Otto Borchert at the Milwaukee County Historical Society

Today, we finish our review of the Milwaukee County Historical Society's recently-closed exhibit "Back Yards to Big Leagues: Milwaukee’s Sports and Recreation History", with a look at old Otto Borchert himself.

It's a small display, but nice to see that he at least got some recognition.

The text reads:

Otto Borchert (1874-1927) was the son of brewery owner Frederick Borchert and got his introduction to baseball selling peanuts at the Wright Street ballpark. He worked several jobs in Milwaukee as a young man, but made his fortune as a traveling salesman, first for the Wisconsin Telephone Co., then Julius Andrae & Sons (electronic equipment and bicycles). In 1919 he bought 2/7 of he Milwaukee Brewers and Athletic Park, eventually taking full control. He proved to be a shrewd baseball businessman frequently selling his players to big league teams for huge profits. He enjoyed the game, too, often sunning himself in the stands and interacting with the fans as they jeered him. On April 27, 1927 Borchert was speaking in front of 600 people at an Elks Club banquet in honor of the upcoming Brewers season when he collapsed. The 52-year old died that night, leaving the team and ballpark to his wife Idabel. She nominally ran the team until she sold it to Henry Killilea who allowed her to retain the ballpark and collect rent on it.

A relic of Idabel's ballpark is in the collection of the Historical Society.

In the center, a wonderful portrait of old Otto beaming broadly.

On the left, a photo of Otto with his first baseman Bunny Brief in January of 1925.

When this photo was taken, Borchert had just traded for the veteran first baseman from the Kansas City Blues. Brief had fifteen years of pro ball under his belt but wasn't done yet; Bunny led the league that year in home runs (37) and slugging (.652), and spent the next four years at Borchert Field.

Finally, a clipping from the Milwaukee Sentinel, April 28, 1927, announcing his death.

700 AT BASEBALL DINNER SEE CLUB OWNER FALL DEAD

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Brewer Magnate Slumps Before Microphone When Gripped by Stroke; Elks Sing Ritual at Death.

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Death called three strikes last night on Otto Borchert.

The picturesque owner and president of the Milwaukee ball club died on his feet, talking to 700 baseball fans who were attending a banquet in honor of him and his team.

Borchert's last inning in the game of life ended in the banquet hall at the Elks' club, of which he was a life member, and whose donation financed the memorial altar in the new clubhouse, a tribute to brother Elks who are dead.

A microphone stood before Mr. Borchert, on the speakers' table carrying his words out into space to an unseen radio audience.

At his home, 590 Hi-Mount boulevard, his wife, Mrs. Ruby Borchert, listened at the receiving set.

Awfully poetic, that newspaper column. You can read more about his story here.

And with that, we conclude our review of the exhibit. Special thanks again to the Milwaukee County Historical Society for putting so much of the city's sporting history in one place. Can't wait to see what's next.

"To Mrs. Otto Borchert... on her Presentation of Deed", 1952

We continue our look at the Milwaukee County Historical Society's recently-closed exhibit "Back Yards to Big Leagues: Milwaukee’s Sports and Recreation History", with a truly special artifact from Borchert Field.

At the bottom of the display, we have a copy of the Brewer News (Vol 2, No. 1, 1944), which we looked at a few years back. The front page features the visage of Brewer skipper Casey Stengel, then in his lone season in a Milwaukee uniform.

Above the newsletter is the real treasure; a cut-out section of bleacher seating, emblazoned with a brass plaque.

The dark green paint is thick and roughly applied, but on a side view the wood beneath shines through. This is a cross-section of the heart of the old wooden ballpark.

The plaque reads:

TO
Mrs. Otto Borchert
IN REMEMBRANCE
Of Her Presentation of Deed
For
Borchert Field
To
City Of Milwaukee
Aug. 26th 1952
Milwaukee Baseball Fans

The brass plaque refers to a celebration held as part of the closing ceremonies for the Orchard. The ballpark and the land it stood on had until a few months before been owned by Idabel Borchert, widow of prominent Milwaukee sportsman and former Brewer owner Otto Borchert. Otto had, with some partners he later bought out, purchased the Brewers in January of 1920: land, ballpark and all. When Otto died on the eve of the 1927 season, his widow sold the team but hung on to the real estate. Mrs. Borchert owned the park through the various changes of Brewer ownership, from Phil Ball of the St. Louis Browns to Bill Veeck to the Boston Braves and more in between. All the while, the namesake's widow remained landlady to the Brews, who had them signed to a lease through 1954.

But the coming of County Stadium meant the end of an era, and the team and city settled on an ingenious method of getting out of the last year left on their Borchert Field lease: the city bought the place from Mrs. Borchert. They paid her $123,000 for the land, and in a ceremony between halves of a double-header on August 26, 1952, the lease was publicly burned by Mrs. Borchert, Brewer general manager Red Smith and Milwaukee Mayor Frank P. Zeidler (himself no stranger to public performances in the Orchard):

And now we know Mrs. Borchert was presented with a piece of the old wooden ballpark, one part souvenir and one part appreciation trophy.

What an amazing artifact, and a precious piece of Milwaukee history.

21 skidoo!

Here's another good look at Milwaukee's original "Team Streak", the 1926 club which won 21 games in a row.

The Milwaukee baseball team which is leading the American Association has set a record with 21 consecutive wins. They are left to right, standing: Coggin, Clyde Beck, Al Reitz, Sylvester Simon, Frank Luce, Roy Saunders, Harry Strohm, and Fred Schulte. Left to right, seated, Lloyd Flippin, Joe Eddelman, Jack Lelivelt, manager, Otto Borchert, president, Bunny Brief, Denny Gearin, and Ivy Griffin. In the foreground, left to right, Russ Young, Ossie Orwoll, Lance Richbourg, Ed Stauffer and Bob McMenem.

Marvelous Borchert Field wall ad for Boston Store. And it's always good to see a picture of Otto Borchert, who would pass away less than a year later, on the eve of the 1927 season.

The Brewers got their 21st win at Borchert Field on June 14th against the Toledo Mud Hens, under future Milwaukee skipper Casey Stengel. The Brews came out strong, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning on their way to a 9-0 rout.

The Milwaukee Journal offered this photo of the big inning:

Schulte's March

The start of the avalanche of runs which gave those galloping Brewers promise of making it 21 straight out at Athletic Park Tuesday afternoon is depicted in the picture above, caught by The Journal's long-range cameraman during the first inning. It shows Schulte crossing the plate after lifting a home run over the left field fence, scoring Richbourg ahead of him. Griffin is seen looking on, bat in hand, with Heving, Toledo catcher, and Umpire Connolly among the other nearby spectators.

The rest of the season wasn't as successful for the Brews, as nearly a quarter of their wins came during the remarkable streak. They finished 1926 at 93-71, a respectable record well short of the American Association pace, putting them in third behind the Louisville Colonels (105-62) and Indianapolis Indians (94-71).

