On This Day in 1944: Play Ball!

On this day in 1944, Milwaukee Chicks managerMax Carey opened the 1944 All-American Girls Professional Ball League season at Borchert Field.

Earlier today, we looked at the Milwaukee Sentinel's rather hit-or-miss preview of the season opener, at once taking them seriously and being outright dismissive. Fortunately, the paper's coverage of the game itself was much, much better.

South Bend Tips Local Girls, 5-4

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BY STONEY McGLYNN

The Milwaukee team of the All-American ball league lost a heartbreaking 10 inning fray to the South Bend Blue Sox, pennant favorites, by 5 to 4, in the season's opener at Borchert field before around 700 fans.

In the early innings it was largely a pitching duel between Connie Wisniewski of Milwaukee and "Sonny" Berger, South Bend ace. Connie was the victim of nine errors, her own two wild throws attempting to pick runners off the bases costing runs on two occasions.

Anderson's infield single and advance to third on Schroeder's wide throw set the stage for the first run in the fifth, Wisniewski dropping a fly single back of second to bring in the tally. The Blue Sox got this back and one more in the sixth. Panos walked and Jochum singled. Attempting to pick Panos off second, Wisniewski tossed wildly and both runners advanced. A passed ball and Gocioch's fly netted the two runs.

With two away in the Milwaukee sixth. Elsen got hold of a fast one and drilled it over the head of Jochum in left field for a home run to even it at 2-all.

The Sox took the lead in the ninth, singles by Baker and Hageman starting the rally. Again Wisniewski threw wildly attempting to pick Baker off second, both runners advancing, Schroeder's hit and Grant's bobble in right field let both runners score.

Milwaukee tied it up in its half, Whiting singling, Schulze walking and Anderson bunting safety to jam the lanes. Wisniewski fouled out to Baker and Grant's single plated Whiting, but Schulze, hesitating after rounding third, was run down. Koslowski singled, but Jochin fielded it in time to hold Anderson at third. Meanwhile Grant ran to that base and was tagged out by Baker.

A walk to Stefani with one away, her advance to third on an infield out and Baker's hit drove home the winning button in the first of the tenth.

We get two field-level photos of the team in action.

A FLYING START

Shirley Schulze, comely centerfielder for the Milwaukee team of the All-American Girls' Baseball league, attempted to drag a bunt down the third base line in the second inning of Saturday's game against the Blue Sox from South Bend, Ind., but found catcher Mary Baker alert and was tossed out on a close play, despite the fact that she was away to a flying start. The Sox won, 5 to 1, in 10 innings to spoil the league opening for Milwaukee fans.

Sentinel photo.

The "comely" part isn't strictly necessary, but the caption of the next photo is more gently ribbing fans than the players.

BALD HEADED ROW

As usual, there was a bald headed row right down front when the Milwaukee Girls' baseball team opened its season. A Sentinel cameraman was on the spot to prove it with a picture.

"As usual"? I need to do more research on this. If the bald-headed men were fixtures at Brewers games, the 1940s equivalent of Front Row Amy, I'd like to learn more about them. And it would be a positive sign for the AAGPBL if they were reaching fans of the Brews.

The Sentinel filled out its coverage with this report on the festivities surrounding the game.

Gals Plus Color

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Snappy Plays Feature Opener

BY MILLIE KEENE

Colorful pre-game ceremonies marked the opening of the All-American Girls Professional Ball league in Milwaukee yesterday afternoon at Borchert field in a contest between the Milwaukee team and the South Bend Blue Sox.

Opening the ceremonies, the girls from both teams ran out from their dugouts and with a double criss-cross at home plate and second, came to attention in the form of a "V" at home plate.

Represented at the ceremonies were the Milwaukee County Council of the American Legion, the Spars, Waves, Wacs, and women's marine corps.

*     *     *

Celebrities included Judge Ed Rusts of Kenosha, Capt. H. H. Hankin of the marines, Ken Sells, league president, and Mayor John L. Bohn, who officially welcomed the team to Milwaukee and tossed the first ball to Wave Lt. Russell, who smacked it back to the infielders.

*     *     *

A three-gun salute was fired by the Legion firing squad and the band played the national anthem as the flag was raised.

