s unclear whether the Uecker estate plans to pursue any monetization. The family, which manages most of his intellectual property and NIL efforts, declined to comment through a representative from the Brewers.
But it’s not like they’re sitting on a gold mine. Multiple industry experts agree that it’s unlikely for the Uecker estate to generate more than $100,000 amid the excitement around the Brewers’ World Series run, as opposed to the tens of millions of dollars some of the highest-earning dead celebrities have produced in years past.
Uecker’s stardom did extend well beyond Milwaukee. He was a regular in the Major League film franchise and the ABC sitcom Mr. Belvedere, and made frequent guest appearances The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. But his appeal is primarily local, and any future opportunities largely depend on the Brewers performance.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee has used Uecker’s intellectual property sparingly. The Brewers wore a memorial patch on their jersey last season, and they gave away a Uecker-branded golf umbrella for one game a day before a planned celebration of his life. Levering also recalled that his former boothmate used to joke about a promotional toy coffin that would have Uecker spring out and say, “Get up, get up, get outta here, gone,” his famous home run call. “That was just his sense of humor,” Levering said.
In many cases, athletes and celebrities file trademarks merely for brand protection as opposed to a business opportunity. The right of publicity for deceased individuals varies from state-to-state, and Mark Roesler, an expert on the intellectual property rights of dead celebrities and their estates, noted that Wisconsin “has one of the worst state laws” in that category. The possibility exists that Uecker’s family was just trying to lock in guardrails through the seven trademark applications.
That may become a more prevalent issue as advances in artificial intelligence make it easier to recreate and repurpose the image and likeness of deceased individuals. Levering pointed out users on social media presumably used the technology to transpose Uecker’s voice over the game-clinching call from Game 4 of the NLCS last Thursday. Roesler added that trademark classes 009, 035 and 041 are among those that protect against that type of misuse, all three of which are among those in MRBB LLC’s trademark applications.
If the Brewers do, in fact, claim their first World Series title in franchise history, that could continue to funnel interest back to Uecker, especially if the franchise’s success extends into a multi-season run. Still, the intellectual property of celebrities tends to decline in value over time. Win or lose, though, Levering doesn’t see that ever happening to Uecker in Milwaukee.
“No one forgets the legends,” he said, “and Bob was certainly a legend.”