Boxers to Otto: "Stee-rike!"

by Pete Ehrmann

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Editor's Note: Following up on Dennis Pajot's biography of Milwaukee Brewers owner Otto Borchert, contributor Pete Ehrmann brings us this remarkable chapter from Borchert's earlier career as one of Milwaukee's premier boxing impresarios.

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"Louisville Fans Crow In Victory," headlined the Wisconsin News after the Milwaukee Brewers lost their first game of the 1925 season, 3-2 to the Louisville Colonels. But April 14 was a wunderschön day for Brewers owner Otto Borchert anyway. Also president of the Cream City Athletic Club, one of the biggest organizations promoting professional boxing in the country, Herr Otto must've done some crowing himself when the Wisconsin Athletic Commission threw out charges that he had "connived, aided and abetted trickery and deceit in the promotion of boxing contests" and exerted a "baneful influence" on the sport.

In the first half of the decade known as "The Roaring Twenties," there was no bigger story in Milwaukee sports than the knock-down, drag-out feud between the CCAC and a consortium of boxers, managers and rival promoters united in their hankering to topple Borchert as house promoter at the Milwaukee Auditorium.

It resulted in the formation of a labor union for boxers and managers. The "American Boxing League" actually went out on strike against the CCAC, after insisting that Borchert had boycotted local boxers first.

The protracted war, wrote A.J. Schinner of the Wisconsin News in 1927, "almost wrecked the boxing game here."

When Otto Borchert became president of the CCAC in February, 1919, it was already Milwaukee's premier boxing club and had been since the sport was legalized in Wisconsin six years earlier and the Queensbury Athletic Club — it changed its name to Cream City Athletic Club in 1914 — was granted a license to promote boxing at the Milwaukee Auditorium on N. 6th and W. Cedar (now Kilbourn Ave.) Sts.

The guiding force behind the CCAC was Thomas S. Andrews. Born in Canada, Andrews came to Milwaukee with his parents when he was one. He played baseball and football in his youth and at the turn of the century he was sports editor of the Evening Wisconsin.

In those days no code of ethics prevented newspapermen from having a hand in creating the news they reported on, and Andrews openly promoted boxing cards in public when local authorities allowed it (and in private when they didn't). He was also one of boxing's first historians and record-keepers, recognized globally by the early 1900s as an authority on the squared-circle. (Andrews was no slouch when it came to baseball, either, and at various times was mentioned as a candidate to run the American Association and the Federal League.)

While other clubs promoted boxing on the city's south side and elsewhere, thanks to its exclusive lease on the Auditorium, Andrews' CCAC dominated the field and made Milwaukee as renowned a fight town as New York City in an age when boxing and baseball were the deluxe entrees on the sports menu.

The Auditorium was key to its success. Back then the 12,000-seat facility was regarded with the same awe as Miller Park is today. "It is a dream," wrote C.J. Murray in the Buffalo (NY) Commercial newspaper in 1914, "the last word in construction — luxurious to the extreme, a wonderful paradise for boxing fans."

When Otto Borchert succeeded retiring Milwaukee Journal sports editor J.A. Ermatinger as president of the CCAC in 1919, he was identified as "a real estate operator" and a "100% (boxing) fan, having attended local fistic attractions for some 20 years." Years later, Milwaukee Sentinel sports editor George Downer would write, "To tell the truth, we never could quite understand why any man with Mr. Borchert's money should waste even five minutes promoting fights. Otto explains that by saying that he likes the game."

Less than a year after Borchert joined the CCAC, secretary and matchmaker Tom Andrews left for a two-year stint in Australia with a troupe of American boxers. He recommended that Borchert hire a temporary matchmaker to run the CCAC in his absence, but instead Otto took on the job himself. At the end of that year Sam Levy, the Journal's boxing writer, hailed the "proverbial self-made man" for his "colossal success."

In 1920, Borchert bought the Milwaukee Brewers, and a familiar face joined the boxing promotional wars. Cedarburg native Frank Mulkern owned the Yellow Cab Co., and had promoted fights and managed boxers in the first decade of the century. Now he was getting back into boxing with the intention of grabbing a piece of local boxing's crown jewel — the Auditorium.

Over the years the CCAC had used its political clout to keep other boxing clubs out of the Auditorium. But Mulkern had connections, too, and one of them turned out to be Otto Borchert, whose objections to letting Mulkern in were strangely muted. Breaking precedent, the Auditorium's board of directors granted Mulkern's National Athletic Club access to the building in 1922.

Andrews was not happy to come home and find Mulkern with a foothold in his once exclusive bailiwick. Suspecting collusion between Borchert and Mulkern, Andrews sold his controlling shares of the CCAC to Borchert for $3,500, and in mid-'22 Andrews opened up shop at the Castle Ice Garden at N. 35th and W. Wells Sts.

Over the next year boxing flourished in Milwaukee as the rival clubs presented popular cards featuring such local talent as Richie and Pinkey Mitchell, Joey Sangor, Joe Jawson and Johnny Mendelsohn. In terms of overall gate receipts, 1923 was the third most lucrative year for boxing in Wisconsin since 1914.

Andrews' suspicions that Mulkern and Borchert were playing footsie were confirmed in -'23 when Mulkern dissolved the National Athletic Club and became matchmaker for Otto's club, making the CCAC once more the Auditorium's exclusive boxing tenant.

Perhaps because of the glut of boxing cards, in 1924 attendance fell off dramatically. Reasoning that fans had grown tired of seeing the same old faces in local rings — and complaining that the local pugs wanted too much money to fight anyway — the CCAC began using mostly out-of-town boxers on its cards.

In June, Tom Andrews shuttered the Castle Ice Garden and said he wanted to promote again at his old downtown stomping ground.

"I can give Milwaukee the best cards in the country if I have the facilities," he declared. "I was the first promoter to hold bouts in the Auditorium, and nothing should prevent me from having a second lease on the building."

The Sentinel's George Downer agreed, writing on November 12: "Every day emphasizes the need of another club to promote boxing in Milwaukee. The existing Auditorium club has taken a high hand with boxers who have asked more for their services than the promoters in their wisdom (?) have deemed fair. There are today several boxers in Milwaukee who are practically banned from employment here because they have, by asking for what they deemed a fair payment for their services, offended the big club bosses" — i.e., Borchert and Mulkern.

"Rather than give them bouts, the local club put on a show featuring a full card of outside boxers… Cutting out the local lads, in the manner in which it has been done here, is distinctly unfair, but so long as one club holds a monopoly of the local promotion field, there is nothing to be done about it."

Less than a week later, the Sentinel reported that "Managers of practically all the professional boxers in Milwaukee met last night at the Republican Hotel to form an organization for the protection of their interests and for the advancement of boxing in Milwaukee."

Passed at the November 18 inaugural meeting of the American Boxing League was a resolution charging that Otto Borchert "has openly boasted that he can make or break any local boxer that he desires"; that boxers "have been deprived of their purses" by the CCAC; and that Borchert and Mulkern had "entered into contracts with contestants and modified them at will to satisfy their selfish demands."

