Vintage Brew: “First Light: Revisited”

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This article was originally published in 2008 after the death of Bob Koehler, co-author of "The American Association Milwaukee Brewers" with Rex Hamann. I wanted to share this tribute with BorchertField.com readers about one of the pioneers of Borchert Field research.

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"First Light: Revisited"
by Paul Tenpenny
(Tencentz@aol.com)
Copyright 2018 Tencentzports
Printed with permission of the Author

This past April (2008), a fixture at local Milwaukee, regional and national sports collectible shows, Bob Koehler passed away. He had many friends in the hobby, all of whom have been sharing their fond memories of Bob along with tributes to him written in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sports Collectors Digest and the American Association Almanac.

I would like to add my voice to that group who are sharing their experiences. I first met Bob in the 1980's, he was a source for Milwaukee Braves and Milwaukee Brewer collectibles that I wanted, and I found him always to be a friendly and knowledgeable dealer, ever ready to help you find something and to share information.

When my interest shifted to the Borchert Brewers about 5 years ago, there was nobody in Milwaukee who knew more than him. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, existed in book form until recently. Anybody attempting research in this area of Milwaukee history was pretty much in the dark when approaching this subject. Bob provided the "first light" for me in a dark area of research. True research goes where no one else has gone before. Bob's work compiling team rosters with Rex Hamann and his photos are some of the various sign posts I have used extensively to try to guide my way researching Milwaukee. Even now as I hit the microfilm machines and spend the long hours needed to do the job right at the Milwaukee Public Library and elsewhere, his footprints are all around me. Bob and local SABR members photocopied newspaper clippings and put them into book form to make it easier for interested parties to read about Milwaukee baseball in the 1940's.

*Currently, I am working on researching a bat from a Milwaukee Brewer from 1917. Nothing is available from Baseball Reference online about his Brewer stats from the American Association. Thanks to Bob and Rex, I have them. More on the American Association Almanac later.

Thanks Bob, I will not forget your help and encouragement.

In closing, many times people ask why? What is it about collecting that causes you to devote so much time and resources on something from so long ago? I know Bob was asked why he gave up teaching to pursue his passion for baseball history. A risky change of life for sure, but it worked out well for him and he got to do what he loved. My answer to that question is a resounding NO. Neither Bob nor I live in the past, but we refuse to forget the past. Our past still has value for us today. Baseball history is not "life" but it is representative of the quality of our lives. If not baseball, something else gives us joy, direction and focus for tomorrow. Something in our past always drives us to the future. Our connection with those times, a fondness or nostalgia for the experiences of our youth always has a bearing on where we take our life.

I have great memories of baseball, going with my dad to see Hank Aaron, Ed Mathews and Spahnie at Milwaukee County Stadium. I only wish I still had my favorite T Shirt. I have been looking for one like it for 40 plus years now.

Clutching his McDonalds bag, this 10-year-old Paul proudly wears his Milwaukee Braves T Shirt while his sister Mary enjoys her coke with their mom digging into her lunch. (my sister will never forgive me for sharing it). Cute curlers sis. (Author's photo-Summer of 1963)

The last time I had talked with Bob Koehler was in 2007 at the Milwaukee Public Library where he and Bill Topitzes were giving a short presentation on the American Association Brewers. While telling the group of us about the Brewers, Players and Borchert field, he shared with us family photos which included a shot of him in his "Brewers" T Shirt.

Bob Koehler at Borchert Field, Summer of 1952

What blew me away was that Bob still had his T Shirt pictured in that photo. WoW!!! The only one I have ever seen. It made an immediate connection with me as I know how much my Braves T Shirt meant to me, since mine was lost to the rag bag so long ago. My last words to Bob that day were: "if you ever get rid of it etc" (which I doubted he ever would) at least to make sure it and the photo ended up in a local museum where others could appreciate it. It surly belongs there and I believe this "T" and its memory was an important part of why Bob loved baseball and it guided his life's work. It was the "Torch" that lit the path of his life. I am happy to say that Thanks to Pam Koehler, I now can share this rare piece with readers. And Bob, I promise, this will always be accessible to those who would like to see it.

