1923 Milwaukee Badgers Program Up for Auction

Milwaukee football fans take note; Heritage Auctions' upcoming Fall Sports Memorabilia Catalog Auction has a one-sheet program for a game between the Milwaukee Badgers and the Racine Legion on November 29, 1923.

Unfortunately for us, it was a road game, and not at Borchert Field, but it's still a fascinating artifact from the days when Milwaukee had its own NFL team.

1923 Horlick Racine Legion vs. Milwaukee Badgers Program. One of the earlier NFL programs ever to hit the auction block, this gridiron artifact represents the intrasquad meeting between Horlick Racine Legion and the Milwaukee Badgers. One of the only artifacts in existence from the league's third season, the two-sided paper lineup sheet measures at 6x9", while exhibiting Fair-VG quality throughout.

Guide Value or Estimate: $1,500 - up.

I love the list of cheers and songs. The Legion had been around since 1915 (as opposed to the Badgers, then in their sophomore season), long enough to develop their own culture.

All those cheers couldn't help the Legion that day at Horlick Legion Athletic Field, as the Badgers came up victorious with a score of 16-0. Box score courtesy of Pro Football Reference:

	1	2	3	4	Final
Milwaukee Badgers	7	3	0	6	16
Racine Legion	0	0	0	0	0

This auction will be open September 26th, closing on October 19th. Bid early, bid often.

Borchert Field's Big-Name Visitors at the Milwaukee County Historical Society

The Milwaukee County Historical Society's recently-closed exhibit "Back Yards to Big Leagues: Milwaukee’s Sports and Recreation History" continues to yield real gems.

Tucked in between the gallery of Borchert Field photos and a clice of bleacher seating from the ballpark's closing we have two additional displays detailing famous visitors to the ballpark.

The first display is a pair of photos showcasing the single biggest name in baseball, then and still today.

Yep, that's Babe Ruth tossing the ball around in the Orchard's foul territory in 1928. The Babe came though with Lou Gehrig on their famous post-season barnstorming exhibition tours, with the "Bustin' Babes" facing off against the "Larrupin' Lous".

Borchert Field played host to a number of sports and events in addition to minor league baseball. The Milwaukee Chicks played at the park for their one season. The Green Bay Packers appeared there ten times over 13 years. From 1922 to 1926 the NFL Milwaukee Badgers called Athletic Park home. Other semipro football teams like the Milwaukee Eagles and Ische Radios also played there, as did colleges like Marquette University and Wisconsin. Other events of interest included boxing matches, rodeos, circuses, and even the National Balloon Race in 1922. The park also hosted some of the most well-known people of their era, mostly baseball players, but also other athletes, musicians, actors, and even politicians. A partial list includes:

John McGraw	Max Schmeling
Rube Waddell	Dizzy and Daffy Dean
Jim Thorpe	Josh Gibson
Ty Cobb	James "Cool Papa" Bell
Connie Mack	Oscar Charleston
Nick Altrock	William "Judy" Johnson
Jackie Price	Jackie Mitchell
Oscar "Happy" Felsch	Babe Didrikson
Knute Rockne	Jesse Owens
Pat O'Brien	Ted Williams
Jackie Robinson	Ray Cannon
Tris Speaker	Phil Rizzuto
Red Grange	Joe DiMaggio
Johnny "Blood" McNally	Heinie and the Grenadiers
Paul Robeson	President Harry Truman
Fritz Pollard	Eddie Mathews
Babe Ruth	Verne Gagne
Lou Gehrig	Mickey Mantle

Wow. That's impressive.

Some of those baseball stars came to Borchert Field as players on other American Association clubs, like Mickey Mantle and Phil Rizzuto with the Kansas City Blues, and Ted Williams with the Minneapolis Millers.

Others wore the uniform of the Milwaukee Badgers. Fritz Pollard, Paul Robeson, and Johnny "Blood" McNally.

Still others were Brewers themselves. Oscar "Happy" Felsch was a Milwaukee boy who played for his hometown club in 1914 on his way to the Chicago White Sox and eventual infamy. John Thomas Reid "Jackie" Price was a baseball clown hired by team president Bill Veeck as much for his between-inning entertainment as his skills as a shortstop. Eddie Mathews was a Boston Braves prospect who came to town shortly after the formerly-independent club became part of Boston's farm system in the late 1940s.

And as the caption notes, the famous visitors extended beyond the realm of sports. President Harry Truman's visit in 1948 was a high point for the old wooden ballpark.

Others came through on barnstorming tours. The most famous of those was led by Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Here's another look at the Babe at the Orchard in 1928, this time posing with two famous native Milwaukeeans.

