SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - People here in our region are remembering Bob Uecker, who died at 90 years old. He signed his first professional contract with his hometown team, The Milwaukee Braves in 1956. The backup catcher, comedian, and soon became a hall-of-fame broadcaster better known as "Mr.Baseball." Local professor and author of 'Regulating the National Pastime,' Jerold Duquette, believes he left a unique mark on the sport. He's really been kind of an institution for baseball for everyone that's a baseball fan and one of the unique things about that is I'm a Red Sox fan," says Duquette. "And he's not a Red Sox player or announcer. You can talk to fans of any team in the country and everyone feels like one of their own just died." Uecker served as the play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers for 54 seasons. Local News Headlines Supreme Court Upholds NationwideTiktok Ban Girl Scout Cookie sales begin across western Massachusetts Nation’s top high school athletes showcase talent at Hoophall Classic in Springfield, day 2 of tournament Baseball fans remember hall-of-famer Bob Uecker at 90 WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.