The Torch (held in trust by the author)

On a final note, I neglected to share a nod to the wonderful book that Rex Hamann and Bob wrote in 2004, THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION BREWERS. It is an absolute gem for getting you started and has been a Godsend for me and "targeting" articles. My first copy is falling apart. The book is still available and you can find it at Barnes and Noble and online.

Please continue to support the research pioneers of the American Association Milwaukee Brewers. Rex Hamann and his American Association Almanac is the best reference on the American Association and Rex covers all the bases, all the team histories. Subscribe to his newsletter too.

Another Day at Athletic Park

This photograph taken by Sumner W. Matteson in the early days of the 20th Century shows patrons on their way into Athletic Park.

It could well have been taken on the same day as his 1909 photograph, later reprinted as a postcard.

The advertisements along the ballpark's outer walls appear to be the same as our photograph.

The open areas at the top of the wall are the back of the grandstand area. They were later covered with louvered shutters, as seen in this photo from 1952.

Back to the Matteson photo, the distinctive, octagonal ticket kiosk seen here would remain at Borchert Field at least through the 1930s.

25¢ for bleacher tickets? I'll take one.

And, of course, we have line after line of men and boys in hats, waiting to enter the park. And more than one woman, in the full fashion of the day.

Borchert Field hosted "Ladies' Days" back to the 19th Century. Good to see them on a regular afternoon.

Finally, this look across the street fascinates me. Truly, the Orchard was a neighborhood ballpark. And those cars!

Matteson's photo gives us a rare look at the Orchard, as it appeared around a hundred and ten years ago.

Flying the Flag

On July 7, 1937, long-simmering tensions between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan boiled over into open conflict. A small skirmish at the Marco Polo Bridge soon engulfed both great powers in an extensive war, as Japanese forces launched a full-scale invasion of the mainland.

To citizens of Milwaukee, this war must have seemed impossibly remote. But the following May, the Cream City found itself facing a small but curious reverberation of that conflict from the other side of the globe.

Downtown Building Nearly Involved in Sino-Japanese War

Milwaukee property owners have international complications, as well as high taxes and local troubles, to worry about these days.

Joe Mallon, superintendent of the Plankington Building, Saturday received a protest from Milwaukee Chinese that the building was unduly favoring Japan in the current oriental war.

The Chinese, it seems, believed that the baseball flag, which flies above the building when the Brewers' team is playing at home, is the Japanese flag. The baseball banner has a white field with a red center, similar to Japan's "rising sun" flag. Mallon explained this to the protesters.

The polite Chinese apologized for their mistake.

Setting aside the regrettable dog-whistle language about "polite Chinese", it's a fascinating story. This is the flag that caused their confusion, the flag the Brewers would fly over their downtown office to announce home games:

A little confusion seems reasonable enough.

So how did this flag-flying tradition come about? It started in 1913, although the original "Game Today" flag looked a little different:

The flag was the brainchild of Brewer minority owner/business manager Bill Armour; who in the days leading up to 1913's Opening Day announced that a special flag would be flown over the Majestic Building on Wisconsin Avenue—"a white flag with a blue ball in the center"—on days when the Brewers were to play a home game at Athletic Park. No flag on scheduled game days signified a postponement. For fans a bit closer to Athletic park, he intended to line the grandstand roof with "a dozen or more" smaller pennants on game days.

This may have been a last-minute addition for 1913 (Armour had only taken over baseball operations the previous January); the day before the first scheduled game, the Milwaukee Journal reported that the flag might not be ready to fly.

Arrangements were made this morning by Business Manager Armour to keep the fans informed each day as to whether there is to be a game or not, by displaying a white flag with a blue ball in the center from the flagpole on the Majestic building. There is some question as to whether this flag with be ready for tomorrow, but after that it can be depended upon each day.

The Milwaukee Sentinel was especially positive, declaring that Armour's innovation "will prove of great convenience to the fan and will save many a fruitless journey to Athletic park during the season."