*     *     *

The girls really did some fancy playing as was attested by the 5-4 Blue Sox victory. It was either team's game all the way.

*     *     *

Many close decisions helped make the game a thriller. Pitcher Connie Wisniewski of Milwaukee, going after a sacrifice bunt, just touched the ball inside the foul line and it went as a hit. Twice runners were caught between the bags and run down. A delayed steal by Shirley Schulze of Milwaukee caused a round of applause and put her in scoring position.

*     *     *

The feature was Left Fielder Thelma (Pigtails) Eisen's home run into left field - the only homer of the game. 'Pigtails' won herself quite a following, not only because of the home run, but because of her distinctive pigtails which stood almost straight out as she tore around the bases to tie the game up in the sixth at 2 all.

*     *     *

Catcher "Mickey" Maguie and Shortstop Betty Whiting turned in excellent performances too, but were more than a little disheartened at dropping the close one.

"Wait until tomorrow," said Schulze, "we're going to take both games." "It's my turn to make a home run tomorrow," shouted Olga Grant, another Milwaukee outfielder.

This afternoon a double header is scheduled, starting at 1:30. Pitchers for Milwaukee will be Josephine Kabick and "Lefty" Thompson, while Charlotte Armstrong and Doris Barr will work for South Bend.

Lieutenant Russell smacked the ceremonial first pitch back to the infielders? I'd like to have seen that!

The "V" formation mentioned here would become associated with the AAGPBL, as seen in this photo from a different game:

Aven today, it is a symbol of the league. Surviving AAGPBL players posed in a Victory formation on the County Stadium infield during a league reunion in 2000:

Theses are original players of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, standing in "V" formation for Victory - taken August 26, 2000 during the Milwaukee reunion. @Brewers #AAGPBL75 #WomenInBaseballDay pic.twitter.com/DjP0MAQyoW

— AAGPBL Official (@AAGPBL) May 30, 2018

Today the Players Association continues to make it an important part of their iconography.

In 2 days! Help us celebrate women in baseball! #WomenInBaseballDay - May 30th

Form a “V” for victory with friends, share photos, and stories about women in the game! @MLB and @MiLB teams are encouraged to recognize women who work in the front office on their social media. pic.twitter.com/FhC7EPf5NO

— AAGPBL Official (@AAGPBL) May 28, 2019

Great stuff from the Sentinel.

Finally, it's interesting that the paper had by this time dropped the name "Brewerettes", but had not yet adopted "Chicks". That would come later.

As for Schulze's confident prediction that "we're going to take both games" in the next day's double header, we'll see how that went.

On This Day in 1944 - "Local Girls Debut Today"

On this day in 1944, the players had been assigned, the team assembled, and finally the Milwaukee Chicks opened their inaugural All-American Professional Ball League season at Borchert Field.

The Milwaukee papers, naturally, covered the team's first game. For better, and for worse.

We start with the city's morning paper, the Milwaukee Sentinel.

So there's good and bad here. The picture along the bottom is gorgeous, featuring two of the players in an open workout at the Orchard.

LIGHTNING FAST

Betty Whiting, left, and Alma Ziegler, the "keystone kids" as the Milwaukee club of the All-American Girls' Baseball league, start a fancy double play in a practice workout at Borchert field Friday afternoon as the final warmup for the league opener Saturday afternoon against the South Bend Blue Sox. This duo featured in several outstanding plays. On the end of the twin killing was Dolores Kiosowski, a left handed first baseman who, with the keystone kids, drew rounds of applause from the fans who gathered to see the first workout.

Sentinel photo

I wish we could see this in its original format.

The Sentinel also published its preview of the opening game.

Local Girls Debut Today

BY MILLIE KEENE

Mgr. Max Carey put his Milwaukee teams of the All-American Girls Professional Ball league through its initial workout yesterday afternoon in preparation for the opening game of the season this afternoon against the South Bend Blue Sox at Borchert field at 2:30.

Mayor John L. Bohn will toss the first ball. Wacs, Waves, Spars, women marines, legionnaires and players of both teams will be on parade. The flag raising and salute will be handled by an American Legion unit.