Heading the new union — which filed for affiliation with the American Federation of Labor — was Billy Mitchell, loquacious manager of his boxing brothers, Richie and Pinkey. "The Fighting Mitchells," as they were known, had been butting heads with Otto since 1919, when Borchert decided that Richie — Milwaukee's most popular fighter and a top lightweight contender — was no longer welcome to fight at the Auditorium unless he agreed to take a cut in his percentage of the gate receipts from 33 1/3 to 25. (In a 1928 memoir, Richie wrote: "Otto was a splendid fellow in many ways, and he did me a lot of favors after I retired from the game. But he was stubborn as a balky mule.")

"The Fighting Mitchells"
L-r in front: Pinkey, Richie and manager Billy.

"Monopoly always leads to abuse," Billy Mitchell told the press after the first meeting of his union. "The (CCAC) promoters are high-hatting the local boxers to death and we have been forced to organize for our protection."

Two weeks later, members of the American Boxing League voted unanimously to go on strike against the Cream City Athletic Club.

Borchert took the high road, at least publicly. "We wish it understood that no matter what's said or published in contravention, the arena of the Cream City Athletic Club is open to any local boxer," he said. "We are always willing to talk terms and it is our endeavor to reach an amicable agreement with any of the local boxing fraternity."

Frank Mulkern was less diplomatic. "The yelp that local boxers are not receiving the proper terms is all applesauce," he snorted.

On December 18, Tom Andrews formally applied for a license to promote fights at the Auditorium. The boxers' union heartily endorsed his application. Every member of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce recommended its approval, as did Mayor Daniel Hoan and City Attorney John Nevin.

But on January 21, 1925, Andrews' bid was rejected. Auditorium Manager Joseph Grieb said the policy regarding boxing clubs was no different from the one that allowed just "one radio show, one auto show, and one home builders' exposition in the building each year."

Within days, Billy Mitchell appealed directly to Gov. J.J. Blaine, and that's when the three-man Wisconsin Athletic Commission, which oversaw boxing since its legalization, finally intervened in what Journal sports editor Manning Vaughan called "nothing but a mud-slinging contest."

A formal hearing was scheduled at the commission's Milwaukee office on March 10-11. Two days before, Otto returned to town from the Brewers' spring training camp in Sanford, Florida. Though he complained that the hearing had been purposely timed to inconvenience him, Borchert said, "I would have come from China had the boxing commission ordered it. If there is anything wrong with our way of doing business and if it is not legal, we want to hear of it and we want it rectified."

The hearing was run just like a trial, with Borchert and Mulkern as defendants. Heading up their legal defense team were high-powered attorneys Henry Killilea, J.V. Quarles and Raymond Cannon. They called the charges against the CCAC "trivialities and nothings."

On the witness stand, Otto flatly denied ever saying that the boxers would accede to his terms or "I will starve them out."

But when asked if Joseph Grieb, manager of the Auditorium, received stock dividends from the CCAC — a practice actually started by Tom Andrews when he ruled the Auditorium roost — Borchert refused to answer.

He was loud and clear about one thing: "I shall protect the interests of my club. No one else will get a lease in the Auditorium while I have a club in it, and while those who sold their interests to me are trying to get back in the building."

Representing the American Boxing League, Atty. Frank Fawcett urged the commission, "Let it not be said that after you have rendered your decision that the prophecy that 'Otto Borchert can do anything with the commission' be held true."

Commission chairman A.J. Schinner — also sports editor of the Wisconsin News — personally favored opening the Auditorium to a second club, but wrote, "The whole affair is as sordid on one side as on the other, with none of the principals so vitally interested in the dear, patient public that it would not harpoon the hoi-polloi to gain what it wants."

"What a splendid humanitarian organization the boxers' league would be," he added, "if it had any viewpoint in mind other than to increase the percentage of its membership through the medium of a second club at the Auditorium!"

Except for a couple technical points, the commission's April 14 decision exonerating the CCAC was a Grand Slam for Otto. Frank Fawcett called it a "triumph for trickery" and said, "The commission has a double standard — one for the promoter with wealth, one for the boxer without."

Down but not out, the boxers' union lobbied in Madison for a bill that would allow outdoor boxing in Wisconsin. On June 24, Gov. Blaine signed one into law, and with Frank Fawcett in charge the Badger State Athletic Assockiation was formed to promote boxing at State Fair Park in West Allis.

A week before the first card there on August 14, Tom Andrews left Milwaukee for Los Angeles, to become matchmaker for the new Olympic Auditorium.

"My opponents in the promotion field here think that I have thrown the towel into the ring — that I intend to give up my fight for another lease in the Auditorium," he said before departing. "But they're wrong. They'll wake up some morning before next New Year's afternoon and discover another boxing club in the downtown arena."

The two cards promoted at State Fair in August and September were financial busts, and the site was written off as a poor fight venue. But the eight Auditorium cards promoted by the CCAC since January 1 hadn't done so great, either.

When Frank Mulkern said the CCAC would use any local boxer who wanted to work, several members of the American Boxing League defected from the union to fight on Auditorium cards.

On March 31, 1926, Tom Andrews returned to Milwaukee and announced his intention to "obtain a lease on the Auditorium, with intention of running a fight club."

Otto Borchert had a better idea. He granted the Badger State Athletic Association a lease to promote fights at Athletic Field, home of the Brewers, that summer, and didn't even object when Tom Andrews was made matchmaker.

But the three cards held at the ballpark were not moneymakers, and in November Andrews bought an existing boxing franchise operating out of the Empress Theater in downtown Milwaukee. He made it clear, though, that he would keep pressing for a lease at the Auditorium.

"I'll fight them to the end," he said, "and if there is any word like 'justice' left in the dictionary, I'll beat them."

A few weeks earlier, Journal sports editor Manning Vaughn had reported that Otto Borchert wanted out of the whole mess because "the trickery, the petty bickering, the double-crossing and the politics of the sport give him a large pain in the neck."

The bickering continued into 1927. Two years earlier, Andrews and the boxers' union were up in arms because the CCAC didn't use enough local ring talent; now Andrews was upset because the CCAC wouldn't keep its mitts off Milwaukee fighters.

"If the larger club would adopt a hands-off policy and not use small-time windups," Andrews said, "I think I would be able to produce some new fistic talent. The Auditorium club, one of the largest in America, ought to devote its attention to promoting important bouts and leave the 'home-grown naturals' for me and my Empress theater club."

So it went until April 27, when Otto Borchert dropped dead while giving a speech at the local Elks club.

Calling him a "square-shooter all the way," boxing commission secretary Walter Liginger recalled that Borchert "had many tiffs with the boxing commission, but his arguments were always fair and never other than sincere. He did much to increase the interest in boxing as president of the Cream City boxing club, and helped put the game on its present high plain."

Two days later, at Tom Andrews' card at the Empress Theater, the lights were dimmed as the timekeeper rang the ringside bell 10 times in tribute to the late boxing and baseball magnate.

