Bobby and the Orchard

In honor of Father's Day, I'd like to share with you this story told to me by reader Sue Bosman about her dad, Bobby Parron, and the times he spent at the Orchard when he was a boy.

Bobby Parron about age 7 (c. 1935)

I wanted to share a little memory my dad told me before he passed away. He lived on 10th and Locust, just a block or two from Borchert Field. This was from around the early 1930s or so.

He used to watch the game through the knot holes, but when fans came to park their cars there, as a little kid, he would say "Hey mister, I'll watch your car for a nickel." They would say sure and give him a nickel. He kept doing this to car after car until he came up with enough money to buy himself a ticket to the game.

Bobby and his aunt (his mother is partially visible behind him)

On a side note, my grandmother (dad's mom) was an entertainer at a roadhouse in Milwaukee during the 1920s. It was a well known roadhouse where celebrities, sports figures and various well-known people of the time went. Grandma became friends with many "regulars" there including Babe Ruth.

She became good friends with Babe, enough to call him by his name "Herman", which he preferred as he did not like his first name. When Babe was in the area for a game, he would golf at Bluemound Country Club during the day, and at night he would come into the roadhouse with his golfing attire on. I asked grandma if she got his autograph and she indignantly said "Friends don't ask friends for autographs."

Grandma had many nice things to say about Babe, including that he was "a real big tipper" and a really happy, personable guy who enjoyed to eat and drink. And "when Al Capone came in there with his people, if he asks you to dance, you dance."

I know it's short, but it's a memory that I wanted to contribute.

I'm so glad you did, Sue. Thank you.

Personal stories like these bring real human life to a field of study quick to sink into sepia-toned photographs and dry statistics. In our detail obsession, it's easy to lose sight of the men who actually played the game, and the men, women, and especially children who loved it.

Inspired by Sue's contribution, I've started a new tag – "PERSONAL REMEMBRANCES" – to catalog stories like hers. If you have a memory surrounding Borchert Field that you'd like to share, drop me a line. We'd love to hear from you.

"Whattaman" and Wife, 1931

This Acme wire photo gives us another look at Charles Arthur Shires, also known as Art "the Great" Shires, also known as "Whattaman" Shires. Shires was profiled by Paul Tenpenny three years ago, but this photo is new to us.

BACK TO THE BUSHES WITH THE GREAT SHIRES

PHOTO SHOWS – First photo of Art "the Great Shires" in the uniform of the Milwaukee (Wis.) Brewers with whom he will play during the coming season. The former big league ball player was photographed with Mrs. Shires at Hot Springs, Ark., during his initial practice with the minor league team.

Art is looking pretty sharp in his pinstriped 1931 Brewer uniform. I also love the cloche hat Mrs. Whattaman is wearing; very Jazz Age. She was Elizabeth "Betty" Greenabaum, an 18-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin. They were relative newlyweds when this picture was taken, having been married the previous November 7th in Los Angeles, where Shires was spending the off-season working as an actor.

Shires had been traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Washington Senators during the 1930 season, but the rowdy ways that sent him out of the Windy City also caused him trouble with Clark Griffith. Washington sold him to the Brewers on December 1st, 1930, for a reported $10,000. "Shires," Griffith was quoted as saying, "is the best ball player I have ever sent back to the minors."

If they were hoping that marriage would settle him down, early indications weren't promising. After the ceremony, Shires joked around with the reporters covering him. "Now, I've got a wife, and I'll need more money. Guess I'll have to be a hold-out next spring." He called his courthouse wedding "batting practice", suggesting that "there will have to be a church wedding later, although I’d rather face that great pitcher 'Lefty' Groves [sic] than do this over again."

Outstanding.

The photo itself is fascinating; it has been manually touched up to enhance some elements. The most obvious are the shadow above Shires's right shoulder and the white space behind the former Miss Greenabaum. What might not be so readily apparent is the re-drawn pinstipes on his jersey and an outlining on the left half of the jersey's Milwaukee "M". When the light strikes the photo just right, the outlining takes on a calligraphic quality, almost like Japanese brush strokes:

A lost art, replaced by the impersonal hand of Photoshop.