The gentleman on the right, wearing a handsome Detroit Tigers sweater, is George McBride. He was a member of the 1901 Brewers club, founding members of the American League. When they moved to St. Louis after the season, McBride stayed in Milwaukee with the new American Association club. He would return to the majors a few years later and carved out a sixteen-year big-league career, most with the Washington Senators. When Clark Griffith stepped down as manager of the Senators to focus on the front office, he chose McBride to be his successor. McBride's run was short-lived; halfway through his first season he was struck in the face by a thrown ball during batting practice, and suffered dizziness and fainting spells for a long time afterwards, resigning his job at the end of only one season. He later came out of retirement to join Ty Cobb's coaching staff in Detroit.

To the Bambino's right, wearing the livery of the Philadelphia A's, is Al Simmons. He was born Aloysius Harry Szymanski on Milwaukee's South Side to a pair of Polish immigrants. Known as "the Duke of Mitchell Street", for the boulevard running through the heart of the city's Polish community, he is unquestionably the best baseball player Milwaukee has ever produced. In 1928, he had just finished his fifth season with Philadelphia, on his way to a twenty-year career that would eventually land him in the Hall of Fame.

The second display of famous visitors to Borchert Field is equally as impressive.

DID YOU KNOW THAT BORCHERT FIELD ONE HOSTED A GAME FEATURING SEVEN FUTURE HALL-OF-FAMERS?

On August 28, 1935 the Pittburgh Crawford played the Chicago American Giants in a Negro National League game at Borchert Field. The Crawfords featured Josh Gibson, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Oscar Charleston, and William Julius "Judy" Johnson. The Giants had Willie Wells, Turkey Stearns, and Mule Suttles. These seven players were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame when it began inducting Negro League stars.

WHICH OLYMPIC STAR MADE SEVERAL APPEARANCES AT BORCHERT FIELD?

Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, appeared at Borchert Field three times. It was common for barnstorming teams to have added attractions to encourage fans to come to their games. Jesse Owens often traveled with Negro League teams like the Toledo/Pittsburgh Crawfords. At the games he would race challengers, including horses, varying the head start or advantages and disadvantages based on his opponent. In his first two appearances at Borchert Field, Owens beat all challengers, but in his last appearance in 1946, he finally lost... to a horse.

I can't tell if that's more whimsical or degrading, racing all comers including livestock, but at least Owens had a way to make some money off his Olympic success.

And in any case, it's amazing to think of the truly staggering number of famous citizens of the 20th century who paid a visit to the old wooden ballpark during its long history.

Milwaukee Badgers at the Milwaukee County Historical Society

We continue our look back at the Milwaukee County Historical Society's "Back Yards to Big Leagues: Milwaukee's Sports and Recreation History" exhibit with Milwaukee's very own NFL team, the Milwaukee Badgers.

The Badgers were included in with the Marquette's now-defunct football program and the Packers' part-time home.

In 1922, two years after the National Football League was founded, two Chicago sporting promoters established the Milwaukee Badgers. The team played from 1922 to 1926 at Athletic Park (Borchert Field), but was not particularly popular. The team did have some notable players, however. Future actor and signer Paul Robeson, who played football at Rutgers and earned a law degree from Columbia, played with the Badgers in 1922. He joined Fritz Pollard, who as player-coach for the Akron Pros in 1919 was the first African American to coach white players in American professional sports. Pollard was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Other well-known players for the Badgers include Hall of Famer Jimmy Conzelman and future Packers stars Red Dunn, LaVerne Dilweg, and Johnny "Blood" McNally. Despite talented players, the Badgers did not do well in Milwaukee. In the 1920s college football was far more popular, and even high school and semi-pro leagues did better than pro leagues. Milwaukee had an amateur football program called the Milwaukee Amateur Football Association that had 34 teams in 1922, and semi-pro games would often draw 9,000 fans compared to the 4,500 the Badgers drew.

In 1925 the Badgers were involved in a scandal in which they used high school players in an out-of-season game against the Chicago Cardinals. The Badgers had trouble fielding a full team and used the four Chicago-area players to fill out the roster. The team was fined $500, which hurt their already perilous financial situation. They played the 1926 season, but folded due to lack of money.

Perhaps the most interesting thing is this architect's rendering of the proposed Milwaukee Municipal Stadium:

It looks a bit like Cleveland Municipal Stadium, opened in 1931, only without the roofed second deck.

The Milwaukee version features a WPA Project number, so we know this rendering post-dates Cleveland's stadium, as the Works Progress Administration wasn't created until 1935.

If built, this stadium would have replaced Borchert Field as the home of the Brewers. Ah, what might have been....

1922 Oorang Indians vs. Milwaukee Badgers Government Postcard

This postcard is currently up for auction as part of Heritage Auctions' February 25 - 26 Platinum Night Sports Collectibles Catalog Auction.

It commemorates the Oorang Indians' visit to Borchert Field to take on the Cream City's resident NFL club, the Milwaukee Badgers on November 19, 1922.

