Joe Buck, the play-by-play voice of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” likes to play golf. So does his wife, Michelle Beisner-Buck, a reporter on the “MFN” pregame show who also enjoys dancing and is acrobatic.
Here’s the truth @AdamSchefter the whole truth and nothing but the guilt-ridden brutal truth! My wife is one amazing, tough woman. And she has not for one second pinned this on me. Or added to my mental load. While I have. Fluke stuff. Probably lucky it wasn’t worse! pic.twitter.com/1SCEhJv3t7
— Joe Buck (@Buck) September 11, 2024
So that made for a bad combination when the St. Louisans were on a golf course in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in July.
They tell the painful story in a post on social media:
“Michelle has been known to do headstands during the course of our courtship and marriage,” he says. “She did a headstand at the end of the tee box for good luck, out and to my left. And at the exact moment that I was teeing off, she decided with her feet in the air to do the splits ... right in my line of fire.”
His drive smashed into her right ankle, which was shattered.
“Freak accident,” she said. “If you were having a competition, you would never ever be able to do it. This was like God or the universe just directed this ball into right my ankle bone.”
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She said she spent six weeks in a hard cast and 2½ more in a walking boot, but problems still existed — the tibial nerve, a key foot and ankle component, was damaged and could not be addressed while she was in the cast. Treatment began after that was removed, but she said “nothing has worked.”
So she had an operation Wednesday in St. Louis to try to correct the problem.
“The surgery was a nerve compression,” her husband said Thursday. “It went very well,” adding that her bones have healed.
“Just can’t wait to get back on my two HEALTHY feet,” she said in an Instagram post earlier in the week. “I cannot wait to run around with my kids. I cannot wait to get back to work. I cannot wait to drive. To dance. ... All of it. I CAN’T WAIT!!!!”
Joe Buck is remorseful about his role in her troubles.
“Needless to say, my guilt is off the charts,” he said in the video. “I wake up still in the middle of the night hearing that sound (from the ball’s impact on the ankle), and it makes me sick. It’s a bad sound. It makes me absolutely sick. ... I love this woman, all I do is want to protect this woman and I hurt her with a golf ball.”
She shakes her head no, reiterating that it’s not his fault.
But he doesn’t sound appeased.
“It’s pretty sick, and I feel terrible,” he says in conclusion.
The life and times of Jack Buck
JACK BUCK AND LARUSSA
Broadcaster Jack Buck, left, chats with Cardinals manager Tony La Russa during spring training in 1997 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Post-Dispatch file photo by Jane Rudolph)
1956: Harry Caray
Jack Buck, left, Harry Caray, center, and Joe Garagiola are seen in 1956, when they broadcast Cardinals games on KMOX (1120 AM).
JACK BUCK PBT TV
Jack Buck, then 37, served as a commentator on Professional Bowlers Tour telecasts in 1962. (Post-Dispatch file photo)
1969: Harry Caray
August A. Busch Jr., an avid gin rummy player, and Harry Caray play a friendly game before the Knights of the Cauliflower Ear banquet in 1969. Busch's chauffeur, Frank Jackson, holds the brewer's cards because Busch had a broken finger. Jack Buck is watching.
BUCK AND ROBINSON in KMOX interview
Jack Buck, left, interviews baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson on KMOX (1120 AM) in this undated file photo.
JACK BUCK
Jack Buck and his wife, Carole, at a San Francisco restaurant around the time of their marriage in 1969. (Post-Dispatch file photo)
1982: Harry Caray and Jack Buck
Announcers and old friends Harry Caray (top) and Jack Buck clown around in the KMOX booth at Busch Stadium before a game with the Cardinals and Cubs on May 4, 1982. (Post-Dispatch file photo by J.B. Forbes)
Jack Buck
Jack Buck, left, and Casey Stengel at Busch Stadium II. (Post-Dispatch file photo)
JACK BUCK
Jack Bucks puts his feet in a bucket of ice water at Busch Stadium II in 102-degree heat. (Bill Greenblatt photo)
BUCK/LONDOFF
Jack Buck (left), KMOX sports director, receives a plaque from the St. Louis Variety Club in 1988 for his work for children. Presenting the award is telethon chairman John H. Londoff. (Post-Dispatch file photo by Wayne Crosslin)
1968: Harry Caray
Things are much different now at KMOX than they were in the 1960s, when Robert Hyland (right) was running the station and Jack Buck (left) and Harry Caray were broadcasting the Cardinals' games.