"Johnny Brewer"

Tomorrow, in a pregame ceremony, longtime Milwaukee Braves shortstop Johnny Logan will be honored with a plaque at the Walk of Fame at Miller Park.

The Brewers' press release for the event reads:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2013
CONTACT: BREWERS MEDIA RELATIONS
414-902-4500
Brewers.com

FORMER MILWAUKEE BRAVES SHORTSTOP JOHNNY LOGAN TO BE INDUCTED INTO MILLER PARK WALK OF FAME THURSDAY
Press conference scheduled for 4:15 p.m., on-field ceremony starts at 6:40 p.m.

MILWAUKEE – Former Milwaukee Braves shortstop Johnny Logan will be honored on Thursday as the newest member of the Miller Park Walk of Fame. In January, the Brewers announced Logan received over 72% of the vote (32 votes) in Walk of Fame balloting, which includes members of the media throughout Wisconsin as well as Brewers executives. Logan's election marks the first time since Lew Burdette (2010) that a player will be inducted.

Logan played in Milwaukee from 1953 – 1961 and appeared in four All-Star Games as a member of the Braves. For his 13 year career, Logan hit .268 with 93 home runs and 547 RBI. He was a member of the Braves World Series Championship team in 1957 and the National League Championship team in 1958. Logan was signed by the Boston Braves in 1947 and made his Major League debut with Boston in 1951. After playing in Milwaukee, he played three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Other past winners of the award include Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount in 2001; Commissioner Bud Selig and Cecil Cooper in 2002; Bob Uecker and Harry Dalton in 2003; Jim Gantner and Gorman Thomas in 2004; Don Money and Harvey Kuenn in 2005; Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and John Quinn in 2007 (the first year that former Braves players appeared on the ballot); and Lew Burdette in 2010.

Each inductee is honored with a granite plaque that is placed into the terrace area walkway that surrounds Miller Park.

All of that is good. All of that is true. But it doesn't tell the complete story. It neglects to mention, for example, that Logan "played in Milwaukee" before 1953; before he was a Brave, he was a Brewer.

Johnny Logan in 1952

Logan's start in Milwaukee was inauspicious. He came back to Borchert Field in 1948 from the Evansville Braves of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League.

1948 Milwaukee Brewers
(Logan second row, second from right)

The 1948 edition of Who's Who in the American Association had this to say about the new kid, beaming out from beneath his blue-and-red cap:

In this program from that season, Logan is listed as a "utility player", assigned #2.

Logan struggled with the Brewers, and on June 24th was sent down to the Dallas Eagles. He performed well in Dallas, well enough to earn another shot at Milwaukee the following spring. He was taking over for Alvin Dark, who in one single season at Borchert Field had set a pretty high bar for Brewer shortstops.

Logan reportedly clashed with longtime first baseman Heinz Becker, who would "give it" to Logan when the young man sent a wild throw to first. It got so bad, Sentinel scribe Red Thisted reported, that the Brewers had to ship Becker to the Seattle Rainiers. Logan was, after all, the future, and although Becker was beloved in Milwaukee, his career was winding down.

The Brewers replaced Becker at first with soft-spoken Nick Etten in 1949. Etten was just what Logan needed, never reproaching him no matter how many times the youngster bounced throws to first. Logan thrived as the regular shortstop, racking up defensive averages behind only Bill Costa of Columbus in the American Association. He was involved in 111 double plays, also second best in the Association, with a "respectable" batting average of .286, 69 RBI and 14 home runs.

That performance was good enough to solidify his position in the starting infield for 1950. This was his entry in that season's edition of Who's Who in the American Association:

In 1951, Logan had a 46-game errorless streak, from May 13 through June 24th. That single error was his only misstep of the season.

1951 souvenir visor with facsimile Logan autograph (center, below Charlie Grimm)

The Braves were watching him closely, and Logan earned his ticket to Boston on the Fourth of July.

Braves infield, late 1951: from left, Earl Torgeson (1B) / Roy Hartsfield (2B) / Johnny Logan (SS) / Bob Elliot (3B)

He played the rest of the season at Braves Field, but when 1952 started he was back at Borchert's Orchard.