MANY CELEBRITIES

Guest celebrities will include Ken Sells, league president; Judge Ed Ruetz of Kenosha; Capt. H. H. Rankin of the marine corps; Spart Lt. j. g. Dorothy Davies; Wac Capt. Mary W. Stephenson and Lt. Sally Tucker of the women's marine corps. Dr. Royal L. Mashek, commander of the Milwaukee council of the American Legion, and Carl Zahn will be in charge of the pregame activities on the field.

Over 200 spectators were present yesterday to watch the first local workout. Dolores Klosowski at first base, Alma Ziegler at second base and Betty Whiting clicked beautifully in infield practice.

PITCHERS IMPRESSIVE

The two mound probabilities for the opener, Connie Wisniewski and Josephine Kabick, worked out in impressive fashion, but Carey was undecided as to his starter in the league opener.

Excellent. A very reasonable and respectful review of a baseball team.

So that's the good. But all that is undone by the cartoon at the top, by the Sentinel's staff cartoonist Lou Grant.

That is... just not good.

Fortunately, their coverage of the game itself was much, much better. But that's a subject for another post.

Today in 1944 - "Enjoy a Real Sports Thrill!"

On this day seventy-five years ago, Opening Day of the All-American Girls Professional Ball League's 1944 season was about to begin.

Spring Training was over, the rosters assigned and the players moved into their private homes in Milwaukee. Borchert Field was ready to host. And now all they needed was an audience.

To that end, the league placed two ads in the Milwaukee Journal. The first was in what they would have called the "Women's Section", sandwiched between an ad for Lux soap and an ad for a romance magazine.

Gorgeous. That's the unmistakable airbrush art of Otis Shepard, official design guru of the AAGPBL and the outright master of mid-century design.

Note the lack of team nicknames - no "Chicks" or "Schnits" or "Brewerettes" here, only "Milwaukee" and "South Bend". The team hadn't yet settled on a nickname they could use.

I also love the full schedule there.

A smaller version of the ad also appeared in the sports section.

We see more of Shepard's figure, at the expense of the season schedule. And here the women are referred to as "Our Milwaukee Team".

It's obvious that the league was trying to cast a wide net, appealing to sports fans and the women who may never turn to that section of the paper.

One day to go, and the All-American League was ready to "Play Ball!" in Milwaukee.

On This Day - "Schnits Open Play Here Saturday"

This is part of an "On This Day" series, reviewing the Milwaukee Chicks of the All-American Girls Professional Ball League, as it was then known, and their 1944 championship season as it happened exactly seventy-five years ago. And this one... is a bit of a cheat.

Today, we're looking at an article that was published in the Milwaukee Journal seventy-five years and one day ago, on Sunday, May 21, 1944. Yesterday we reviewed a pair of articles from the Milwaukee Sentinel, the first one a fascinating look at the players themselves and the other a peek at the upcoming Opening Day ceremonies that also happened to christen the team the "Brewerettes". Today, we see what the Journal had to say on those subjects.

Keep in mind that baseball team nicknames were much less official in those days. They were used by fans and the media, but not always by the clubs themselves. The Brewers were known as the Brewers beginning in 1902, but hadn't actually put that name on their uniforms until 1942. For the first forty years, it was always a simple "M" or "Milwaukee". The AAGPBL followed suit, with city names (and city seals) on their uniform but not official nicknames. But if Milwaukee's team did not have an official nickname, the papers would provide one. The Sentinel had volunteered its choice, and the Journal had its own offer to make.

Schnits Open Play Here Saturday in Girls' Loop

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Manager Max Carey to Bring 17 Players Here Friday; Public Invited to Workout

Girls' professional ball will be introduced to Milwaukee next Saturday ay Borchert field, when the Milwaukee Schnits (Little Beers) will play the South Bend Blue Sox at 2:30 p.m. Before the game, Mayor John L. Bohn will welcome the All-American Girls' Professional Ball league to Milwaukee and will throw the first ball; military units, an American Legion color guard and the players will parade for the flag raising.

Manager Max Carey will bring the Milwaukee team into town Friday morning. The girls have been training at Peru, Ill. They will work out at the ball park Friday afternoon and the public will be admitted free. The team will have 17 players and a chaperon. Bert Niehoff manages the South Bend team, which was runnerup in the both the first and second halves of last season.

