Joe Buck never played sports but did follow in his father's legendary steps

Did Joe Buck ever play sports? We explore the career and legacy of the Monday Night Football announcer.

The NFL is well underway and the return of Monday Night Football is here.

There’s a few differences this year though as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have joined the broadcast to call games after 20 years working with FOX.

Buck and Aikman have been the NFL’s most consistent broadcasting duo, beginning their partnership in 2002 as a three-man booth with analyst Cris Collinsworth. Since then both Buck and Aikman have become two of the most recognizable voices in the NFL.

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Did Joe Buck ever play sports?

These days a number of former players get into media work after retiring from their respective profession. Broadcasting and announcing is littered with former pros who learned the game after playing it at the highest level.

However, Joe Buck never played any sports, and most certainly never played in the NFL.

Buck started his broadcasting career in 1989 while he was an undergraduate at Indiana University Bloomington.

Joe initially got his break for the Louisville Redbirds, a minor league affiliate of the Cardinals. He gradually progressed to calling plays for the Cardinals before being hired by the FOX Network in 1994.

At just 25 years old, Buck became a household voice for NFL fans. He made his NFL debut during the 1994-95 season, calling a full slate of games for FOX Sports.

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He followed in his father’s legendary footsteps

Over the years Joe has also made a name for himself in MLB, calling 24 World Series, and 22 MLB All-Star games. These days he often splits his time across baseball and football.

Joe actually followed in his father’s footsteps. Jack Buck is legendary baseball sportscaster for the St. Louis Cardinals, and helped Joe during his early days.

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Jack Buck was eventually inducted as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum prior to his passing in 2002. Joe and his dad are the only father-son duo to both call network Super Bowls and be recognized with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.

Jack and Joe are also the only father and son to each call the Super Bowl on network television.

Joe may never have actually played any sports, but he has sure seen his fair share of it over the years.

Joshua Rogers

Joshua is a Senior Sports Writer at GRV Media with over five years of experience in online writing and editing. After receiving a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and an MA in Sports Journalism, he became a writer for a leading social publisher with over 7 million Facebook followers. Joshua then joined Reach PLC, covering the 2018 World Cup for The Mirror Online and regional publications like the Liverpool Echo. He then moved to a social media marketing agency and content studio, Brave Bison, acting as Website Editor for The Hook. Joshua now oversees all sports content on The Focus, specializing in NBA, NFL, F1, and tennis, while also keeping a close eye on his beloved Manchester United.