On August 24, Andrews bought controlling interest in the CCAC from Ruby Borchert, Otto's widow (his attorney in the Wisconsin Athletic Commission hearing, Henry Killilea, had purchased the Milwaukee Brewers from her at the end of the 1927 season).

"Followers of boxing in Milwaukee are hoping that the new arrangement in the Auditorium club means the end of the promoters' feud that has held back the sport (here) for nearly a decade," wrote Jim Delaney in the Wisconsin News.

Not for long. In January of 1929, Billy Mitchell, having run out of boxing brothers to manage and his boxers' union having faded away, started promoting fights in the Antlers hotel ballroom. A few months later, Mitchell applied for a lease at the Auditorium. With Tom Andrews egging them on, the Auditorium directors said nothing doing. "Within the desired portals again, Andrews was as interested in protecting his rights as Borchert ever was," said the News.

Boxing's popularity waned throughout the 1930s. Tom Andrews got out of the promoting business and in 1941 he died. In the midst of a resurgence in local boxing, in late -'43 a new owner of the Milwaukee Brewers decided that the sport offered another opportunity to exercise his fertile imagination and "have some fun." He applied for a promoter's license.

By then, three different clubs promoted fights at the Auditorium. The owner of the ball club demanded an exclusive lease there like the ones Andrews and Borchert had in their day. When the boxing commission vetoed that, Bill Veeck said "Applesauce!" — or probably a scatological variation thereof — and stuck with baseball.

Otto Borchert

by Dennis Pajot

Otto Borchert was born in Milwaukee on August 12, 1874. His father, Frederick Borchert, born in Mecklenburg, Germany, was an owner of the F. Borchert & Sons Brewery (which would become the Jung & Borchert Brewery and later be bought out by the Pabst Brewing Company). Otto's mother was the former Barbara Neubauer, of Milwaukee. The family lived at 269 8th Street [North 8th Street between West Kilbourn and State Streets] at the time.

Otto's early education was at the German-English Academy, and then he continued his schooling in the Humboldt Public School at 4th and Galena. His first step as an entrepreneur was as a peanut seller at Milwaukee's baseball park at 11th and Wright Street. The 12-year old lad sold his product in the stands, to the pleasure of the park's concessionaire, who found "more liquid refreshments was required to drown the thirst inspired by the Borchert peanuts." [A report after his death stated he was a bat boy for the team when Clark Griffith was the manager. Griffith played in Milwaukee from July 1888 through the 1890 season, but never managed the team—which ironically played at the newly built Athletic Park at 8th and Chambers.]

At the age of 14 Otto left school and joined the employ of Benjamin Young, a wholesale saddler and hardware distributor on North Water Street, signing a contract for $2 a week for the first year and $5 a week for the second. The young Borchert did well in this business. So well, as a matter of fact, that half way through his second year he was offered $7.50 a week from another firm. Otto later told the story: "I was all set to jump my contract and take the big money, but my father made me stick it out and the advice he game me then has helped me plenty in my dealings with ball players. When a young fellow nowadays tried to run out on a contract, I always tell him about the Goll & Frank offer and how I stuck to my job in spite of the fact that I was losing money."

Borchert did work for Goll & Frank (located at North Water and East Buffafo) for two years, and then three years with the Wisconsin Milling Company. The young Borchert then obtained a job with the Wisconsin Telephone Co. After a brief time as an office boy he was elevated to a bill clerk, then became a lineman. However, his true calling was found when he became a solicitor for the company "and went galloping about the countryside installing plants." It was said he was responsible for putting more "new fangled contrivances" in rural homes than any other salesman.

His record was so imposing that he was hired by Julius Andrae & Sons, a local electronic supply business on Milwaukee's West Water Street [today's Plankinton Avenue] to travel the Midwest. His starting salary was $50 a month—which was soon raised to $75. Otto soon set up a headquarters in Waterloo, Iowa, and over the next 20 years was the Andrae Company's star salesman. However, he never made over $200 a month.

While selling supplies for Andrae & Sons Borchert began taking options on electric light properties, then selling them at "profits equal to peanuts at $100 a bag." After his death a story was told how he picked up a 30-day option on the Waterloo Gas Engine, with no money down. Although at first he had a hard time selling the plant, he finally did sell it to the Deere Plow Company for a reported $2,500,000. Borchert's commission was $250,000 and he received an additional $50,000 from the Deere Company. [A photocopy of a check in the collections of the Milwaukee County Historical Society shows Borchert sold the Waterloo Company on March 14, 1921, for $2,100,000.] Borchert also claimed he sold the Dubuque Light & Traction Company for $3,000,000, the MacGregor Light & Power Company for $360,000, and the Sumner Light & Power Company for $60,000. Borchert did retain the position of vice president of the Peoples Power Company of Westgate, Iowa, into the 1920s.

Already in the 1890s Borchert was prominent enough to be found in the Milwaukee newspaper society columns. On December 24, 1899, Otto Borchert married Miss Idabel Ruby Wilmot, a teacher of stenography and commercial methods. The Borcherts would have one daughter, Florence Mila.

Borchert was something of an athlete in his youth. In 1894 the 19-year old Otto was found catching for the Wisconsin Telephone Company baseball team. He reportedly ran hurdles with exceptional speed, and it was said "he played one of the meanest games of pool in this section of the country." Otto also said he found interest in playing rummy and poker.

Otto Borchert was also involved as a boxing impresario, calling it his second favorite sport, behind baseball. Along with Frank Mulkern he owned controlling interest in the Cream City Athletic Club since 1919, conducting boxing shows at the Auditorium. Mulkern, who was called "one of the shrewdest promoters who ever arranged ring brawls in Milwaukee" by the Milwaukee Journal's Sam Levy, said "Otto was the smartest fellow I ever dealt with." In 1919 Borchert and Mulkern were instrumental in bringing Jimmy Wilde, the world flyweight champion from Wales known as "The Mighty Atom," to Milwaukee. As a promotion Borchert asked all scribes and ringside seat patrons to appear in dinner coats. Even though the Borchert/Mulkern team produced several five figure gates, Borchert said the Athletic Club never made enough money compared to what it cost to run it. Thomas Andrews bought Borchert's interest in the Cream City Athletic Club after his death.

In January 1920 Borchert was involved in the purchase of the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association from Clarence Rowland and Hugh Brennan for $100,000. At the time it was reported the syndicate that bought the club was headed by Joseph O'Brien, former president of the American Association and at the time secretary of the New York Giants National League club. It was later reported Borchert owned 2/7s of the stock of the club, William H. Park [former owner of the Milwaukee Daily News and Evening Wisconsin] owned another 2/7s and William Kinsella [vice president of the Worden Allen Company] owned the remaining 3/7s.