Eddie Stumpf, general manager, has invited Ken Sells, league president; Judge Ed Ruetz of the Kenosha club; Capt. R. H. Rankin and Lieut. Sally Tucker of the Marines; Lieut (jg) Betty Russell of the SPARS; Lieut (jg) Dorothy Davies of the WAVES; Capt. Mary W. Stephenson of the WAC and Dr. Royal L. Mashek, commander of the county council of the American Legion, to be guests at the opening game.

Milwaukee and South Bend will play a double header Sunday, starting at 1:30.

So there you have it.

I had wondered whether the term was in common usage in Milwaukee at the time; that the Journal felt compelled to define it indicates possibly not. And it's worth noting that they spell it with a single "t". whereas the word in German actually ends in two. And before you know it, the Journal would adopt the German spelling.

It's tempting to read "Schnitt" as "Little Beer" with the same dismissive and kid-sister approach as "Brewerette". And I suppose that's not an unreasonable interpretation. Plus it has a certain unfortunate audio echo in modern English. But it shouldn't have a sexist connotation, only that the club was somewhat lower than the mighty (and established) Brewers themselves. Thirty years earlier, Milwaukee had a team in the Wisconsin-Illinois league that aldo played at Borchert Field, a team that was known sometimes as the "Creams", for the Cream City, and sometimes as the "Schnitts" for their relationship with the Brewers.

Check out this Journal sports page from Thursday, May 1st, 1913, following the Schnitts home opener at then-Athletic Park:

They get pretty good coverage for a low-level minor league, about on par with the just-below-the-majors Brewer club.

Given that history, I'm not inclined to read "Schnitts" as dismissive or derisive. And considering how much more seriously the Journal took the AAGPBL than the Sentinel did, I think they earned the benefit of the doubt.

By the off-season, when it wasn't yet clear if the league would return to Milwaukee for a second season, the AAGPBL made it official, choosing to endorse "Chicks". And it's hard to argue with that. Certainly the modern Brewers are as well, in their 75th Anniversary celebration. But I often find myself thinking of them as the "Schnitts". Which is why I'm tickled they appeared that way on my proclamation; somebody in the Mayor's office agrees with me.

On This Day - "Bohn to Open Girls' League"

Today, we have a rare two-fer "On This Day" review of the Milwaukee Chicks' championship year. Earlier, we looked at an incredible human-interest story in the Milwaukee Sentinel about players in the All-American Girls Professional Ball League's Spring Training in Peru, Illinois. There was a second piece on that same page, uncredited, that is equally valuable for what it tells us about the Chicks' plan for opening day.

Bohn to Open Girls' League

Milwaukee's first All-American Girls' Professional Ball league season will open in "big league" style Saturday at 2:30 p.m.at Borchert field with Manager Max Carey's "Brewerettes" meeting the South Bend Blue Sox.

Pregame ceremonies include tossing of the first ball by Mayor John L. Bohn; parading of Wacs, Waves, Spars, women marines, legionnaires and players of the two teams, flag raising and the firing of a salute by an American Legion unit.

The first thing we notice is the name. "Brewerettes"?

Like many clubs in the early days of baseball, the All-American league used its nicknames more unofficially than today. Nicknames did not appear on uniforms or on official league materials; the Chicks were referred to almost exclusively as "Milwaukee". Nonetheless, team nicknames are essential, and the league appeared to take a "kid sister" approach to its two new franchises. For the first time, they were in cities with established and beloved men's baseball teams, and sought to borrow a little of that good will by borrowing the names.

The Minneapolis club became known as the "Millerettes" after the American Association club, and the Milwaukee club appeared to be trying out the name "Brewerettes". The Millerettes would acquire another nickname after losing their home and becoming a traveling team: the Orphans. That is the name I prefer for them, but in the official AAGPBL records they remain "Millerettes" to this day. On the other hand, and fortunately for all involved, "Brewerettes" was roundly rejected before the season even started, and the papers would be left to come up with a nickname on their own. Ah, but that is a story for another day.