Jack Buck
Jack Buck in 1982. (Post-Dispatch file photo by J.B. Forbes)
BUCK & SPORTSCASTERS
Broadcasters for Cardinals games televised on KSD (Channel 5) in the 1977 season gather in Busch Stadium. From left, Bob Starr, Jack Buck, Jay Randolph and Mike Shannon.
BUCK AND SHANNON
Jack Buck, front, is in the Cardinals' radio broadcast booth with Mike Shannon in 1990. (Post-Dispatch file photo by Wayne Crosslin)
Jack Buck
From left: Bob Costas, Christy Shelton, Tony Gomes, Ted Geiger, Jack Buck and John Whicker in an undated file photo.
BUCK AND MCCARVER
Tim McCarver, left, and Jack Buck are at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium on April 14, 1990, just before going on the air for their first broadcast together on CBS-TV. (Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press)
BREWERS CARDINALS
Hall of Fame announcer and voice of the Cardinals Jack Buck throws out the first pitch before the Cards' 1999 season opener, on April 5 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium II. (AP photo by Leon Algee)
Jack Buck
Vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney, foreground, follows a play while sitting next to Cardinals radio broadcaster Jack Buck during a game against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium II on Oct. 10, 2000. Cheney later sat among fans in the stands. (Post-Dispatch file phot by Jamie Rector)
Jack Buck
Ameritech starting "ClearPath", its new digital wireless service for St. Louis. Jack Buck, in the KMOX broadcast booth receiving one of the first digital calls over the new Ameritech system.
Jack Buck
Mike Shannon, right, and Jack Buck chat in the Cardinals' radio broadcast booth at Busch Stadium II on Friday, July 20, 2001. It was their 30th season working together. (Post-Dispatch file photo by Wendi Fitzgerald)
Joe Buck in Cardinals broadcast booth with father
Joe Buck, left, and Jack Buck broadcast a Cardinals game in 1996 on the team's radio network.
Jack Buck
Jack Buck is seen in his home on Dec. 28, 2000, after being named St. Louis' Citizen of the Year. (Post-Dispatch fil photo by Larry Williams)
Jack Buck
Baseball Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock, left, and Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck, second from left, testify in Jefferson City, Mo. on March 13, 2001, in support of a tax-break plan for a new stadium for the team. (AP photo by Kelley McCall)
Jack Buck
Broadcaster Jack Buck applauds as his statue is unveiled outside of Busch Stadium Sunday afternoon before the Cardinals-Braves game. Buck, 74, in his 45th season here, says he has the best job in baseball.
Jack Buck
Wednesday June 18, 2002--Michelle Keller, from Imperial, places a tribute to Jack Buck at the base of his bust outside Busch Stadium before the start of the Cardinals and Anaheim Angels game Wednesday. Fans filed past the bust to pay their respects to the Hall of Fame Broadcaster throughout the day. Photo By Odell Mitchell Jr.
Jack Buck
(Wednesday, June 19, 2002)--- An old fashioned General Electric transistor radio was one of many items left at a memorial being built Wednesday for Cardinals announcer Jack Buck. Buck died Tuesday after a long illness. (Teak Phillips/Post-Dispatch)
Jack Buck
(Wednesday, June 19, 2002)---Jeanne MacAinsh of Swansea, Ill. leads her sons Matthew, 5; Brendan, 3; and Jacob, 1; in a prayer for Jack Buck Wednesday in front of Busch Stadium. "I wanted (my sons) to know that he was just a legend in St. Louis," MacAinsh said. "I think it's important to pay respects to the Buck family."