	The Majestic Building circa 1910

The Majestic Building was chosen not only for its towering presence as one of Milwaukee's first skyscrapers, but also because it housed the Brewers' headquarters; the club had kept its offices in Room 1300 of the 14-story Beaux-Arts building since its opening in 1908.

We may never know if the flag wasn't ready for the first game, as heavy rains settled in over Milwaukee and pushed the opening back two days. But when the rain stopped, the Brewers were prepared. Armour's blue-and-white flag went up for the first time on Saturday, April 12, 1913, telling fans all over downtown that the first Brewer game of the season was on.

The new flag on the Majestic Building, which will inform the fans when the Brewers are playing, did its first service yesterday.

I'm struck by the simplicity of the design, its abstraction.

It reminds me of a maritime flag, a symbol capable of conveying great import to people in the know while being utterly opaque to the uninitiated (like our Chinese-American friends). Had this flag been introduced a few decades later, I would expect the Brewers to have flown a slightly more on-the-nose design:

Then again, if Bill Veeck had been the owner behind it instead of Bill Armour, the flag might have looked more like this:

It's unclear when Armour's "Game Today" flag fell out of favor, but at some point its use was discontinued. That is, until June of 1934, when the Brewers moved their offices out of the Majestic and down the street to the seventh floor of the Plankinton Building.

With the new location came an opportunity to revive an old tradition, and the Brewers brought their flag out of mothballs.

Baseball Flag Flies Again

The white flag with its big round spot will fly again when the Brewers are at home and a game is to go on. The baseball flag used to fly over the Majestic Building when the club's office was there. Then the custom was abandoned for a time. The picture shows Mercedene Foster and Mavis Strehlow hoisting it on the Plankington Arcade flagpole Friday. (Journal Staff Photo)

This might also have been the point when the flag switched from a blue dot to red.

Flying a "Game Today" flag is a quaint tradition from an era before mass communication, when fans could look to the skyline to see if their club was playing.

Is this the Japanese Consulate,
or do the Brewers have a home game today?

A Trio of Old-Timers

Old-Timer's Day is a long tradition in baseball, going back to "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" on July 4, 1939, when the 1927 Yankees were reunited to watch Lou Gehrig be honored.

The pinstripers made it an annual event in 1947, and has been a part of baseball's culture ever since.

So what do you do if your major league team isn't old enough to have Old Timers? You reach back in the city's baseball history. And that's exactly what happened in Milwaukee in 1960 when the Braves held their first Old-Timers game at County Stadium. Many former Brewers were brought back to greet the crowd, and three of them were photographed at a dinner in their honor the night before.

MILWAUKEE, WIS., JULY 9 -- OLD TIMERS SWAP YARNS -- Baseball greats of by-gone days got together last night when they were honored at a dinner at the Miller Brewing Co. Recalling some of their diamond deeds of yesteryear are: left to right, Geo. McBride, Bill "Jap" Barbeau and Davy Jones. McBride and Jones played on the Milwaukee American League team in 1901 and Barbeau played on the Brewers of 1915 and 16.

The Miller Inn is well-known to anyone who has taken the Miller Brewery tour; it's the last stop, where you can sample some of the wares you saw being made. It still has the distinctive diagonal wood paneling.

1915/16 M101-4 Sporting News card

George McBride was a former shortstop who only had a brief tenure with the Brews. Born in the Cream City in 1880, he made his debut in September of 1901 with the American League Brewers, collecting three appearances. The team moved to St. Louis after the season ended, but McBride he turned down the opportunity to stay with them, choosing instead to sign with the new American Association club.

McBride went back to the majors in 1905. After short stints with the Pirates and Cardinals, he finally found a home with the Washington Senators in 1908 and from that point on he would be found at Griffith Stadium. As his career wound down, he began to transition into coaching under the watchful eye of Clark Griffith himself. From 1917 through 1920 made only a handful of appearances, served mostly as an instructor, base coach and fill-in manager when Griffith was traveling on scouting missions. In 1921 Griffith appointed McBride Washington's manager, but his tenure was short-lived. On July 27, just over halfway through the season, he was struck in the head by a thrown ball, suffering a concussion and spending the following week confined to bed. McBride returned to the dugout on August 4, but continued to be afflicted with dizziness and fainting spells. He resigned his position the following December and, turning down Griffith's offer of a scouting job, returned to his hometown as a "man of leisure".