Otto Borchert was named president of the club. However, the first two years were "no bed of roses" for Otto as the head of the club. Some of his policies on running the club did not meet with the favor of certain minority stockholders, causing constant bickering. It was reported Borchert had made an honest effort to put a winning team on the field in this first two years, but he had been "hampered by internal dissension and grandstand managers." Field manager Jack Egan sided with some of the stockholders not in Borchert's camp, and it cost him his job. The Brewers' records in 1920 and 1921 were 78 and 88, followed by 81 and 86. Borchert put the question to his patrons as to how they felt about a manager for the 1922 season. A vote favored re-hiring Harry Clark, who had managed the Brewers from 1913 to 1916, winning American Association pennants in those first two years. Borchert, living in a city "where majority ruled, did as he was bid and signed Clark". Clark would manage the Brewers for the next four years with lackluster results:

        Wins  Losses  Position
 1922    85     83      5th
 1923    75     91      5th
 1924    83     83      4th
 1925    74     94      7th

Harry "Pep" Clark (left) with Borchert

The 1926 team was managed by Jack Lelivelt, finishing in third place with a 93 and 71 record.

In November 1921 Borchert bought out William Parks share of the Brewers. In January 1922 Borchert bought out William Kinsella, and a number of smaller investors who had picked up stock. This move ended the internal feud that had continued within the club ownership. By 1926 Borchert owned the entire ball club and the park the club played in, Athletic Park at 8th and Chambers.

Borchert was rather flamboyant in appearance. He was usually seen walking about swinging a handsome cane, "which seem[ed] to become as famous as Charlie Chaplin's moustache," a derby, spats, diamonds glittering in a horseshoe tiepin, and smoking a cigar—with "ashes spread generously over his vest." While some writers called attention to his silk underwear and other sartorial niceties, he did not call them a habit. As a matter of fact, it appears he loved to buy new clothes, but not always wear them. In one interview with a Milwaukee Journal reporter the Brewer owner was wearing a tweed suit "that could have had the pressing iron without suffering and upon his head was a distinctly disreputable slouch hat." Borchert explained to the reporter: "Look at me. I have just bought six new suits from the best tailor in town and here I am with this on. I have also just bought six new hats—or was it seven—and give a look at this old thing. I am like a fireman. I get dressed in a hurry." Otto also loved the spotlight being a baseball owner put on him—most of all the photographers. It was said he was possibly the most photographed man in the American sport world at the time—doubtful as this could be, when we see how many pictures of Babe Ruth are around. Hung in his office were scores of pictures of himself, all autographed with "Otto Borchert, Pres."

Borchert was a life member of the Athletic Club and of the Midland Club of Chicago, as well as a member of the Elks Club, Eagles Club and the Y.M.C.A. He was also a 32nd degree Mason and belonged to the Association of Commerce.

Borchert had a reputation for being frugal. Some of this he brought upon himself. He once told a Milwaukee Journal reporter: "I can write a check of any size in a poker game, without stopping to think, but good Lord, how I hate to pass out a $10 bill." Borchert was indeed wealthy, his estate valued at $242,589.15 after his death. He owned a home in Milwaukee at 590 Hi-Mount Blvd. and a "palatial summer place" on Lake Nagawicka.

Otto did not know much about running a baseball club when he purchased the club, but had the good sense to hire Louis Nahin, who had worked for earlier Brewer owners, to run the business affairs of the club. In his first year the club netted a $46,000 profit. For the next seven years the Brewers averaged better than $100,000 a year in profit.

As owner of the Brewers, Borchert never attained great popularity with the fans. On Sundays and holidays, when the park was generally jammed, Borchert would walk from the right field scoreboard, where he would sun himself before games, to the infield. The crowd jeered, but Otto flashed his broadest smile, waved his walking stick and enjoyed every step as he walked to the stands. "What do I care if the fans boo me," he said philosophically. "It's their privilege. They've paid to get into my park."

Borchert's way of signing players was interesting. A few years after his death a report in the Milwaukee Journal explained how he went about contract negotiations. A week or two before the close of the season he would have the contracts ready for his players. He would tell the player "I've called you in to praise you for your great work this year. As a reward I'm going to give you a present. Take this check. It'll come in handy during the winter months. Next year if the club has a good season and we make a lot of dough, I'll remember you." A check for $200, $300 or even $500 was a lot of money in those days, and most players signed within five minutes.

But the real side of Borchert was mostly hidden from the public. Upon his death, Brewer business manager Louis M. Nahin said: "His greatest deeds, however, have never been made public. He refused to have the nice things he did revealed. It was not at all uncommon to have many persons call on him during the day and appeal for financial help, and in his own way he always lent a helping hand. 'Keep this secret—I don't want the press or anyone to know about this', he would say".

A story by Sam Levy in the Milwaukee Journal years after Borchert's death illustrated this. "The public never got to know Otto. He was gruff and growled at players when they asked for raises. I was in his office one day when the late Nat Stone of the Boston Store, who headed a committee, asked for funds for a worthy cause. 'Put me down for $5,000,' Borchert told Stone, 'but no publicity must be given.' Then he turned to this reporter and said: 'Remember, that goes for you, too—no publicity on my contribution.' 'Why?' I asked. 'Let the public know of what you've done. You receive enough bad publicity.' 'Never mind, I can take it.' countered Otto. 'And look--don't say a thing.'"

The Milwaukee Journal, on the day after his death, summed it up best:

Otto Borchert was a rough fellow, hard-boiled on the outside. But inside beat a heart warm with sympathy. Only his friends knew of his sterling qualities. "My father once told me, " he said, "Otto, if you can make five friends in your lifetime you will have done well." He not only made five, but 100—true, loyal friends, friends in all that the name implies. They will miss Otto, his keen wit, his sparkling repartee, his caprices, his loyalty. For Otto Borchert was a true friend. He was strong in his convictions, too strong possibly at times, but he had the courage of those convictions, and was willing to battle for them. A more diplomatic policy might have been better, but he drew a line and always tried to stay on it, regardless of what the general public did or thought. But the general public did not know the real Borchert, the fellow who would yell about a dime and in the next breath write a $1,000 check for some worthy charity or some friend in need. He seldom talked of those good deeds, but always made a noise about some minor expenditure that didn't amount to anything. This gave the public a false impression of Otto, poor Otto, who had befriended scores of down and outers, who went on dozens of worthless notes and always had a liberal purse for charity.

All through his ownership of the Brewers Borchert had a soft spot for children. It was told how hundreds of kids would follow him to Athletic Park, asking if he would let them in. He would shake his head, but finally grab some youngster and say: "Well, come on in, but this is the last time." Of course, the children knew better and the show would be repeated the next day.

As the owner of the Brewer baseball club Borchert was many times called lucky. In some ways he was, for example, in the seven years of his ownership it was reported he never had a Sunday game rained out—at home or on the road.