Logan and second baseman Jack Dittmer in 1952

The Braves had a new manager that season in Tommy Holmes, and a new shortstop named Jack Cusick, a sophomore acquired from the Chicago Cubs. Both had a short tenure in Boston, as Holmes was fired on May 31st. Holmes was replaced by Brewers skipper Charlie Grimm, who immediately called up his regular shortstop.

When Johnny next returned to Milwaukee, it was with the rest of the Braves, moving in to the brand-new County Stadium days before the start of the 1953 season.

Logan's time with the Milwaukee Braves is well-documented. He anchored the infield for a decade, and was a key member of the World Champion squad in 1957.

Logan finished his career with a four-year stint in Pittsburgh (1961-63) and one with Japan's Nankai Hawks (1964). After hanging up his glove he returned to Milwaukee, where he hosted a sports radio show on WOKY. He moved into television in 1973 as the color commentator for the new American League Milwaukee Brewers.

Logan tried his hand at politics, unsuccessfully running for Milwaukee County Sheriff three times: 1966, 1968 and 1978. This matchbook is from the 1968 campaign, the only time he ran as a Republican.

It seems that Braves nostalgia was already pretty deep in Milwaukee County, to be featured so prominently. This was just a few years after the club moved to Atlanta, and would have obviously been fresh in fans' minds during the dark period between the loss of the Braves and the coming of the new Brewers.

After the death of his wife in 1989, and at the suggestion of former Braves teammate and longtime friend Bob Uecker, Logan began working for the Brewers as a radar gun operator. He sat behind home plate, clocking every pitch (and, no doubt, greeting Milwaukee baseball fans). He later moved on to scouting for the Brewers.

Logan with Bob Uecker

Logan has been a key player in keeping Milwaukee baseball memories alive. He is frequently sought out for interviews about both the Braves and the old Brewers. In 1999, he co-founded the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association. With that group, Logan conceived of and raised funds for a monument to the Braves outside Miller Park, a monument that was unveiled in of 2002.

As awareness of the American Association Brewers has increased, Logan has also become a stand-in for his original Milwaukee club. When the Brewers sponsored an historical marker to commemorate the site of Borchert Field in 2008, Logan attended the ceremony to represent the Brews.

I hope that the old Brewers don't go unmentioned at tomorrow's ceremony. But even if they do, we'll know. And we'll help keep those memories alive, with the help of our very own "Johnny Brewer".

Brewers Concept Uniform - Matt Malinoski

More Uni Watch goodness from the weekend, this time a concept uniform for the National League Brewers that builds on the legacy of our Brews.

Concepts are a regular feature on Uni Watch, and Weekend Editor Phil Hecken had a great one for us yesterday, introducing us to the work of Matt Malinoski and his concept uniforms for Major League clubs. Yesterday, we saw his designs for the Red Sox and the NL Central.

Here's his proposal for the Brew Crew:

He describes the concept this way:

This concept is derived from the 1943 AA Brewers home uniforms. The colors are reversed, based on what I have read about its color scheme. I got the idea from the uniform that "Owgust" is wearing in the illustration from one of their program covers. I used the "M" from their 1942 set because the 1943 caps had a very plain sans-serif "M" and I added a white outline to it. These have a button front instead of a zipper because the zipper breaks up the "w". Made a barrel man patch on sleeve. Road uniform is a gray version of the home uniform, instead of the red-and-white one they wore. Included 1940s jacket. This was my entry for the Youniform contest.

Outstanding.

The uniform, as he notes, is a color-flipped version of the Brewers uniforms introduced by Bill Veeck, with its elegant "Brewers" script and piping at the neck and cuffs. The blue is also darkened a bit to the 1947-52 navy rather than the royal of the early 1940s.

I'm afraid that his dates are a bit confused, no doubt because the Brewers of that period wore two entirely different uniform sets at Borchert Field.

The other was a holdover from the pre-Veeck era; white jerseys and pants with thick blue piping and a red block "M" on the chest.

