Buck: a genuine guy. (Remote Patrol).

Soul of the city," boomed the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a headline fit for a Budweiser baron. "The greatest Cardinal of all," lauded Tony LaRussa, noting Jack Buck pitched for 47 years. His initials adorned uniforms and grass at Busch Stadium, where his bust was illuminated and his casket displayed at home plate.

Yet Jack Buck was National, not just Local. That distinction should be made because, proud and possessive as St. Louis is--as Chicago was of Harry Caray and Los Angeles/Detroit/ Cincinnati are of Vin Scully/Ernie Harwell/Marty Brenneman--Buck transcended his area code more than most hometown broadcasting icons.

It surely helped that, since 1954 (when he aced out Chick Hearn for the job), his gravel-on-concrete pipes performed on KMOX, the Cardinals' flagship. Surfing AM car radios as a kid in Nebraska, one of 44 states serviced by that 50,000-watt blowtorch, I'd dial in 1120 to catch the daily adventures of Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Al Hrabosky. I was blithely unaware that, all the while, Buck was mentoring Mike Shannon, Bob Costas, Skip Caray, Joe Buck and countless other play-by-play artistes. To my ears, he was merely professional and rather non-partisan, just a Guy.

Not till we met years later at Dodger Stadium did I see he was a Genuine Guy. Buck, in his 60s, was taking batting practice in shirt and slacks and talking self-deprecatingly--two activities rarely associated with a ballclub's Voice. ...