100 years of Milwaukee baseball: From the Brewers to the Braves and back again
Sports are a big deal here in Milwaukee. They always have been, and they always will be. Sports give this Midwestern city a reason to come together (even if some seasons it’s only to tailgate). One thing that is often forgotten, or sometimes altogether ignored, is the rich sports history this city holds. With that, this marks the first of a nine-part look at the history of sports in Milwaukee and at Marquette.
In 1901, the American League, a second Major League, was created in competition with the National League. Frank Fleming said on Sports Encyclopedia Web site that Ban Johnson, President of the then Western League and founder of the AL, selected the home cities for his four teams to create rivalries with existing NL clubs.
Fleming said Milwaukee was one of two of Johnson’s Western League cities that was allowed to keep its team, and the original Milwaukee Brewers were established. According to Ballparks.com, Lloyd Street Grounds, located at North Ave. and 18th St., was the home for the Brewers’ lone season in Milwaukee.
The Brewers finished 48-89 that season and moved to St. Louis after that year to become the Browns. Even so, Fleming said that Milwaukee became a prominent minor league baseball city for the next 50 years.
In March 1953, Boston Braves owner Lou Perini decided to move his team to Milwaukee, according to a Milwaukee Braves Web site. County Stadium became the home to the Braves, even though it had just been completed for Milwaukee’s minor league team, the Brewers, to use.
County Stadium was located where the parking lot of Miller Park currently sits. Home to the Braves, and later the Brewers, County Stadium was used until the end of the 2000 Brewers season. Since then, Milwaukee has been the home to the Brewers.
During the 13 years the team played in Milwaukee, the Braves experienced more success than any other MLB team to pass through the city. The Braves won the World Series in 1957, triumphing over the New York Yankees in a seven-game series and claiming the only Series victory for the city of Milwaukee. The club returned to the Fall Classic the following year but was unable to reclaim the title.
In each of the 13 seasons the Braves occupied Milwaukee, the team finished with a record above .500, according to Sports Encyclopedia. During this time, future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron (outfield), Phil Niekro (pitcher), Warren Spahn (pitcher) and Eddie Mathews (third base) called Milwaukee home.
According to Sports Encyclopedia, the Braves wanted to leave Milwaukee after the 1964 season and planned on moving to Atlanta for the start of the 1965 season. Minority stockholder and used car salesman Bud Selig wasn’t letting that happen without a fight.
Selig sued the Braves in order to keep them in Milwaukee, claiming the “loss of a baseball team meant the loss of an identity,” the Web site said. This action only managed to keep the Braves in Milwaukee for one more season, and after the 1965 campaign, Milwaukee bade farewell to its second Major League franchise. Selig, who is now in his 11th year as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, has become a Milwaukee icon.
The wait wasn’t long before another major league team landed in Milwaukee. After its first season in the MLB, the Seattle Pilots were flopping both on the field and in the front office. Attendance was low, and the team was losing money. The team was forced to leave the Pacific Northwest and head to Milwaukee, according to a Seattle Pilots Web site.
Selig bought the floundering Pilots on April 1, 1970, only a week before the team was scheduled to kick off its sophomore season, according to the Pilots history guide. That week, the Pilots were re-named, and on April 7, major league baseball was back in Milwaukee as the newly christened Brewers were welcomed to County Stadium.
It was in 1970 that the Brewers began to make their mark in Milwaukee. Milt Mason, a 69-year-old fan, camped out atop the scoreboard of County Stadium until the team had a game with 40,000 in attendance. Mason’s antics became iconic to Brewers fans, and he became the team’s first mascot, “Bernie Brewer,” according to the Bernie Brewer page of the Brewers Web site.
Until 1984, Bernie had a home at County Stadium. His Web site reports that, similar to today, Bernie would slide into a beer barrel after each Brewer home run and win. After the 1984 campaign, however, the stadium was renovated and left Bernie without a home or a career until 1993 when a fan vote led to the reinstatement of the team’s mascot.
“I can’t imagine the Brewers without Bernie at the games,” said Sabrina Bong, a junior in the College of Communication. “Since I was little, I remember going to the games and watching Bernie. Having a mascot is a something that not many other teams have.”
Bernie is a great way to get kids involved in the game, she said.
“He was what I associated with the Brewers. The first Brewers game I went to was when they still played at County Stadium,” Bong said. “The only thing I remember from that game is watching Bernie slide into his beer barrel.”
Winning was something the Brewers and their fans got used to in the early 1980s as the team made its first two post-season appearances in 1981-’82. The Brewers’ season was magical in 1982, but the magic died too soon when they lost the World Series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 1998, the Brewers moved from the American League Central to the National League Central in order to balance interleague play. The Baseball Almanac, an official collection of baseball history, said the Brewers are the only team to have ever switched leagues.
With this move, a new rivalry was born: Brewers vs. Cubs.
“Milwaukee has a huge loyalty to this team,” said Carly Zarr, sophomore in the College of Education. “I’m a Cubs fan, and just wearing one of their jerseys up here draws a lot of attention. And none of that is good.
“The fans really do get behind the team and think that after a few wins the team is going to be on a roll for the rest of the season,” she said. “It’s a lot like Cubs fans, which makes this rivalry so intense.”
A stage for modern Brewers vs. Cubs rivalries, Miller Park, was opened and became the home of the Brewers in 2001.
“Miller Park is amazing,” said Pedro Ruiz, senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. “The state-of-the-art field draws people in really well, and there is a little bit for everyone who comes.
“There is tailgating before the games, and so much is available for kids and family there, too,” he said. “Even though there is a ‘beer’ atmosphere at the park, it still maintains a family-friendly feel by having a lot of stuff for kids.”
Although it seemed like Milwaukee wasn’t destined to house a Major League baseball team, the Brewers beat the system and now play in a city that loves them.
Tags: al, american league, atlanta braves, Baltimore Orioles, baseball, braves, Brewers, Bud Selig, County Stadium, Hank Aaron, history, major league, major league baseball, Miller Park, milwaukee, milwaukee braves, Milwaukee Brewers, mlb, National League, nl, orioles, Sports, world series
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