Introduced in 1938 or '39, it appears to have persisted as an alternate of sorts after the introduction of Veeck's uniform. Photo cards of the players, produced by Grand Studio and sold at Borchert Field, featured the block-M uniforms in 1943.

Why two different uniform sets? Why hang on to the old one at all? I'm afraid that I don't know. And in any case, the Brewers appear to have dropped that one entirely by 1944.

This will all hopefully be a little clearer when we start to roll out our Brewer uniform history later this year.

So let's look at the details. The block "M" comes from the pre-Veeck uniform, the rest from Veeck's uniform.

It's a little too heavy on red for our True Blue Brew Crew to wear, but looks good on its own. And I'll never get tired of seeing that script.

We've discussed the early-1950s jacket before; it's fantastic. This particular version of Owgust comes from 1952; it's a solid image of the character (one we use for our iOS homescreen icon), and setting him in a roundel is a good choice. I like the deco-ish font, too.

Excellent work, Matt!

Phil notes that we can expect to see Matt's take on the NL East next. Can't wait to see it.

Uni Watch - "The Spirit of '48"

Yesterday's Uni Watch featured a great summary of the recent 1948 Turn Back the Clock game. I'm rather tickled to note that he used the same image for his splash as I did in my recap: Rickie Weeks turning the double-play.

He also has this little nugget, which I hadn't heard before, submitted by a reader named Tim:

The Twins proposed having the two teams wear the throwbacks early in the week in Milwaukee and then again Thursday in Minneapolis, as the teams were playing four consecutive games this week, two in each city.

Problem was, Milwaukee chose not to host a throwback game with these uniforms, since they felt they were wearing enough throwbacks at home already this year.

"Wearing enough throwbacks at home"? There's the 1913 throwbacks they wore on May 5, but I'm not aware of any others. Unless, of course, they're counting the royal-and-gold pinstriped retro uniforms that most Brewer fans think should be their regular set.

Shame that the Miller Park crowd won't have an opportunity to see the gorgeous throwbacks in person, but the Brewers have a ridiculous number of uniforms—this year they'll wear in rotation:

• home whites;
• road grays;
• navy home alternate with "Brewers";
• navy road alternate with "Milwaukee";
• gold alternate; and
• and retro throwback.

To which list we can add the one-offs:

• the "Cerveceros" Spanish-heritage jerseys;
• the new-for-2013 "Piwowarzy" Polish Hetitage jerseys;
• 1913 throwbacks;
• Negro League throwbacks; and
• the spring training "YOUniform" contest winner that will undoubtedly make its way on to the Miller Park field sometime this season.

That's twelve different jerseys the Brew Crew will wear in 2013, including the throwback from Minnesota. I'd speculate that the lack of any consistent brand might indicate the fans' dissatisfaction with the Brewers' regular look, but I don't know if the team would agree.

Turning Back the Clock to... 1948

Rickie Weeks jumps clear of Minnesota's Jamey Carroll as he throws to first base to complete a double play. - Image credit: Associated Press

Last night, in Minneapolis, the Brewers participated in their second Turn Back the Clock game of the season honoring our American Association Brewers. The first, a game at Miller Park commemorating the centennial of the Brews' first pennant, was an event I had been involved with for nearly a year. I first suggested the game to ONMilwaukee.com's Doug Russell in May of 2012, and worked with the Brewers on and off throughout the late summer and fall with research on the uniforms. By the time the event was officially unveiled, I had lived with it long enough that it seemed almost an afterthought.

The Twins' announcement earlier this month that they and the Brewers would hold a 1948 TBTC event, by contrast, came right out of the blue. I hadn't heard anything about that one, a very welcome surprise.

These events are coordinated (and paid for) by the home team, and like the Brewers earlier this year the Twins hit a home run.

Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and catcher Jonathan Lucroy model the throwback uniforms before the game

The uniforms were based on a surviving 1948 jersey worn by catcher Walt Linden that surfaced at auction last year. Majestic made one significant revision in their reproduction, replacing the original zipper with a button-up front, but other than that captured the spirit precisely.