McBride became active in the Milwaukee Elks club after moving back to Milwaukee. In 1935, he was selected to chair the Elks' annual pre-season dinner honoring the Brewers, a post he held well into the Milwaukee Braves era. He passed away in 1973. At least into the 1990s, the Elks presented an athletic scholarship known as the "George McBride Award" to a Milwaukee-area high school athlete.

	Barbeau as a Brewer in 1915

Third baseman Bill "Jap" Barbeau played for the Brewers from 1914 and 1915 and then again in 1917 and 1918. Although the majority of his fourteen-year career was spent in the minors, he did make it to the Show for short stints in Cleveland, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The New York City native took to Milwaukee; he led the Brewers' off-season barnstorming team for years.

I don't know where his colorful nickname came from, although I fear it may have been a reference to his stature; he was famously the shortest Brewer on the pennant-winning 1914 club.

After leaving the Brewers, Barbeau finished his career with short stints in St Paul and Omaha, and then retired to Milwaukee. He was active as a manager, coach and occasional player in the local semi-pro baseball scene for twenty years, which brought him to Borchert Field with some regularity. He died in 1969.

1909-11 T206 card

The final member of our trio, Davy Jones, was an outfielder known for his speed, both in the field and on the basepaths. Born David Jefferson, he played baseball at Dixon College in northern Illinois, where he studied law. The Dixon team traveled to Rockford to play a series of exhibition games with the local Three-I League club. Jones was instrumental in the college team's victories, and he was persuaded to sign with the professional club after the end of the college season. He appeared in 77 games for the Rockford Red Sox, winning the league batting title with a .384 average. That was enough to attract the notice of the majors, and the Chicago Orphans (soon to be renamed the Cubs) bought his contract. Jones decided to sign instead with the new American League Brewers, joining them for the last month of the 1901 season. When the Brewers left town after the end of the season he went to St. Louis with them, but wouldn't stay long. Mike Grahek profiled Jones for the Society of American Baseball Research's Baseball Biography Project, and described the outfielder's next moves:

When the Brewers moved to St. Louis after the 1901 season, Jones took advantage of a clause in his AL contract which prevented transferring a player to a new city without his consent. The young lawyer signed with Chicago, which still owned his rights within organized baseball. Later that winter he jumped back to St. Louis, but played in only 15 games in 1902 before jumping back to Chicago after Orphans owner James Hart offered Davy a fifty percent raise and $500 signing bonus. All told, Jones had jumped four different contracts in a nine-month span. Jones left his Browns teammates without a word on the morning of May 14 and was patrolling centerfield for the Cubs that afternoon. Though a major leaguer for barely a month all told, Davy was quickly gaining a reputation for jumping contracts whenever a better offer came along. The Chicago Tribune referred to him as a "rubber-leg," and Chicago fans even quit teasing fellow outfielder Jimmy Slagle, another noted jumper, out of deference to Jones. As Jones himself said later, "a contract didn't mean anything in those days."

Jones broke his leg in a home-plate collision on July 4, 1904, and when he struggled upon returning to the lineup in mid-August the Cubs sold him to the Minneapolis Millers. He blossomed in Minneapolis, catching the eye of scouts for the Detroit Tigers.

1907 AL Champion Detroit Tigers
(Jones is second row, far left)

Jones started in left field for Detroit, opposite Ty Cobb who was then playing in right. Jones became the Georgia Peach's best friend on the Tigers, often having to relay signals on the field from teammates with whom Cobb was not on speaking terms. He also claimed to have encouraged Cobb to invest in the stock market; Cobb put his money in a local business—Coca-Cola—and made millions.