It's also revealing to see what kind of Opening Day festivities the league had planned for Borchert Field. For those unfamiliar with some of the terms in the article, those refer to women's auxillary units during the war. They're actually acronyms: Women's Army Corps was the Army branch, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service as you might suspect was for the Navy, SPARS for the Coast Guard (derived from the Coast Guard's Latin motto Semper Paratus, meaning "Always Ready").

The Marines eschewed such nicknames, simply calling their women's branch the "United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve". Or as in this case, "women marines".

I'm intrigued by the association. Natural enough in wartime, I suppose. Patriotic displays were all the rage, and what could be more natural than pairing women in service uniforms with women in baseball uniforms?

But the women's branches of the military did have something in common with the All-American League. They all involved new opportunities for women, opening up jobs that were traditionally reserved for men. And as women were sometimes grudgingly accepted into the service because there just weren't enough men to do the job, Philip K. Wrigley founded the AAGPBL in part out of fear that men's baseball would be forced to shutter during the war. And, of course, when the war was over, both struggled to reconcile those new opportunities with an expected return to traditional roles.

Mayor Zeidler Shows a Little 'Zing' of his Own, 1949

Last month, on Opening Day 2019, we looked at the Milwaukee Sentinel's coverage of the 1949 home opener. Today, on the actual 70th Anniversary of the game, I'd like to take a closer look at one photo from that coverage via an extant wire copy.

Mayor Zeidler, displaying the form of a veteran baseballer, gets ready to fire the first ball of the season just before the start of the Milwaukee-Toledo game at Borchert Field yesterday afternoon. An overflow crowd of 13,666 fans saw the Brewers pound the bases for a 9 to 1 victory. Page of pictures and game details in the Sports Section.

—Sentinel photo

As part of the Opening Day festivities, the Brewers had a pair of local politicians throwing the first pitch. Not mentioned in the caption is Wisconsin Governor Oscar Rennebohm, who set up behind the plate to receive it.

That's pretty good form from Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler. Interesting not only that he's throwing off the mound instead of from the stands, but also that he appears to have taken a full wind-up. Hizzoner certainly gives the appearance of a man who really didn't want to bounce it to the catcher, but that's exactly what he did, one-hopping it to the Gov.

The men were in good spirits after the game, quoted as saying "We made a mistake in our preliminary warmup. We practiced at 30 feet for a 60 foot pitch." The Brewers 9-1 win that day may have taken some of the sting out of the ribbing. Brewer hurlers had been every bit as dominant as the scoreline indicated, leading Sentinel columnist Lloyd Larson to quip that Ziedler looked "more like a Toledo pitcher" on the mound than the city's mayor.

And in any case, the Mayor's impressive form made the front page of the next morning's paper, with the story of his one-hop home safely buried in the sports pages.

Wearing a baseball cap with a suit is one thing, but the mayor didn't even unbutton his coat! That's very old-school. No wonder he bounced the throw home.

"Brewers Show 'Zip, Zing' in Home Opener", 1949

This afternoon, the Brewers will open the 2019 season in Milwaukee, taking on the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.

Seventy years ago next month, on Thursday, April 28, 1949, the original Brewers had their own Opening Day. A week into the American Association season, they came home from a road trip to kick off their forty-eighth season at Borchert Field with a game against the Toledo Mud Hens.

Let's take a look at the Milwaukee Sentinel's coverage of that game, starting with the front page:

Mayor Zeidler, displaying the form of a veteran baseballer, gets ready to fire the first ball of the season just before the start of the Milwaukee-Toledo game at Borchert Field yesterday afternoon. An overflow crowd of 13,666 fans saw the Brewers pound the bases for a 9 to 1 victory. Page of pictures and game details in the Sports Section.

—Sentinel photo

That's pretty good form from Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler. Interesting not only that he's throwing off the mound instead of from the stands, but also that he appears to have taken a full wind-up. Hizzoner certainly gives the appearance of a man who really didn't want to bounce it to the catcher, but that's exactly what he did, one-hopping it to Wisconsin Governor Oscar Rennebohm behind the plate.

I love the cap with suit. In the days before sports merchandising was a thing, even the caps were hard to come by and rare to see off the diamond.