BUCK SERVICE
Joe Buck, right and his sister Julie console mother Carole as they view the casket of their father, the late St. Louis Cardinals hall-of-fame broadcaster Jack Buck Thursday, June 20, 2002 at the memorial service at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Jack Buck died late Tuesday night after a long battle with a variety of infirmities. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)
TAPS FOR BUCK
6/19/02 Wednesday Jack Buck tribute before the game at Busch Stadium Wednesday evening. Joe Buck and Red Schoendienst stand quietly while taps is played during the tribute to Jack Buck. PHOTO BY J.B. FORBES/ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.
Jack Buck
Thursday 20 June, 2002 -- Joe Buck listens to a musical tribute played at the end of the memorial service for Jack Buck before a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Anaheim Angels at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. POST-DISPATCH PHOTO BY CHRIS LEE
SHANNON AND BUCK
JUNE 20 2002- Mike Shannon warmly receives an introduction by Joe Buck before speaking at Jack Buck's legendary public memorial service Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium. PHOTO BY LAURIE SKRIVAN/PD STAFF
Stan Musial
THURSDAY 20 JUNE 2002 - Stan Musial enters Busch Stadium for the memorial service of Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck Thursday. PHOTO BY ROBERT COHEN/PD
Jack Buck
THURSDAY (6/20/02) Mourners wait their turn to pass by Jack Buck's coffin which is placed near home plate at Busch Stadium. A memorial service at the stadium, at 12:30pm, is unprecedented in St. Louis. Buck died Tuesday at age 77. LARRY WILLIAMS / POST DISPATCH
Jack Buck
Thursday 20 June, 2002 -- Rodger Wilson of St. Louis throws a handful of dirt on the casket of Jack Buck during a public viewing session at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. Wilson was the first member of the public to see the casket and said he started waiting at 1 AM outside the stadium. POST-DISPATCH PHOTO BY CHRIS LEE
Jack Buck
Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile warms up in the outfield as the hearse carrying Jack Buck's casket leaves the field before a game between the Cardinals and the Angels June 20, 2002, at Busch Stadium.
Jack Buck
WED JUNE 19, 2002- Fans at Busch Stadium paid tribute to legendary St. Louis Cardinal broadcaster Jack Buck with a video tribute Wednesday before the game against the Anaheim Angels at Busch Stadium. PHOTO BY LAURIE SKRIVAN/PD STAFF
Mike Shannon
WEDNESDAY JUNE 19, 2002--After leaving pre-game field ceremonies, Mike Shannon retreats from the KMOX broadcast booth to an adjacent private section of the booth and briefly watches an emotionalvideo tribute to Jack Buck. "I couldn't watch that video, man," he says " too tough, too many memories up there ( on the video screen) for me. We've lost a true treasure there." POST-DISPATCH PHOTO BY JERRY NAUNHEIM JR.
Jack Buck
Wednesday 19 June, 2002 -- Cardinals third baseman Placido Polanco rounds second base with a solo home run in first inning action during a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Anaheim Angels at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. At left is second base umpire Bruce Froemming. Raked in the dirt is Jack Buck's initials. POST-DISPATCH PHOTO BY CHRIS LEE
Christine Buck
10/26/05: Christine Buck looks lovingly upon the sculpture she treasures of her dad, Jack Buck, talking to a young child at her home in Ladue Wednesday. She said she was lucky when after drawing straws at a family gathering to divide up her father's things with her siblings, she drew the short straw and chose this piece. The sculpture is the "Spirit of Caring" award presented to Jack Buck in 1995 by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He was the first recipient of this award. PHOTO BY KAREN ELSHOUT
The empty broadcast booth of Jack Buck in 2002
The headset worn by Jack Buck for the past seven years sits in the KMOX broadcast booth as fans line the warning track Thursday to pay their respects to the longtime Cardinals broadcaster during his memorial service in Busch Stadium on June 20, 2002. File photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