He also supported Cobb in one of the man's darkest hours. On May 15, 1912, the Tigers were playing the Highlanders at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan. Cobb was heckled mercilessly by a New York fan, and when the taunts turned racist, Cobb hurled himself into the stands and fought with the man. Jones was one of a few Tigers to follow Cobb into the seats, but was far more helpful in the aftermath than he was in the melee. American League president Ban Johnson suspended Cobb immediately and fined him $500. In response, the Tigers went on strike and refused to play their next game; Cobb might not have been personally popular, but he was their star player. Drawing on his legal training, Jones represented the players at a meeting with Johnson and the other league owners. He successfully argued that the suspension was unfair and that the players deserved protection while on the field. The fine and suspension were lifted, the Tigers were back in uniform, and Jones would later describe this as a formative event in the long struggle to unionize the sport.

While still an active player, Jones bought a drugstore in Detroit, and worked it in the offseason. He retired from playing in 1913 and went to work full-time as a druggist. When it came time to retire from business as well, he and his wife moved back to the Milwaukee area. He died in 1972. A memorial to Jones was erected in 2006 on the grounds of the Cambria-Friesland Historical Society in his native Cambria, Wisconsin.

Three very interesting men, with long careers in their chosen sport. I would love to know what they talked about on that evening of July 9, 1960. Good for the Braves, to recognize and embrace the long history of baseball in Milwaukee.

1905 Brewers Cap Back in Stock at Ebbets Field Flannels

Ebbets Field Flannels has re-introduced their re-creation of the Brewers' unique 1905 cap, with the city initial on the brim.

Ebbets.com

Better yet, they've made it part of their "Classic Ballcap Collection", meaning it will remain in stock and not rotated out of their offerings.

Milwaukee Brewers (AA) 1905 Ballcap

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

HISTORY

This hat is indeed a rarity: The only time we have seen the lettering go on the visor instead of the crown. Are you listening, current MLB teams? A new trend awaits.

• American Association 
• Ebbets Classic Ballcap Collection- Always available;
• Horse hair buckram crown 
• Satin taping 
• Felt emblem 
• Cotton sweatband 
• Pillbox 

All Ebbets Field Flannels authentic ballcaps are made in the USA.

ITEM: MIL05C
$44.00

The early days of the 20th Century saw a lot of uniform experimentation as the sport's aesthetic was developing. This particular innovation didn't catch on, but today it's a great callback to a lost era.

Milwaukee Public Library

You can order your cap here. Show your support for the Brews, and they'll make more.

Another Ebbets Field Flannels Sale!

Our friends at Ebbets Field Flannels have a special going on now for "Cyber Monday". From now until Monday, December 9, use this promo code:

CYBER

to get 20% off your total order.

This is the perfect time to pick up your reproduction 1947 road jersey (seen above), a 1936 road jersey or 1905 Brewers road cap.

Ebbets Field Flannels Promo Code

Our friends at Ebbets Field Flannels have a special going on now through December 2, as part of "Small Business Saturday". This promo code:

Small13

will get you 20% off your order.

This is the perfect time to pick up your reproduction 1905 Brewers road cap or a road jersey, either in 1936 or 1947 flavors.

"To The Brim" - Reproduction 1905 Brewers Cap

A wonderful new surprise from our friends at Ebbets Field Flannels - a reproduction of the Brewers' 1905 cap.

Ebbets.com

Milwaukee Brewers (AA) 1905 Ballcap

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

HISTORY

This hat is indeed a rarity: The only time we have seen the lettering go on the visor instead of the crown. Are you listening, current MLB teams? A new trend awaits.

• American Association 
• Horse hair buckram crown 
• Satin taping 
• Felt emblem 
• Cotton sweatband 
• Pillbox 

All Ebbets Field Flannels authentic ballcaps are made in the USA.

ITEM: MIL05C
$40.00

Outstanding. I've already ordered mine.

We've talked about this cap before, when looking at a 1905 team photo:

Milwaukee Public Library

1911 Spalding catalogue (Chicago Style top left)

The old-fashioned ringed pillbox cap was known at the time as "Chicago style".