The front page is good, but it also promises us more inside. Let's turn now to the photo series, on page 3 of the sports section:

Brewers Show 'Zip, Zing' in Home Opener

Well, that headline gets us off to a good start.

Sadly, the reproduction of the page leaves our photo quality wanting. But even in this corrupted state, we get an excellent glimpse of our Brewers of 1949.

This is an excellent shot of the Brewers' Paul Burris connecting for one of his four singles at Borchert Field yesterday against the Hens. He had a perfect day at bat and continued to lead the club at hitting. The receiver is Joe Ginsberg, a highly touted Detroit Tiger catching hopeful.

Can't disagree; that is an excellent shot. A gorgeous Brewers' uniform, all navy and red, but not quite the Braves clone it would later become.

There was a great roar from the crowd of 13,666 when brawny Nick Cullop, Brewer manager, moved to the microphone in the pre-game ceremonies.

Brewer skipper Nick Cullop was a real character, beloved by the fans and inspiring many adjectives from newspaper writers. The most common one was "tomato-faced", describing his jolly, ruddy complexion, so often applied that I would expect to see it printed on his contracts. The former utility player was entering his fifth season at the helm of the Brews.

The first Brewer batter, Second Baseman Roy Hartsfield, held down a safe bunt as the Cullopmen opened their home season against the Toledo Mudhens yesterday at Borchert Field. Hartsfield is shown tossing his bat aside and dashing for first base. To the right Toledo Catcher Ginsberg jerks his mask and starts for the ball (arrow).

This is one where I really wish we had a better reproduction of the picture. Sentinel shutterbug Frank Stanfield set up off to the side of the plate, and captured this amazing action photo.

Hartsfield taking off down the line, the catcher leaping up, even the ball and arrow, highlighted against the backdrop of packed, bunting-bedecked stands.

Jim Gleeson made a fine try but his aging props just couldn't get him from first to third on Paul Burris' single to left in the eighth. Outfielder Bill Barnacle made a good throw to the hot corner, where Bruce Blanchard is shown straightening up after making the tag. Gleeson had started the inning with a single, his third hit.

Another marvelous shot that can't be ruined even by the poor reproduction. That's the large Borchert Field wall of ads in the right field corner behind them.

Damon Phillips received a big hand from fans and teammates alike when he stroked the game winning homer for the Brewers in the third inning. The third sacker is greeted at the dugout.

All pictures by Sentinel Photographer Frank Stanfield.

Ah, an appearance by the Brewers' fantastic wool dugout jackets. ALways good to see those.

The rest of the coverage is every bit as fun as the photo series.

The box score tells the basic details - the game was scoreless through two, then Toledo took a temporary one-run lead in the top of the third before the Brewers stormed back with five in their half of the inning. Four more in the bottom of the sixth and the Brewers absolutely cruised to a 9-1 victory.

Those dry numbers are only part of the story, of course. Sentinel columnist Lloyd Larson brought the game to life with his own colorful (and lengthy) recap, under the headline "'Twas a Perfect Day—The Brewers Won". I reprint it here in its entirety, because no excerpt could do it justice.

It was a perfect opening day for 13,666 customers, some of whom helped open the gates at 11:30 ... Though the air was nippy, the sun was bright and reasonably warm. Pre-game ceremonies, including the speeches, were short and snappy ... And, best of all, the Brewers, old and new, looked good in winning just about as they please. Nine to one was the score ... That means the winning streak is boosted to four ... and the home club moved over the .500 hump for the first time.

He's Milwaukee's outstanding mayor, but Frank Zeidler looked more like a Toledo pitcher in throwing the traditional first ball in the direction of his equally well known battery mate, Gov. Oscar Rennebohm ... There was too much to the mayor's "downer" ... Result: The ball reached the governor on the first hop ... "We made a mistake in our preliminary warmup, "chorused the chief executives of city and state ... "We practiced at 30 feet for a 60 foot pitch," they added by way of explanation.

It was all in good fun ... So everybody got a chuckle out of the act that signalized the official start of the 1949 season ... One guy who didn't get much of a whallop out of what followed was Eddie Mayo, new Toledo manager.