The papers reported he also had "The Borchert Luck" when it came to getting large amounts of cash for players. However, one would have to believe more than just plain luck went into many of his transactions. It was claimed he bought Fred Schulte for $1,500 and sold him to the St. Louis Browns for $75,000 to 100,000 in cash and ball players. Other sales included Jim Cooney to the St. Louis Cardinals for $22,000; Denny Gearin—whom Borchert bought for $750—sold to the Giants for $10,000; Glenn Myatt to Cleveland for $50,000; Oscar Mellilo to the St. Louis Browns for $26,000. The story told by Milwaukee Journal writer Sam Levy is a favorite. One day [around 1921] a lad with a tattered cap walked into his office and asked for [business manager Louis M.] Nahin. "I want to sign with the Brewers," said the visitor. Just then Borchert entered, listened and went into his private office. When the youngster left, he called to Nahin. "Who was that punk?" asked Otto. "Heretoafter when they come into my office, have them take off their caps." "That kid," prophesied Nahin, "will bring you a fortune in a year or two." "Who said so?" "Wait and see," suggested Nahin. In December 1923 the punk, Al Simmons, was sold to the Philadelphia Athletics for $40,000 and three players, plus a fourth player in May of the following year. In 1953 Al Simmons was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.

Borchert was one of the leaders in the American Association and well liked by his fellow owners. Later American Association President Thomas Hickey described Borchert's baseball personality:

"Those who did not know Otto called him selfish, but they did not know the true Otto. He was one of the strongest characters in the American Association and took the lead in all his business dealings. He had an excellent business head. In our councils he was always looking out for the interests of the league rather than his own club."

It was also Hickey who probably paid the Brewer owner the greatest compliment:

"His heart and soul were wrapped up in his favorite sport—baseball. He was more than an owner—a fan. I have yet to find another club president who would attend the games of his club and root like the fellow who pays his admission at the gate."

A little known footnote to Borchert Park at 8th and Chambers, is that a year or so before Borchert's death he had a chance to trade Athletic Park to the city for Garfield Park, at 3rd and Chambers [now Clinton Rose Park]. Borchert said: "Garfield Park would be an ideal site for a new ball park, but I'll not undertake such a venture because I'm afraid I won't live too long."

On the evening of April 27,1927—the day before the Brewers home opener—while finishing up an address to a large crowd at the Elks Club in downtown Milwaukee, which was also being broadcast on radio—Otto Borchert suffered a massive heart attack and fell back into his chair. After staggering to his feet he was taken into an anteroom, where he died five minutes later. His final words were fitting to the man: "I always made it a point to be loyal to my employers, and—give them the best I had".

Otto Borchert was buried in Milwaukee's Valhalla Cemetery.

The ball club was now run by Borchert's widow, with the help of Milwaukee lawyer (and former Boston Red Sox owner) Henry J. Killilea and Brewers business manager Louis Nahin. Killilea purchased the club from Mrs. Borchert in January 1928 for $280,000, reported to be the largest amount ever paid for a club in the American Association. (Mrs. Borchert kept control of the ballpark, purchasing it from Timm Realty for $90,000). Upon purchasing the club, Killilea changed the name of Athletic Park to Borchert Field in honor of Otto Borchert.

"Dinty"

This diminutive Brewer,
inch for inch, pound for pound,
proved to be a "Mighty Mite" for Milwaukee

"Dinty"
Dennis John Gearin
by Paul Tenpenny
(Tencentz@aol.com)
Copyright 2010 Tencentzports
Printed with permission of the Author

Dennis John Gearin, a man after my own heart and well ... height, was born in Providence, Rhode Island on October 15, 1897. The son of an Irish grocery store owner, he had a baseball career that spanned 15 years and had a long tenure in Milwaukee. He was arguably one of the shortest pitchers ever to play the game, at 5'4" tall and weighing in at 148 lbs (later years weighing about 160 lbs).

Gearin seemed to have collected more nicknames than any other player in the history of baseball. Most of them were due to his size and many were not very complimentary.

Denny Gearin got an early start, playing baseball for the Pawtucket Rovers (Pawtucket, RI) in the Colonial league in 1915. In the 27 games played, he pitched 203.2 innings. Unfortunately, the 17 year old pitcher lost 16 of them, while posting zero victories. A rough start for the youngster. His hitting wasn't much better, he tallied only 12 hits in his 69 times at the plate for a .174 batting average. He exhibited some power, hitting 4 doubles and a home run.

He returned to baseball with the Providence Grays of the Eastern League in 1918. In the 5 games he pitched, Gearin won 3 and lost 1 in 37.1 innings pitched. In 184 times at bat, he had 43 hits, for a .234 batting average.

His next year with Providence was more impressive. In the 14 games Gearin appeared in, he won 11 and lost 2 during the 109 innings pitched.

That year, the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) would also give Denny a look where he went 12-7 in the 19 games he appeared in. He pitched 175 innings with an era of 3.46 for Oakland. His combined ERA for 1919 was a pretty stunning 1.88.

Dennis Gearin - 1920 Milwaukee Brewers
(Chicago Daily News)

"Little Nemo" joined the Milwaukee Brewers in 1920. Otto Borchert purchased his contract for $750 from the Oakland Oaks and brought him to Milwaukee because of his versatility. He could play the outfield and was a good hitter. Top that off of course, with his pitching ability, the left hander had a good fastball and curve ball.

Gearin became an instant hit with the team. Early on opposing teams learned the hard way how good of a hitter he was. Joe McCarthy, manager of the Louisville Colonels walked a batter to face Gearin thinking he was an easy out and was greeted with a base hit by the "midget." He should have known better as Gearin had done the same thing twice before the past week to Jack Hendricks of Indianapolis. He gave the American Association quick notice: Beware, the little Irishman is not an easy out!

Playing in 88 games as an outfielder this first year with Milwaukee, he hit for a .276 batting average while tallying a 7-9 pitching record in 21 games for the 78-88 Brews. His Earned Run Average that year was 3.80.

1920 Milwaukee Brewers-Dennis Gearin -#7

In 1921, "Nemo" Gearin, once again played in the outfield more games than he pitched. His batting average for the "Fighting Eganites" improved to .307 and his pitching record was a solid 14 wins vs. 11 losses for the 81-86 Milwaukee team. Denny Gearin, as a pitcher, had a good fastball and his "slants" kept the opposing hitters off balance.

1921 Milwaukee Brewers-Dennis Gearin-Front row
2nd from left. To his left, Manager Jack Egan.

"Kewpie" was a power house at the plate for the 1922 Milwaukee Brewers, hitting a healthy .350. He pitched in with 11 victories that season as the Brewers finished the season in 5th place at 85-83.

Dennis Gearin - 1922 Milwaukee Brewers
(Author's Collection)

1923 was a memorable year for "Dinty", pitching an impressive 12 victories vs. only 5 defeats for a 3.76 ERA. Early in the season he led the league in victories and had won six in a row. At the plate his batting average was a solid .338 by mid July.

Milwaukee Brewer President Otto Borchert said of Gearin:

"I think our team has one of the greatest players in the league in Kewpie Gearin. He is as good a pitcher as we have in the Association; he can play the outfield and hit the ball for .300 mark or better."

He was definitely being noticed outside of Milwaukee as "Jawn" McGraw, manager of the New York Giants took a chance on the "Dainty" southpaw and purchased him from the Brewers in early August.

