Uecker's County Stadium Closing Speech

This was hard for me to find online, so I thought I'd type it out and post it.

Bob Uecker was Master of Ceremonies at County Stadium's closing ceremonies. He closed with this short speech. The famous line "It was here that boys became men..." is heard before every Brewers pre-game show on 620 WTMJ. 

"Well, here you are, County Stadium. Fourty-eight years have slipped away like the blink of an eye. Yet the memories housed within your walls will live on forever. At first, you were called a jewel in the waiting, though soon a suiter would come calling. You promised to welcome all who visited and they came first by the thousands, then by the millions. A champion was born in your midst, and you stood proud when the rest of the world wondered how. Yet, those good times would not last. Broken hearted, unwanted emptiness, became sadness. Yet, you never asked why. For perhaps, just perhaps, you alone knew that the spring would bloom again. Oh, how you have changed in so many ways, yet one thing remains: a bond between heroes and fans and an ambition to succeed. It was here that boys became men, men became champions, and champions became legends. It is a very sad time for me. For I have been here as a fan, as a player, and for the last thirty years as a broadcaster. But tonight, tonight is the final curtain. It's time to say goodbye. We will never forget you, for what was will always be. So long old friend, and good night everybody."  

-Bob Uecker