Some nightmarish base running, which snuffed out a possible big inning in the third, was the toughest to take ... George Corona stumbled rounding second one Rip Russell's single to right and was promptly snuffed out on Jim Gleeson's throw to Johnny Logan ... A moment later Russell was cut down by the same combination after Bruce Blanchard singled ... Russell didn't stumble ... He simply dozed momentarily.

It All Adds Up to Trouble

Add the error which would have retired the side and cut off three Brewer runs in the third, a pop fly almost hitting a couple of outfielders on the toes, a couple of prospective outs skidding through shortstop territory for hits and lack of pitching, and it's to understand why Mayo is on his way to becoming old before his time ... The tipoff on the pitching situation was Rufe Gentry's entry as a reliever in the sixth ... Rufe is supposed to be one of the very few starters ... He gave up four hits and a walk before Mayo gave up on him ... If it wasn't a relief, it was at least a change.

Art Moher, a 1948 Ya;e graduate, obviously isn't ready for this league ... His only professional experience came late last season at Flint ... But the entire Detroit organization, including Manager Red Rolfe, sees a bright future for young Art.

The one sure-fire Toledo operator is Bruce Blanchard, 23 year old former Michigan sprinter ... Boss Mayo planned to play third base himself until Blanchard took over ... Blanchard hit .328 at Williamsport to lead the Eastern League last year ... This is his third season.

Roy Hartsfield lived up to advance notices, both afield and at bat ... This little guy started the big third with a single on Lefty Perme's first pitch ... The next offering may be going yet ... It was hit high and far over the left field fence by that popular and reliable favorite, Dee Phillips ... As things turned out, that was the ball game.

Couldn't Happen to a Better Guy

Gleeson, like Phillips, is in the it-couldn't-happen-to-a-better-guy class ... And, like Phillips, he peeled off one of those big blows ... It was a drive into the bleachers with two mates aboard in the sixth ... Philips did nothing his other four times at bat, but Gleason finished with three for five.

It was a complete hit day for Paul Burris ... Four times he peeled off base knocks and the other time the ball hit him on the arm ... Hartsfield and Howie Moss missed getting into the home run act bu inches ... Both showed power in belting those loud fouls over the left field wall.

Nick Etten and Hank Perry drew up the only goose eggs in the hit column, but they more than made up for it ... Perry was a pitcher out there—definitely not a thrower ... And etten gave the folks a treat a couple of times around first ... He knocked down Creel's sizzler along the line in the seventh and completed the out with a backhand flip to Petty, who came over to cover ... In the eighth Nick started and finished a double play on Blanchard's hopper, with Johnny Logan as the middle man ... Strictly pro stuff ... After the second effort, one fan yelled: "Can you imagine Heinz Becker doing that?" ... Hardly ... The first-to-short-to-first play was a bit too tough for Heinz.

*      *      *

Thirty-sixth Consecutive Opener

Logan and Homer Moore were off to encouraging starts ... Both fielded their positions perfectly ... Moore, whose ability to hit is in doubt, connected safely twice in four tries.

George Boggs, 2953 N. 7th Street, saw his thirty-sixth consecutive opener ... And yesterday marked the start of Charlie Fichtner's thirty-sixth season as a ball club employee ... In the days before public address systems, Charlie did the announcing.

Schoolboys and schoolgirls were out in force to boost the crowd total to overflow proportions ... As usual, the big majority were well-behaved ... But the inevitable handful of post-game bottle breakers, chair tippers and cushion throwers spoiled an otherwise perfect day.

Magnificent, every paragraph. If Larson loses points for employing "snuffed" twice in the third paragraph, he more than makes up for it with the rhyme on "Rufe Gentry's entry" and describing Toledo's unsuccessful relief pitcher as "If it wasn't a relief, it was at least a change."

I'd love to learn more about Charlie Fichtner. He's only come up once before in our studies, appearing on the field during a pregame promotion in 1934. Dressed in a suit and tie, he was identified then by the Milwaukee Journal as "Silver Lips Charlie Fichtner". If he was Borchert Field's announce before the PA was installed, I'm picturing him behind a large megaphone. Definitely need to do more research there.