Gearin was summoned to Milwaukee by Borchert from Indianapolis where Harry Clark's Brewers were playing.

"Gearin wanted a chance to go to the big leagues. I saw an opportunity for him to get part of the world series money this year and when he agreed to the proposition, I informed John McGraw." said Borchert.

Terms of the deal was $25,000 cash and players to be named later. They would be disclosed after McGraw had a closer look at Gearin during spring training next year, when he would evaluate all of his rookies.

"John" Gearin New York Giants
1923 Original Press Photo
(Author's Collection)

John McGraw broke from his usual preference for big pitchers by acquiring the 5'4", 150 pound Gearin in August of 1923, but felt his record showed he had the needed stamina to make it in the big show.

While with the National League Champion New York Giants, Gearin saw limited action. He got two hits in his 7 times at bat for a .286 batting average. As a pitcher he went 1-1 in the 24 innings pitched with a 3.38 ERA.

His did get a chance to appear in the World Series of 1923 as a pinch runner in the first game, won by the Giants. The New York Giants eventually lost the series to Babe Ruth's Yankees in 6 games.

He did well enough during the 1923 season to get his second look for 1924 with the Giants. McGraw needed a good left hander and thought that Gearin may fill the bill for his team.

Unfortunately for Gearin, his time in the big leagues didn't last. The Giants used him sparingly, 29 innings where he won 1 and lost 2 with a 2.48 ERA. Control seemed to be a problem as he had 16 walks, 30 hits in those innings and gave up 3 home runs.

He played briefly with the Boston Braves before returning to Milwaukee in May of 1924.

His major league totals:

2 wins and 4 losses with an combined era of 2.89.
At bat Gearin hit for a .313 average with 5 hits in 16 at bats with one RBI.

Back with Milwaukee for 1924, "Dinny" went 5-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 53 innings for the 4th place, 83-83 Milwaukee Brewers.

Dennis Gearin - Original Clipping And Autograph
(Author's Collection)

While Otto Borchert's Milwaukee Brewers tanked in 1925, finishing with a 74-94 season (only Columbus doing worse at 61-106), it proved to be a great year for the Irish lefthander. Gearin posted a 20 victory season vs. just 13 defeats.

In 1926, the much improved Milwaukee Brewers finished the year in 3rd place with a 93-71 record. While the "Mighty Mite's" play was off from his 1925 pace, it was another memorable season for the "Gill of the Shamrock," thanks to his performance on Saturday August 21, 1926.

Newspaper Headlines for 1926 No Hitter

Denny Gearin pitched himself a gem of a ball game with a no hitter against the Columbus Senators for his first place Milwaukee Brewers (80-45 at the time).

Going the distance at Milwaukee's Athletic Field, Gearin joined a pretty exclusive club when he bested the "Buckeye State" team 10-0. It was his first start since July 24th, having only pitched some innings in relief in between but he was in control the entire game.

Only 3 reached first base during his no hit victory over the "Bucks," 2 of them on free passes and one by an error. There were very few hard hit balls, only 4 of them making it to the outfield as lazy fly balls easily caught by the Brewer defense. Gearin's control was masterful with a "two foot break" on his curveball. His fastball "smoked up the alley."

He retired the first 14 batters and he set down 10 Senators by strike outs. He retired them in order in 7 of the 9 innings. His every move was cheered on by the crowd. His "dipping shoots" and "breezing fastball" kept the opposition helpless as well as hitless. It was the first Milwaukee no hit game since Joe Hovlik did it 13 years earlier in 1913.

The last no hit game for the American Association was June 18, 1921 by Bob Clark of Columbus against Indianapolis. (Clark was a teammate of Gearin with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1922)

1922 Dennis Gearin and Bob Clark
(Author's Collection)

When he curved a 3rd strike to get the final out in the 9th inning, striking out the side, the crowd gave him probably the finest ovation received by a single player in the history of Milwaukee baseball at the time.

Milwaukee had a solid offensive attack that day with Gearin being responsible for 3 of the runs. Denny proving once again, that he was more than just a good pitcher.

Dennis Gearin - Milwaukee Brewers
(Author's Collection)

In 1927 and 1928, the Brewers could do no better than 3rd place but were competitive, finishing with a 99-69 record in 1927 and 90-78 in 1928. Gearin pitched in with 8 victories in 27 and followed with 7 in 28.

The Milwaukee Brewers fell out of contention for 1929-1930, finishing far below .500 and in 7th place both years. Gearin tallied a combined total of 14 victories over those two seasons.

His last year with Milwaukee was 1931 where he had a 7-7 season.

Dennis Gearin -Signed Team Baseball
(Author's Collection)

His pitching totals while with Milwaukee from 1920-1931 were 115 wins vs. 112 losses. When playing the outfield and batting on a regular basis, Gearin was nearly always a .300 hitter.

As expected, his average dipped when pitching, but he still had an impressive overall batting average of .285 for 13 seasons in double A ball.

Denny "Kewpie-Little Nemo-et al." Gearin

Here is a "short" list of his many AKA's:

Angel
Denny (seemed to be HIS favorite)
Dinny
Dinty
Dainty
Dainty Dinty
Gill of The Shamrock
Hermit and Leading Citizen (Pewaukee's)
John
Kewpie
Left handed redhead
Little Forkhander
Little Nemo
Nemo
Little Irishman
Midget
Midget Southpaw
Mighty Mite
Sawed Off Red Head
Smallest pitcher in captivity
Wee Dinny
Wee Sprig of The Shamrock

Barnstorming - Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
(Courtesy AA Sports)

Denny Gearin's only appearance against the mighty New York Yankees was in the 1923 World Series as a pinch runner for the National League champion New York Giants.

Many wonder, myself included, how he would have fared, pitching against the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Well, he sort of got a second chance at Babe Ruth when the barnstorming Bustin Babes and Larrupin Lous came to Borchert field on October 28, 1928. As part of Lou Gehrig's team, Denny faced the Bambino in front of 8,000 cheering baseball fans.

Gearin and Ruth went head to head for the first time in the 6th inning. Denny had him swinging and missing twice at his curve balls. Then the grinning Irishman got him to ground out on a slow roller to 2nd. In the 9th, Ruth still had trouble connecting with Gearin's "hooks." After a "skyscraping foul," Ruth, forever the crowd pleaser, took one over the right field fence, bouncing it on a 7th Street roof top, the ball ending up in a backyard near 6th street.

The Bams beat the Gehrigs 5-4 with that blast.

Dennis Gearin -Original Clippings, Signature
(Author's Collection)

While height may have been a factor in his limited time up in the big leagues, his competitiveness and heart were always big enough for Milwaukee. Size didn't stop Denny Gearin from being one of the Milwaukee Brewer giants for 11 years and a definite fan favorite during those roaring 20s. This Kewpie was definitely a prize that was appreciated by the Athletic Park faithful.

Denny passed away in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island, March 13, 1959.

Milwaukee fans will always look up to you Denny.