Ebbets Field is right - the little "M" on the bill is very unique.  Keep in mind that this was long before cap logos themselves were commonplace, much less had a proscribed location on the cap. Center-front of the crown seems logical to us, but it took some experimentation before that was really established.

This was a sadly short-lived style for the Brewers, who soon returned to the jockey-style or "New York Style" caps that evolved into today's modern lids. Still, this is an opportunity for you to celebrate that style.

For a limited time, this cap is available for the introductory price of $32.00 - order yours today!

"The Great White Hope" at the Orchard

By Pete Ehrmann

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Editor's Note: Today our resident boxing expert brings us the story of a very unusual event held at the Orchard on July 18th, 1909.

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It's a safe bet nobody yelled "Kill the umpire!" during the semi-pro ballgame between City League powerhouses Sissons & Sewells and the McGreals at Athletic Park 104 years ago today. In fact, the chunky, balding, middle-aged guy calling strikes and balls behind home plate was the one most of the 4,200 fans came to the ballpark at 8th and Chambers Sts. to see.

When they didn't see as much of him as expected, some nasty things were yelled about Milwaukee Mayor David Rose, who prevented guest umpire James J. Jeffries from going through with an advertised post-game sparring exhibition and showing what he had in store for his next opponent.

Given his druthers, the boxer known as "Big Jeff," "The Boilermaker" (his pre-boxing profession) and now "The Great White Hope" would never have left the West Coast alfalfa farm to which he retired in 1905 after his undefeated six year reign as heavyweight champion of the world.

Jeffries before his first retirement

For one thing, Jeffries had beaten all the credible challengers to his supremacy in the ring – or at least the ones on the white side of the color line he and his titular predecessors John L. Sullivan, James J. Corbett, and Bob Fitzsimmons had voluntarily drawn to prevent the most respected title in sports from falling into racially inferior hands.

For another, Jeffries was by nature sulky and grouchy and hated the spotlight perpetually trained on the world's greatest boxer.

After he retired from boxing at 30, Jeff gained 100 pounds, smoked cigarettes and lived the life of an agrarian potentate – until damned fool Tommy Burns violated the heavyweight champion's code and risked the precious title on December 26, 1908 against African-American Jack Johnson, and the worst nightmare of white society came true.

	Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson

Johnson won when police stopped the fight in the 15th round. Writing from ringside in Sydney, Australia, novelist Jack London likened the spectacle to "a playful Ethiopian at loggerheads with a small and futile white man (and) a grown man cuffing a naughty child… There was never so one-sided a world's championship fight in the history of the ring."

London ended his dispatch with the infamous words, "But one thing now remains. Jim Jeffries must now emerge from his alfalfa farm and remove that golden smile from Jack Johnson's face. Jeff, it's up to you. The White Man must be rescued."

The novelist's bugle call echoed around the world and intensified as Jack Johnson jauntily went through a succession of white challengers and white mistresses. Big Jeff resisted until public clamor for him to come back – and the prospect of a $100,000 payday if he did – became too great to ignore.

Without committing himself to anything, in the spring of 1909 Jeffries announced that he would go so far as to see what kind of shape he could whip himself into. He hired fellow Californian Sam Berger as both his manager and sparring partner. After winning the first Olympic Games heavyweight championship in 1904, when boxing made its Olympic debut in St. Louis, Berger turned professional and was viewed as a potential successor to Jeffries himself until a couple fights proved otherwise.

In mid-'09, Jeff and Berger embarked on a national tour to keep the drumbeat for a Johnson fight going steady and loud, as well as rake in some easy dough.

Jeffries and Berger, 1909

Milwaukee was their penultimate stop, after Chicago and before Minneapolis. The plan was for Jeff to umpire the game at Athletic Field and then change into his boxing duds and spar three one-minute rounds with Berger in a ring set up over home plate.

For all Jeff's popularity, the announcement on July 4 of his first-ever visit to Milwaukee two weeks hence was met with skepticism by some sportswriters who wondered if he was serious about fighting Johnson to begin with, and, if so, how dancing around with Sam Berger for three minutes per appearance was helping him prepare for it. Championship fights then were 45 three-minute rounds.