And with that, the Brewers' 1949 home campaign was underway. There's nothing more perfect than Opening Day. Especially when the Brewers win.

Opening Day at the Orchard, 1948

It was a momentous day for the Brews, even by home-opener standards.

The 1948 Brewers opened with a road trip, as our 2018 Crew did. Those Brewers came home to Milwaukee after stints in Toledo, Indianapolis and Louisville with a 6-7 record.

Seventy years ago today, the Milwaukee faithful packed their old wooden ballpark to see the Brewers play their home opener. And thanks to a timely grand salami from the bat of third-sacker Damon Phillips, the many fans went home happy.

The Milwaukee Sentinel's box score headline was typically understated.

Result aside, this opener was an historic day for Milwaukee baseball fans; this was the first game to be broadcast on television.

The broadcast didn't harm attendance at Borchert Field, though; nearly 14,000 fans packed the old wooden ballpark (the Sentinel reported 13,758, the Journal a more modest 13,705). Either way, that was about four thousand above its standard seating capacity, so the Brews turned again to their customary solution.

Part of the overflow crowd of 13,705 fans who greeted the Milwaukee Brewers in their first appearance of the season at Borchert field Tuesday is shown watching the action from left center field. It was the largest opening day crowd in 10 years. —Journal staff

They packed the overflow fans into the spacious corners of the infield. As was their custom in such situations, any ball hit into the seated fans was a ground-rule double.

The Sentinel also had good coverage:

As was customary, the governor and mayor both put in an appearance. And, of course, both wanted in on the first pitch ceremony.

READY TO GO— GOV. (Catcher) Oscar Rennebohm, Coach Ray Berres, Manager Nick Cullop and Mayor (Pitcher) Frank Zeidler are snapped just before Zeidler goes out on the mound to officially open yesterday's first home game for the Brewers against the Mud Hens of Toledo.

In addition to the main sports page, the morning paper also devoted an entire page to photographs of the festivities:

Wow. Look at that crowd.

Fans jammed the stands and overflowed onto the field yesterday for Milwaukee's home opener against Toledo.

Everything appeared rosy the Toledo Mud Hens in the sixth inning of the home opener yesterday. In that inning they scored four runs, two of them on a double by Boris Woyt, center fielder. Here Boris slides safely into second base. Johnny Logan holds the relay from the outfield while Gene Markland stands by.

Boris Woyt did O.K. for himself in the sixth, but in the 5th it was a different story. That's Boris racing toward third base trying to beat the ball to the bag, which he failed to do. Waiting for the throw from the Brewer catcher, Paul Burris, is Damon Phillips. Toledo Manager George Detore is the coach.

The third-base photographer got quite a workout, also capturing Brewer runners making a beeline for the hot corner.

Brewer pitcher Glenn Elliott got a free pass to first base in the third inning and went to second on a single. But that's as far as he got. The next batter hit to the infield and Elliott (racing toward the camera) was forced out at third. Don Richmond made the put out. Brew Manager Nick Cullop got in on the play.

Love that view of the Brewers' simple, bold number font.

The "lucky 7th" was lucky for the Brews when Damon Phillips clouted the game winning home run with the bases loaded. Gene Markland moved in to shake Phillips' hand as he crossed the plate. No. 17 is Carden Gillenwater. Heinz Becker is at the left and Nanny Fernandez at the right behind Markland. Sentinel Photos by Elmer Richardson.

The font's "1" is even better, a single sans-serif vertical bar.

I love how Elmer Richardson snapped his photo just after the unnamed Journal staff photographer.

An enthusiastic welcome awaited Damon Phillips at home plate after the Brewer third baseman had hit a grand slam home run in the seventh inning to give Milwaukee a 7-5 victory over Toledo in the home opener Tuesday. The reception committee included Carden Gillenwater (shaking hands with Philips), Heinz Becker (behind Gillenwater), Gene Markland and Nanny Fernandez, all of whom had been on base at the time. The Brewer bat boy and Frank Mancuso, Toledo catcher, look on as the Brewers rejoice. —Journal staff

Bonus points to the Journal for actually catching Phillips with his foot on the plate.

Yes indeed, 1948 was off to a rip-roaring start. What a great time to be a Brewer fan.