1922 Oorang Indians (Jim Thorpe) vs. Milwaukee Badgers Government Postcard

1922 Oorang Indians (Jim Thorpe) vs. Milwaukee Badgers Government Postcard. Led by all-world sports legend Jim Thorpe, the Oorang Indians of the National Football League were put together by Walter Lingo to market his Oorang dog kennels in 1922. With a population of well under 1,000 people, the town of LaRue, Ohio remains the smallest city in NFL history.

Presented here is an original Government Postcard/ticket from the Indians' 1922 meeting with Milwaukee. Measuring at 3.25x5.5", it is part of an amazing find of Jim Thorpe memorabilia that originated in Indiana. Exhibiting moderate wear with one small tear, it is unused and not postmarked. Encapsulated SGC Authentic.

Athletic Park is, of course, the original name of Borchert Field. It wouldn't be renamed for Brewers owner Otto Borchert for another five years.

I like that terrier logo. The implied tenacity is perfect for any sports team, much less one named after a kennel company.

The card's reverse bears the name of the Oorang coach:

Jim Thorpe was a legend in American history. He was also known to Milwaukee sports fans, having played for the Brewers in 1916.

The hometown Badgers were victorious that day, as the men in orange defeated Thorpe's men 13-0. Both Milwaukee touchdowns were scored by Paul Robeson, who would soon become a world-famous singer, actor, and icon of the Civil Rights Movement.

1926 Milwaukee Badgers team photo

Here they are, the Milwaukee Badgers in their final season, posing before Borchert Field's grandstand in 1926.

Photograph courtesy of Dr. Kit Neacy, DDS

Milwaukee had its very own National Football League team from 1922 through 1926. The city was promised another NFL franchise for the 1931 season, but the selected new owner couldn't fund the club and the opportunity passed. There might have been another, but in 1933 the Green Bay Packers played their first Milwaukee game at Borchert Field, and from then on the entire state was Packer territory.

Don't forget the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear is hosting a lecture on the Badgers tonight at 6pm.

Michael D. Benter, author of the new book The Badgers: Milwaukee's NFL Entry of 1922-1926, will be speaking on the history of the team. Benter is also the author of The Green and Gold Glory Years Quiz Book (on the Lombardi-Era Packers) and Roll Out The Barrels: The Brewers of Eastern Dodge County.

Tickets are $3 for the General Public, $2 with Student ID. Attendees are asked to register in advance.

The museum is located at 839 North 11th Street in Milwaukee, a little over 2 miles due south of where Borchert Field once stood.

1924 Milwaukee Badgers Photo, and Lecture at the Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear

Today, the Green Bay Packers will kick off their 2013 season in San Francisco against the 49ers. As we look forward to another year of football, it's the perfect time to reflect on Milwaukee's own NFL history.

This photo shows the 1924 Milwaukee Badgers:

Photograph courtesy of Dr. Kit Neacy, DDS

Over a decade before the Packers played their first Milwaukee game at Borchert Field (in fact, five years before Athletic Park was renamed for Otto Borchert), the Badgers were representing the Cream City in the National Football League.

Notable Badgers included former Packers star Johnny "Blood" McNally and his fellow future NFL Hall of Famers Fritz Pollard and Jimmy Conzelman, as well as a young actor, singer and law school student named Paul Robeson, who would go on to become an icon of the Civil Rights movement.

The Badgers played from 1922 through 1926. A second incarnation of the Badgers was created in 1930 with the promise of another spot in the NFL, but the team folded before finishing a single season. Three years after that, Curly Lambeau started playing home games in Milwaukee, and from that moment on Milwaukee was strictly Packer territory.

The Chudnow Museum of Yesteryear is hosting a lecture on the Badgers on September 19th, 2013 at 6pm.

Michael D. Benter, author of the new book The Badgers: Milwaukee's NFL Entry of 1922-1926, will be speaking on the history of the team. Benter is also the author of The Green and Gold Glory Years Quiz Book (on the Lombardi-Era Packers) and Roll Out The Barrels: The Brewers of Eastern Dodge County.

Tickets are $3 for the General Public, $2 with Student ID. Attendees are asked to register in advance.

The museum is located at 839 North 11th Street in Milwaukee, a little over 2 miles due south of where Borchert Field once stood.

The Packers and the Badgers, 1924

(cross-posted with The Wearing of the Green (and Gold))

Eighty-seven years ago today, on October 19, 1924, the Packers welcomed their intrastate rivals the Milwaukee Badgers to City Stadium.

