If you’re an NFL fan, you’re probably familiar with Joe Buck’s voice. He’s been a broadcaster since 1994, and he’s had a legendary career. He was once the youngest person to become a national play-by-play analyst for a major network, and he’s called six Super Bowls, 18 NFC Championships, 23 World Series, and 25 MLB League Championship Series.
Prior to his successful broadcasting career, did Buck play professional football?
Joe Buck’s Path to Broadcasting
While many football fans know Buck and his work, he has never appeared on an NFL roster. In fact, Buck didn’t even play football at the collegiate level.
With that said, he was around the NFL from a very young age thanks to his father, the late Jack Buck. Like his son, Jack was a legendary play-by-play announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Jack was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Radio Hall of Fame, and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum.
Like his father, Joe is a seven-time Emmy Award winner, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the winner of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.
Awesome moment as Joe @Buck finds out live on TV that he will be joining his father in the Pro Football Hall of fame!
Congratulations Joe! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/hw0ejy2Pnn
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 18, 2020
By watching his father’s work and spending a ton of time around professional sports as a kid, Joe knew what he wanted to do from a young age.
Notable Games Buck Has Called in the NFL
While Buck has called countless of NFL contests, he’s lent his voice to some of the league’s most memorable contests. Here’s a look back some of the most notable.
Super Bowl 39: This was FOX’s first Super Bowl without the legendary broadcasting duo of Pat Summerall and John Madden. This was Buck’s first time calling a Super Bowl, and he teamed up with Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth. The New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX, and Pats wide receiver Deion Branch won Super Bowl MVP honors.
Super Bowl 42: Three years later in Glendale, Arizona, Buck once again called the big game. The Patriots were once again playing for a title, this time against Eli Manning and the New York Giants. This game featured plenty of memorable moments, including the David Tyree helmet catch and Plaxico Burress scoring the final touchdown. New York ultimately ruined New England’s undefeated season, beating them 17-14.
2020 Season NFC Title Game: In what became the last conference title appearance for Tom Brady, Buck and Aikman were in the booth at Lambeau Field when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers knocked off an Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers team to clinch the franchise’s second conference championship. This game was played in front of a limited crowd due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bucs went on to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, earning Brady’s final Super Bowl ring.
2021 Season NFC Title Game: This NFC Championship battle between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams was the last FOX broadcast for Buck and Aikman. For Buck, it ended a nearly three-decade run with the network. The Rams knocked off a 49ers team that had swept them during the regular season, including beating L.A. at SoFi Stadium in Week 18 to clinch the final playoff spot. After this game, Buck and Aikman took their talents to ESPN to call “Monday Night Football.”
2022 Monday Night Football Opener: This was Buck and Aikman’s first game ever as part of the ESPN broadcast family, ushering in a new era of “Monday Night Football.” This also ended up being a reunion game between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, as new Broncos QB Russell Wilson was taking on his former team. Geno Smith, however, stole the show and dropped his now-famous postgame line: “They wrote me off, but I didn’t write back.”
Did Buck Ever Play Sports?
Not much is known about Buck’s athletic past. His broadcasting career is more renowned.
MORE: Who Is Joe Buck’s Wife Michelle Beisner-Buck?
One thing is certain: the graduate of the University of Indiana did not play any sports for the Hoosiers during his time in Bloomington.
His first broadcasting gig came through the Louisville Redbirds, a minor league affiliate of his childhood team the Cardinals.
In the years since, he’s had broadcasting stints with FOX Sports Net Midwest, FOX, and now ESPN/ABC.