"The Boilermaker is picking up all kinds of soft money boxing one-minute rounds with Berger," wrote Jeff Thompson in the Milwaukee Free Press. "After seeing Jeff spar with his manager, the sharps express the opinion that the big fellow's wind has gone, and that he could never recover it. In fact, they agree that Jeff has no idea of fighting again."

"Just how many Milwaukee people will fall for this it remains to be seen," said The Milwaukee Journal, "but it's a cinch that unless Jeffries shows more signs of activity than he has in some of these other affairs of the same brand, he won't make a very big hit with a Milwaukee crowd, for they are very strong on getting something for their money."

But excitement about – and ticket sales for – Jeff's appearance in Milwaukee took off on July 16 when word went out that while he was in town the ex-heavyweight champion (who some in the media insisted was still the champion because Jeffries had abdicated and not lost the title in the ring) might finally post forfeit money committing himself to fight Johnson [he didn't] – and that Johnson himself intended to show up at Athletic Park for a look at the Great White Hope.

To make things even more interesting, the next day a local man named Billy Miller, another boilermaker-turned-boxer, challenged Jeffries to take him on instead of Berger at the ballpark. "Miller believes he can hold his own with the undefeated champion and would let him extend himself much more than Berger does in these exhibitions," said the Free Press.

A brass band greeted the man a Milwaukee Sentinel editorial called "the most talked of personage in our country at the present time" at the Northwestern railroad depot at 8 a.m. on July 18, and escorted Jeffries and Berger to the Pfister Hotel. The Milwaukee Athletic Club hosted a reception for them before the baseball game, which started at 2:30 p.m.

Jack Johnson wasn't around, and if Billy Miller was he remained incognito. Jeffries probably wished he hadn't shown up, either, when Berger took the field after Sissons & Sewells beat McGreals 6-5 and announced to the crowd that there would be no sparring exhibition to follow because Mayor Rose had refused to grant the necessary permit.

In fact, Rose had denied the permit application three days earlier, but the promoters had conveniently neglected to tell anyone.

There was a state statute prohibiting prize fighting in Wisconsin. Bouts were still allowed at local theaters at the sufferance of the mayor, a boxing fan, but in this case, explained Mayor Rose later Sunday evening, "I had to refuse them because the champion [Jeffries] and his manager were to appear in ring costume. We cannot permit this in the open, especially in a place like Athletic Park, surrounded by dwellings. They can spar for exhibition as much as they like in theaters."

"When Berger announced to the crowd that the bout had been called off there was a whole lot of grumbling," reported the Free Press, "but after he had explained the situation they took the disappointment good naturedly."

(Whether that would've been the case had it been Jack Johnson – routinely denigrated in the local press as a "dinge" and "coon" – who disappointed them is a whole 'nother matter.)

The crowd was further mollified when Big Jeff came out in his workout clothes to skip rope, shadow box and do some exercises.

"The great majority of the spectators had never seen a fighter go through his training stunts and appeared to enjoy it hugely," reported the Sentinel the next day. "The sight of a big fellow of Jeff's size skipping the rope like a schoolgirl caused a whole lot of glee in the stands, but when he discarded the rope and started dancing around and smiting an imaginary foe he brought down the house – or rather the bleachers."

"He was a trifle chubby at the waistline," the Sentinel report continued, "but otherwise he appeared to be in fair condition. Whether he will ever get back into condition for a grueling fight, however, is a question which only time will answer."

Not much for elocution, Big Jeff allowed only that he would "knock the block off that [insert Paula Dean epithet here]" if he and Johnson ever fought.

They did, and he didn't. When the "Fight of the Century" finally happened in Reno, Nevada, on July 4, 1910, Johnson gave the Great White Hope a beating for 15 rounds until it was stopped. There were deadly race riots around the country afterwards.

"Such Respect for Bright Colors": the 1904 & 1905 Road Uniforms

By Dennis Pajot and Chance Michaels

Milwaukee Public Library

This handsome fellow with the impressive mustache is Brewer manager "Pongo Joe" Cantillon in his 1904 Brewer road uniform.