The Twins played the game as the 1948 Saint Paul Saints. Each of the Twin Cities had their own representative in the American Association; the Millers from Minneapolis and the Saints of Saint Paul. For this game, the Twins not only elected to play as the Saints but to wear Saint Paul's road uniforms: gray with blue piping and lettering.

The official reason for this decision was to give Saint Paul-born Joe Mauer the opportunity to wear his hometown's name across his chest, but I also wonder if the existence of the new independent St. Paul Saints club might not have had something to do with that as well. Regardless of the reason, the Twins took the field in road grays and the Brewers in their home creams.

That field was itself festooned with references to the Saints. Every digital reference around the ballpark was changed to reflect the Twins' temporary name, and the bases were emblazoned with 1948 logos:

The Twins' ground crew got into the act with "Lexington Park" jackets, reflecting the Saints' old ballpark.

Although clearly a modern jacket in cut and fit, the style of the lettering reminds me of the Grounds Crew jackets sold by Ebbets Field Flannels in Seattle. Interestingly, Ebbets currently offers a Borchert Field version, and one for the Millers' Nicollet Park, but Saint Paul is currently not represented in their catalog.

In the early innings, Brewer starter Kyle Lohse looked pretty good on the mound in both senses of the word. He retired the first six batters in order, and the evening sunlight showed off the beautiful uniforms to their best advantage:

Kyle Lohse started for the Brewers. Image credit: Associated Press

The "Saints" also looked great. A relatively simple uniform, but very well executed and with enough detail to keep it interesting. The Twins had custom royal-blue helmets with the Saints' "STP" logo on them:

Justin Morneau, right, congratulates Joe Mauer after Mauer's home run off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning. Image credit: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

The Brewers had to make do with their regular helmets, stripped of the contemporary "barley-M" logo, as we can see from this shot later in the game:

Aramis Ramirez and Yuniesky Betancourt celebrate after scoring on Logan Schafer's triple. - Image credit: Getty Images

Surely they could have at least worked up a block "M" decal; a rare oversight in an otherwise excellent event. Note also the modern style decals on the back of Ramirez's helmet: the Times New Roman "16" and navy/gold batterman.

The wheels started to fall off in the third. Lohse give up four home runs to stake the Minnesotans to a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning.

Minnesota's Joe Mauer connects for a home run off Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning. - Image credit: MCT

That means today most of the widely-disseminated photos we have of the game involve a very unhappy-looking Lohse.

Kyle Lohse reacts after allowing a home run to Minnesota's Chris Parmelee in the third inning. - Image credit: Getty Images

Kyle Lohse waits for a new baseball as Minnesota's Joe Mauer rounds the bases after hitting a home run. - Image credit: Associated Press

Not to mention this picture of a mound visit.

Brewers pitching coach Rick Kranitz visits the mound to talk with Kyle Lohse and Jonathan Lucroy after Lohse allowed his fourth home run of the game and third in the fourth inning, to Minnesota's Ryan Doumit. - Image credit: Getty Images

Minnesota's Chris Parmelee is tagged out at the plate Jonathan Lucroy in the eighth inning. - Image credit: Associated Press

The Brewers were able to come back in later innings, even making a game of it, but in the end fall to the "Saints", 6-8.

Aramis Ramirez reacts to a called strike. - Image credit: Getty Images

The game was a frustrating one for Brewer fans (something we're used to this season), but could hardly have been better for fans of Milwaukee's baseball legacy.

Our First Look at 1948

Today, we got our first look at what tonight's 1948 throwback uniforms will look like on actual Brewers (as opposed to a Twins intern). The ever-indispensible John & Cait... Plus Nine blog on MLB.com posted these photos of Yuniesky Betancourt and Jonathan Lucroy taken at Target Field.

Thanks to MLB's At Bat app, I have our first look at the Brewers' 1948 Turn Back the Clock uniforms in action. 

Unfortunately, the only clip up so far involves Kyle Lohse giving up a home run. Solo, at least. 

Looks good so far. The uniforms, at any rate. 

(Update) And, in the time it took me to post those pics, Lohse has given up three more home runs.  5-0, Minnesota. 

This is shades of the 1913 game all over again. 

I think that'll be all for tonight - I'll post a more comprehensive review tomorrow.