Part II: Catching Up With Eddie Doucette, ‘The Voice of the Bucks’

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Eddie Doucette

Eddie Doucette

Eddie Doucette was the “Voice of the Bucks,” and a revered Milwaukee broadcasting standby for 16 years. He started with the team in 1968, creating a language and style that was unique to the town, as well as the state. The Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) Foundation, begun with Bucks’ legend and broadcast partner Jon McGlocklin, is a lasting legacy and medical gift.

The Shepherd Express caught up with him, at his home, on several occasions, and the conversations were always free-wheeling and fun, peppered with “Doucette-isms” that were decidedly Milwaukee-flavored. 

A half-century later, he saw parallels between the 1971 Bucks championship squad and the 2021 team. His belief in putting the fan first, still carries an important message for today’s sports organizations. This bookend to the previous column adds more of his thoughts.

How did the Bucks get embedded in the community during those early days?

Milwaukee is a different type of community than big cities; there’s a sensitivity that you’re part of the home team and players are appreciated for what they do. It was so important to get out into the community during the off-season, especially the middle to upper part of the state; it was a unique situation.

For folks to put money together, take a camper or van to Milwaukee, it’s expensive. When you’re able to take the game to the communities with seminars, camps … how effective that was! Melding the relationship between the team and the community, the loyalty became obvious. You can’t do that in a big city. It’s a family-involved team, and people want to feel like they know me, or Oscar (Robertson), a Bob Dandridge. 

How do you view the Bucks’ team now?

We won it 1971, and started tinkering … we got game 7, in 1974. Oscar (Robertson) told me that we should have won three championships, at that time. When you have owners from out of town, they do things in a New York way. The owners are loyal like the fans are loyal. To their credit… they brought in a Giannis (Antetokounmpo), shuffling the deck, and it got a little sideways, ala 1971.

We had parts that didn’t fit, and what they’re doing now is trying to get back to the throne room. I just feel Jon Horst (Bucks general manger) is a creative, terrific guy who’s done some great things. When you move a piece like Jrue Holiday, that’s tricky. You’ve got to think like a chemistry teacher and make sure the formula is correct. That’s the nature of the business and you’ve got to have the guts to try it. 

In this case, it’s working out to a point. In 1971, we had Greg Smith, a starter, and Dick Cunningham, he played a role. Holiday, with (Khris) Middleton, with Giannis, he gave it both ends of the court. When they moved Grayson Allen, that set them back.

I’m not intrinsically involved, only what I see on the surface. You need guts to make those kinds of decisions. They are tough decisions, but you have to make them to stay on top of the heap. The decisions may not always be accepted, and you may look like a cetriolo, that’s a cucumber in Italian. Jon Horst is bullish, and I sense (it) keeps the team on the rise. 

You bring in other parts, it takes time to gel. Take a piece out, put two in, Giannis has to be surrounded with complimentary pieces, the right pieces. Put it on the maple, and it can hum a different tune, symphonic. They’ve got some time left. Doc Rivers, who’s the chemistry teacher … let’s see, if he can get things cooking on the Bunsen burner and in the beaker. 

What do you think about broadcasting techniques, and entertaining the fans?

It was often said, I was a “homer,” rooting for the home team … not the case, my job was to provide information and entertain, make it possible to enjoy their team, and give a reason to come to the games. I’ve always felt and told people this: if you want facts and nothing but, you can get that from a newspaper the next morning. I tried to treat the game like showtime. How are we going to make the game as exciting to fans like it is to me?

It’s all about information and entertainment, otherwise it’s going to put those 18-wheel truck drivers to sleep. They were a big audience, driving down the highway, having a few laughs … you’re trying to create images, whether it’s “The Coffin Corner,” or “The Cyclops,” or “Tripped Over the Equator,” or “The Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” or “Popping Up and Down in the Toaster.”

We’re talking about stuff I did 50-60 years ago, an opportunity to create, what do you see? I enjoyed it so much. I enjoyed it in Milwaukee. Being creative, you’re giving back to the fans. Some nights, your team stinks, before leaving the air, say something positive. Keep the fan uppermost. No Fans, no game, it’s that simple. What are you doing for the fan, and what are you doing to keep them?