Seeler followed in his father's footsteps as a player for Hamburger SV, making his first team debut in 1954 in a DFB-Pokal match, aged just under 18, scoring four goals (8–2 vs. Holstein Kiel).

In later years, despite tempting offers from Italian and Spanish clubs, he remained loyal to Hamburg, working on a second career as a merchant besides playing football.

Seeler was a gifted, powerful, and prolific striker who, among other things, was most of all renowned for his leadership, consistency, overhead kicks, and aerial ability.

During the 1960–61 season, Seeler, alongside his brother Dieter [de], helped to lead Hamburger SV to the semi-finals of the European Cup, where they narrowly missed out on the final against Benfica, losing out to Barcelona in a play-off match.

Of those West German World Cup teams, the 1966 side reached the final, where they lost to host nation England 4–2 in extra time.

[4] In the previous round, a backward second-half header against England tied the score 2–2, a game West Germany went on to win 3–2.

[18] From 1959 until his death, Uwe Seeler lived with his wife in Harksheide, today a district of Norderstedt in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.

Bundesliga, where Hamburg played a home match against Hansa Rostock, as well as the first round of the DFB-Pokal also began with a minute of silence in Seeler's tribute.