This program from that game comes from the current Heritage Auction:

Heritage Auctions

1924 Green Bay Packers vs. Milwaukee Badgers Program - Only Known Example! Up until only a few years ago, no Green Bay Packers 1924 one-sheet program was known in the hobby. However, on a typical day at a popular "Titletown" antique shop, that day turned into an important collectible discovery when a small handful of of early 1920's programs walked through the door, and that missing piece of Packers history made an unprecedented appearance. Offered here is an original 8.75x11.5" program, issued by the "Green Bay Football Corporation" for the October 19, 1924 meeting between the Packers and Milwaukee Badgers. The game ended in a 17-0 victory for the home team Green Bay squad at Bellevue Park, in front of a typical crowd of approximately 4,000-5,000. This amazing gridiron treasure exhibits EX quality, with minor folds throughout. Its front displays both teams' rosters, including important names such as Lambeau, Buck and Lewellen, while the program also displays an advertisement for the Packers' Northwest Championship future meeting versus the Minneapolis Marines. A remarkable piece, which we are sure even the most discerning Packers collectors have yet to see. Guide Value or Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000.

An outstanding piece.

I'm intrigued not only because it's a rare look at the 1920s Packers, but also because of the glimpse it offers of the Badgers, the Cream City's short-lived entry in the young National Football League, who made their home at Borchert Field.

There's also the added interest of the "Championship of Northwest". What other teams might have been involved in that race? There were several teams representing "northwestern" states by the 1924 NFL's standards. Minnesota had the Marines and the Duluth Kellys. Wisconsin had four teams in the league at the time; the Packers, Badgers, Racine Legion and Kenosha Maroons. Then there were the two Chicago teams, the Rock Island (Illinois) Independents, the Hammond Pros in Chicago's Indiana suburbs and any number of local semi-pro or independent teams that could have wanted in on the action.

Milwaukee's Own Football Badgers

The Google News Archive continues to yield treasures. Here we have two extremely rare game action photos of Milwaukee's very own NFL club, the Badgers, playing at Athletic Park in 1926. The Badgers are in the dark colored (orange) jerseys with vertical strips sewn into the chest.

Pictures and caption from the September 27, 1926 Milwaukee Sentinel:

Badger Stars Showing Their Gridiron Skill

When Red Grange made his triumphal tour of the east last fall, playing football almost every day, he had to have an understudy and chose Johnny Bryan, Milwaukee's redhead for the job. In most of the games, Bryan, the understudy "stole the show" from the mighty Grange, playing more sensationally than the star. Yesterday Johnny Bryan's own Badger pro team won its first league game at home, beating Jimmy Conzelman's Detroit Panthers, 6-0, at Athletic Park. Of course, the Sentinel camera man was on the job, with Big Bertha, and he caught these snappy bits of action in the third quarter.

In the upper photo, Murphy, a Badger rookie halfback, playing his first pro game, is shown flashing around end for a neat gain. Below, Hertz, substitute Badger end, formerly of Carroll, is shown bringing down the slippery Conzelman himself. Conzelman and Doane, who is seen on the ground behind Murphy in the upper picture, both former members of the old Badger club, were two of the most popular players ever to star here.

The "old Badger club" and "Bryan's own Badger pro team" reference an NFL scandal of 1925, in which the Chicago Cardinals scheduled a late-season game against a Milwaukee Badger club stocked with high-school ringers (the real Badger players had already disbanded for the off-season). Chicago won the game, drubbing the schoolboys and raising their won/loss percentage on their way to the world championship. When the league got wind of the high-school stand-ins, they levied fines against the Chicago and Milwaukee clubs, forcing the Badgers' owners to sell the franchise to player Bryan, who wore a staggering array of hats as Milwaukee's player/coach/owner.

This triple-threat wasn't enough, however, and the Badgers went bust after the 1926 season. The Orchard would not again be home to professional football until 1933, when the Packers decided to make Milwaukee, and Borchert Field, their part-time home.

Borchert Field, home of the Packers

In the early 1930s, the Green Bay Packers decided to schedule some home games in Milwaukee. The Cream City had been without an NFL team since the Milwaukee Badgers folded in 1926, and the Bays (who were drawing an average of 3,000 to 5,000 fans for home games in Green Bay) saw an opportunity to increase their fanbase, not to mention their revenues. They may well have sought to pre-empt a new club from claiming Milwaukee as its own.

Whatever the reasons for the Packers' decision, the first venue chosen for their Milwaukee home was none other than Borchert's Orchard, the very home of those same Badgers:

Although the outcome of that particular game wasn't to Curly Lambeau's liking, the experiment was a rousing success - the 12,467 fans who packed Borchert on that Sunday was by far the Packers' largest home attendance of the season.

The Packers would go on to play home games in Milwaukee for the next sixty years, at Wisconsin State Fair Park, Marquette Stadium and County Stadium. Although they would never return to Borchert Field, the Orchard holds a place of honor in NFL history as the Packers' first Milwaukee home.