We tend to think of baseball in this era in either sepia tones or shades of gray; rarely do we have an opportunity to learn much about the teams' actual colors.

An article in the February 16, 1905 Milwaukee Journal talked of the Brewers' new 1905 uniforms, and gave us a rare color description not only of the new duds, but the outgoing color scheme as well:

The matter of uniforms is another of the hundreds of details of running a ball team which has been decided on, and in the matter of dress this year the Brewers promise to be just as many as any of the teams in the association. Their at-home uniforms, of course, will be white, the same as usual, with black trimmings and caps. When it comes to their traveling suits, there is to be a change. The black and yellow combination which has afforded opportunity to the fans of the home cities to make all sorts of comment, will be displaced by a neat Oxford grey, with maroon trimmings and cap. The Oxford grey was agreeable to both (team owner Charles) Havenor and Cantillon, but when it came to the trimmings there was a hitch. Dago Joe, as he is sometimes called by those who know him pretty well around the log cabin in Chicago, held that owing to the remarks made by some of his fellow countrymen in regards to the "yellow" of last season, they thought it was time that Cantillon was declaring himself, and so for a long time Joe argued that green was the proper color for the trimmings, and it was not until the census of the Milwaukee population had been shown him was he convinced that the green trimmings were not the proper thing for a Milwaukee team. It was a hard blow, but at last Joe consented, and so the Brewers' traveling uniform will be Oxford grey with maroon trimmings.

So there you have it. The suit "Pongo Joe" is wearing in the photo above is black, with a yellow "M". Clear to see how that combination might have inspired opposing fans "to make all sorts of comment" when these Brewers came to town (something similar would happen with Bill Veeck's first road uniforms nearly four decades later). Also interesting is the back-and-forth between Cantillon and team owner Charles Havenor as they each intended to put their own visual stamp on the club.

This is the home uniform that black-and-yellow road suit was paired with in 1904: white with black trimmings and an elegant "Milwaukee" script across the chest:

Milwaukee Public Library

And this is the 1905 home uniform, white with dark trim, that would replace it:

Is that maroon, as the article indicated Cantillon wanted? Or black, or possibly navy blue?

Cantillon had very strong ideas about baseball uniforms, and not just about their color schemes.

In 1906, the Toledo News-Bee reported that Cantillon had laid down guidelines on how the players should act while in uniform, specifically that they should refrain from profanity. The article also mentioned that Cantillon had exempted himself, as he would "attend to all the indelicate language" for the entire team.

Following the 1906 season, Cantillon was hired away from the Brewers to manage the American League club in Washington, DC. According to press reports of the time, he intended to bring his same "respect for bright colors" to the big leagues, with his 1907 Nationals wearing "something entirely original in that line."

As far as I can tell, it was not to be.

Looking at the Baseball Hall of Fame's online uniform database (which is based on Marc Okkonen’s book Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century), the Nats looked much the same after Pongo Joe took over as before.

Graphic courtesy of Marc Okkonen

Based on the limits of that database, it appears his major change was to replace navy blue with black on the home uniforms. Hardly the radical changes promised from a man with such a love for "bright colors". Perhaps Washington owner Thomas Noyes wasn't as progressive-minded as Milwaukee's Charles Havenor.

For the Brewers' part, they eventually settled on blue as the primary team color (no later than 1913), and Milwaukee ballclubs have been "true blue" ever since (sometimes more so than others). Today it seems inconceivable that our Brewers would wear black or green or maroon, or even that maroon trim would be considered a more "proper thing for a Milwaukee team" than green, but that was the fluid and experimental nature of baseball in the early days of the 20th century. The sport was finding its balance before rules and equipment, not to mention æsthetics, would settle into the tradition we now recognize.

We haven't yet been able to find a photo of the Brewers' 1905 road uniforms which, according to that Journal article, were going to be "Oxford grey with maroon trimmings." We will post a photo of the uniform if we come across one as we continue to research the 1905 team.