A Potted History of the Orchard

This delightful one-panel illustration was printed in the Brewers' 1947 programs:

Aside from playing through some of the more memorable events at Borchert Field over the previous few decades, the graphic also told fans about the changes that were being made by Lou Perini and his Boston Braves, new owners of the club (but not, interestingly, the ballpark; the Orchard had remained in the hands of Otto Borchert's widow Idabel Borchert since his death the day before the 1927 home opener).

Most interesting, perhaps, is that the home plate was moved twenty feet to the north, farther away from the backstop. This shortened the distance from straightaway center field from 392' to 375', not to mention the power alleys.

There's so much to love here. I bet I can get a dozen articles out of the entries from the entries on this sketch. Stay tuned.

People Who Made Borchert Field a Special Place, Part II

by Dennis Pajot

---

Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of articles about the behind-the-scenes people at Borchert Field, the people essential to the team's operations but whose contributions have gone largely unsung. The first installment is here.

---

Of course Borchert Field is remembered for its short distances down the right and left field lines, the close proximity of the fans to the players, the characters who played ball there, and the equally quirky owners. But, let us not forget the people who made things work at the park. Those unsung heroes who need recognition, even today.

Henry Bremser, in 1942 was the oldest employee at Borchert Field, starting his 30th year with the Brewers. The 58-year old Bremser started as a ticket taker at the 7th Street gate in 1912, After two years he became a ticket seller, occupying the same booth for the next 27 years. Henry said he never saw the beginning of a game at Borchert Field, as he usually remained in the booth until the sixth inning. On double header days he did not get into the park until around the second inning of game two. But often he was too tired to catch the game, having been in the hot booth since 8:30 in the morning.

Henry said the biggest single day of sales he took in was $2,200 in 1924. He commented many times he ended the day with more money than he was supposed to have. When people returned to the booth for their change he could tell the honest faces. Only one time did Bremser come up short in hs money drawer. And that he blamed on the owner, Otto Borchert. Henry said Otto got into his booth and left the door ajar, and the wind blew some of his bills through the opening. He came up $9.00 short. When he told business manger Louis Nahin what had happened, Nahin gave Borchert strict orders to stay out of the booths. President Borchert listened and never came near the sellers again.

Henry Bremser's toughest customers? "The hardest customer to handle is the woman fan. She likes to step in ahead of men folks at the window. Just the same, the ladies are O.K. I don’t mind waiting on them, no matter how big the rush." (From The Milwaukee Journal, April 4, 1942)

Playing in the Snow at Athletic Park

by Dennis Pajot

Eighty-nine years ago today, on Friday, April 15, 1921, the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Paul Saints appeared at Milwaukee’s Athletic Park at 8th and Chambers to play a game of baseball. Only 176 paying customers were in the park to watch the game. The majority of these were huddled in the east grandstand seats, to keep warm in the 20 degree weather, made worse by a frigid April wind. The Milwaukee Journal reported only 10 spectators were in the bleachers. To add to this, Milwaukee was in the beginning of one of the worst blizzards it could remember.

The next morning the Milwaukee Sentinel wondered if Brewer owner Otto Borchert was "planning to start a league among the Eskimos with Nome, Klondike, Frozen Dog and other Arctic points in the circuit." But, indeed, "an alleged game of baseball" took place. The paper thought that just the fact the game made it nine innings was "one for the book." The Sentinel's Manning Vaughan wrote the game was played "regardless of the health of high priced athletes and utter regardless of the poor down-trodden newspaper scribe."

It was reported that by the third inning the diamond was so thoroughly blanketed by snow that batted balls had to be dug out of the snow. All that was needed to make it a most festive occasion were "some sleigh bells and some mistletoes to have over Otto’s curly head." The paper's editors helped in this respect with a Christmas motif, when giving the score.

Milwaukee Sentinel—April 16, 1921

The game turned out to be a burlesque affair, with rain, hail and snow falling throughout the game. Running around in mud up to the player’s shoe tops, the Brewers won the game 7 to 4. Milwaukee’s "Unser Choe" Hauser went 4 for 4, and rookie pitcher Ray Lingrel relieved starter Nemo Gearin in the fourth inning, pitching scoreless ball and was credited with the win. About only 50 spectators were around at the end of the game.

The day after the game the Evening Sentinel was in a less jovial mood than the other Milwaukee newspapers:

There was absolutely no excuse for playing the game. There was about one hundred and fifty fans in the stands at game time, and they yelled "play ball" so loudly that it was finally decided to start. The job was then up to the umpires. They could have stopped it any time after the first ball was pitched, and they would not have been violating any rules.

The evening paper went on to say the St. Paul newspapermen said they had never seen a game played under such conditions, and the editor of the Milwaukee paper agreed. How bad were the playing conditions? According to a report years later every time a ball hit the oozy clay surrounding home plate it stuck tight and had to taken out of play. A St. Paul runner was thrown out at home when he became mired in the mud between third and home.

Milwaukee, indeed, was walloped with a snow storm that day and into the next. Nearly 15 inches of snow fell in 27 hours. 40 miles per hour winds caused drifts of ten feet. The newspapers reported the city was almost isolated from the rest of the world by the "most terrific blizzard in the history of the city." Within the city streetcars and trains were stalled, while streets were completely blocked by high drifts. Early reports placed damage in the millions of dollars.

A few years later an account of what happened was given in the Milwaukee Journal. Before the game umpires Bill Finneran and Buck Freeman called Otto Borchert to their dressing room and suggested he call the game off. Borchert’s reply was: "I'll call off games when I want to. Your job is to umpire. Now get out there and go to work." The game started at 3:05, five minutes late.

The Saints scored three runs off Gearin in the top of the first inning, and Borchert yelled down to the umpires from the press box: "Call off the game! I can’t see the ball!" Finneran yelled back: "You wanted to play a few minutes ago when we asked you to postpone the game. You told us that our job was to umpire. Well, that’s what we’re doing." In the 1939 obituary for Nick Allen, who caught for St. Paul that day, it was reported by the third inning the fielders could not follow the flight of the ball. Allen pleaded with the umpire to call off the game before someone got hurt. The umpire told him "Borchert insisted that we start the game despite the threatening weather. I'll go through with this no matter what happens to you guys."

The Brewers scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning—reportedly aided by the Saints' difficulty in finding the ball—to take a 6 to 4 lead and umpire Finneran asked the Brewer owner: "Do you want the game called off now?" Borchert roared back: "You'll finish this game if it’s the last thing you do." The Brewers scored one more run in the seventh to conclude the scoring. By the end of the game all the players except the pitchers were wearing their sweater coats.

As the snow continued, the next day's game—plus the entire next series with the Minneapolis Millers—would be cancelled. But the St. Paul players played another game the day after the "snowball game." All day they telephoned the Brewer office, asking "Will there be a ball game today?"


SOURCES

Milwaukee Journal April 15, 1921, May 3, 1935, October 18, 1939, April 4, 1971
Milwaukee Sentinel April 16, 17, 1921
Milwaukee Evening Sentinel April 16, 1921
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel June 7, 1998