Catching Up with Eddie Doucette, ‘The Voice of The Bucks’

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Eddie Doucette

Eddie Doucette

One thing about AM radio, after the sun goes down, is picking up a faraway signal through the interference and the ether, where the magic crackles through a speaker. This is how people in the Midwest learned of Eddie Doucette in the late 1960s, broadcasting play-by-play for a fledgling NBA expansion team, the Milwaukee Bucks.

A “Cream City” version of Dizzy Dean, the game was fun and peppered by an imagination that ran as fast as the ball went down the court: “In the land of giants, back to the Big O (Oscar Robertson), Bango!,” “Skyhook, by the King (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), “From down the street, Bango! Basket by … Maglocklin (Jon McGlocklin)!”

Starting in 1968, and for the next 16 years, he brought fans to the Bucks with an inventive lexicon of phrases and pure joy. Eventually named to the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, his most treasured achievement is the MACC Fund (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer), a charity founded with former on-air partner, McGlocklin.

The Shepherd Express was able to catch up with him at home, and his first words? “It’s a little overcast, we’ve gotten a lot of rain, and it’s needed in desperation.” 

No one slings a sentence together like Eddie Doucette. 

How do you feel these days, and what occupies your time?

I’m doing as well as you can for an aging right hander, I don’t enjoy the recreation I once did, so it’s a little limited. For someone in my vintage … I’m just enjoying the weather, and family more than anything, with two children, and four grandchildren, a wonderful wife and beautiful home, doing okay for someone so long in the tooth.

When the COVID campaign destroyed everybody’s life, I backed off a bit on work, doing a voice-over, writing and producing … there were limited business opportunities because I choose to spend my time with my grandchildren, their sports, and whatever else they may have on their schedule.

You were a rock n’ roll disk jockey, what brought you to the Bucks?

In 1968, I was one of the first employees hired, as a sports director, publicity for the team … broadcasting was not even a consideration. Closer to the season, they needed one and knew I had a background, and then-president Wes Pavalon … he wanted to do it anyway.

At 10 years old, it was imbedded in me, sports broadcasting. I was a disk jockey but had a rough time convincing people locally, that it’s something I can do. My big opportunity came from men not in the business, on behalf of a team not even in town yet. They said, here’s a young guy with a lot of enthusiasm, does he know about broadcasting? And after one year, they said, you created an interest in the team, you’ll do just broadcasting.

What was that like, at that time?

The first broadcast was actually at a high school, an exhibition game, I was just so excited to do it, and at every time-out, we’d throw it away for a commercial break. I thought, this is it! This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s been 16 years of broadcasting.

Where did those nicknames and terms come from?

Jonny Mac (McGlocklin) Bango jumper that originated … they eventually gave the name to the mascot. Bango was his long-range jumpshot. Greg Smith was “Capt. Marvel,” Wali Jones was “The Walrus,” some didn’t like the name but…

There was a big center, “Speedbump,” because he won’t stop you, but he’ll slow you down—Paul Mokeski. His wife didn’t like it. It was all stuff created during the game, on the floor, pops into your head and you take the risk. When you say it, it’s gone, no erasers. Back then, filters were very skimpy.

Wasn’t there a book of your sayings? 

It was kind of like a fold-out piece, we printed over a million of them that were given out, where they sold Coca-Cola. It was the beginning of the Doucette dictionary, a lexicon of my sayings and such, “Doucette-isms,” very little was contrived, and could tell if it would catch on. Schoolteachers would call me and ask what I was talking about, kids were wading up paper, throwing it in the wastebaskets and yelling, “Bango!”

It was a perfect storm, I was lucky, the kids were interested. and they sold the old people, because they were confused…hey, get with it. That young demographic was going to be the future season ticket holders. We had a new team, let’s enjoy, we’re not like a station out of Green Bay or Fond du Lac—it’s Milwaukee sports.

How did the MACC Fund start?

Milwaukee and Wisconsin were tremendous for me, once I got into the area of my career I wanted…sports. It allowed me, and MACC fund co-founder Jon McGlocklin, all the support to grow where it’s grown. We have become the St. Jude’s (Hospital) in the Midwest. Children come to us, we have a children’s medical college in Brookfield, and we have made a major impact on pediatric oncology and blood disorders. 

Doctors are being recruited from around the world because all of the funds remain there and all dedicated strictly to research. Jon, and I, both feel it’s something God has his hands on, there’s an identity in the community because with the Bucks, a charity was created that held a dire need. My son had leukemia, and the head doctor said they needed their own facility. We started our own building and hopefully someday we won’t need it.

In 48 years, we have about 100 events annually to raise money (maccfund.org) and we’re pushing a big number here. Jon was going to retire in 1976, and we decided to do it then. It’s a big part of who we are.