There Used to Be a Ballpark Right Here

And there used to be a ballpark where the field was
     warm and green
And the people played their crazy game with a joy
     I'd never seen
And the air was such a wonder from the hot dogs
     and the beer
Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here

Part of my recent pilgrimage to Milwaukee included my first-ever visit to the site of Borchert Field.

The Orchard used to take up a single city block, bordered by 7th Street on the east, 8th Street on the West, Chambers Street to the south and Burleigh Street to the north.

That block, as well as dozens directly to the north and south, were demolished in the early 1950s to make way for what would eventually become Interstate 43. It's not entirely clear when the park itself was pulled down, but Borchert Field had been completely dismantled by March 5, 1953, according to a New York Times article from that date.

This is the site as it appears today:

The picture was taken looking north from the Locust Street overpass, one block south of where Borchert Field used to stand. The next overpass you can see is Burleigh, which would have abut the old center field wall.

I have tried to mark out the rough location of the ballpark, floating above the sunken roadway, in red here:

Near the left edge of the picture you can make out the street sign at 8th & Chambers, which was the southwest corner of the park:

The southeast corner of the ballpark at Chambers and 7th Streets isn't particularly visible in this photo, obscured in the trees lining the Interstate. You can see it in this picture, looking at the green sound barrier from the other side.

Seventy years ago, this is where fans would enter Borchert Field to watch their Brews take on the St. Paul Saints, Kansas City Blues, and the other American Association clubs.

And the people watched in wonder
How they'd laugh and how they'd cheer
And there used to be a ballpark, right here.

Borchert Field may be gone, but it hasn't been forgotten. On August 11, 2008, an historical marker commemorating Borchert Field was unveiled, commemorating the ballpark's history.

The ceremony was attended by Mayor Tom Barrett, County Executive Scott Walker, directors of the Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture and the Milwaukee County Historical Society and Milwaukee Brewers Executive Vice President - Business Operations Rick Schlesinger. The local dignitaries were joined by representatives of three former teams who made their home there; the Milwaukee Bears were represented by Yesterday's Negro League Foundation, the Milwaukee Chicks by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the Brewers by Johnny Logan. As the original location was no longer suitable, the marker was erected next to a local baseball field in Clinton Rose Park, two blocks east of the Orchard's former location.


View Larger Map

Clinton Rose Park is a lovely green oasis, with a community center, a children's playground and a baseball diamond. The marker stands just beyond the left-field fence, facing Interstate 43.

This is heartening. Growing up as a baseball fan in Milwaukee, I didn't hear a single word about the Orchard (or much about the Brews, for that matter). It has taken a long time to raise public awareness of the old park, but Borchert Field will never be forgotten.

And the sky has got so cloudy
When it used to be so clear
And the summer went so quickly this year
Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here

More From Ebbets Field

Well, ask and ye shall receive.

Got a tip this morning - Ebbets Field has added a Borchert Field jacket to their line of Grounds Crew Jackets.

This is great news. The Brewers have traditionally been among the second-tier clubs in Ebbets Field Flannels, with several items in stock at all times.

But now it's our turn. If we can demonstrate an interest in Brews merchandise, we might be able to push the Milwaukee club up into San Francisco Seals or Seattle Rainiers territory.

Order yours today.

The Knothole Gang

From the archives of the Milwaukee Sentinel comes a delightful 1988 article about Borchert Field's knothole gang, including this picture of the boys watching a game through the Orchard's outfield wall:

Norman Rockwell, eat your heart out.

By 1988 some of the facts had become murky - Athletic Park was re-named for Otto Borchert after his death, not when he bought the team - but the personal reminisces of these young fans are so valuable they outweigh such little slips.

I'm intrigued by the notion that the Brews paid teenagers to lurk outside the ballpark and collect home run balls, and that any fans who caught a ball could redeem it for a game ticket. With those short portches forced by the confines of the city block, they must have seen a lot of dingers to the corners.

It's No Diego Rivera, But It'll Do

I have some rather mixed feelings towards Miller Park, but one of the things I absolutely love about the place is its respect for many areas of Milwaukee baseball history. In addition to the current Brewers and the Milwaukee Braves, there are shrines to lesser lights such as the Milwaukee Bears and Chicks, Milwaukee's brief experiements with the Negro National League and All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, respectively.

The Brews aren't so honored (yet, if I have anything to say about it), but they are immortalized alongside the Braves and the current ballclub in a series of murals around Miller Park.

There, between beermaking images, is a scene from Borchert Field.

Okay. That's the good. The bad is that, even allowing for artistic license, the Brews never wore anything like that in the Awkward Confines of the Orchard. That's the gray road uniform.

The cap shown there is from 1947-1952, the period in which the Boston Braves owned the team (and which would be subsequently adopted by the National League franchise when they moved west to the Cream City). The jersey, not so much.

We've talked a little about the Braves-era Brewers uniforms before. At home, the Brewers wore a script "Brewers". In 1947, the Brews were still wearing their classic wordmark, with its distinctive "B".

By 1952, the Brewers' last year of existence, their uniforms had evolved to almost a perfect match of those of the Braves:

The piping is now definitely red/navy/red. Note the style of "B" and the Greek "e" on the script, which originated in the Boston Braves wordmark (even the "w" is just two Braves' "v"s run together).

As an aside, and in the same anacronistic theme, I noticed an interesting detail on the mural honoring the 1970 Brewers, entitled "BACK IN THE BIG LEAGUES".

There on the scoreboard, right below Milt Mason (the original Bernie Brewer) in his perch, is a recolored Beer Barrel Man:

Not exactly true to the period, but very cool. Further justification for putting him on the team's sleeve. As if we needed any more.

A Pleasant Surprise

Following up on my previous post about Beer Barrel Man merchandise, he made another appearance at Miller Park this year, one which had previously flown under the radar.

On May 30th, 2009, the Brewers held a stadium promotion featuring a certain swinging batter:

This went unnoticed, because the page on the Brewers' site said only:

Cooler Bag

Receive a cooler bag.
First 15,000 Fans
(21 and older)
Presented by Miller High Life

Who knows what other retro goodies lie undeclared on the remaining 2009 schedule?

Mystery Merchandise Revealed

As I detailed in a previous post, Milwaukee Brewers spokesman Tyler Barnes had mentioned in a Journal Sentinel article back in March that the Beer Barrel Man merchandise was on the way:

The Barrel Man was used less after the 1978 season. Bernie Brewer gets top billing now, but Barrel Man still lurks at Miller Park.

"We have a good amount of Barrel Man products on order, and it should be in very soon," said Brewers spokesman Tyler Barnes. They include shirts, caps and plush Barrel Man toys.

I hadn't heard about them actually hitting Miller Park shelves until today.

Visiting my family in Milwaukee, I went to a game with my brother and stepfather. Aside from an outstanding 6-3 victory over the Mets, I found these in the Hot Corner team store:

It's an interesting assortment. Looking left to right, starting with the gold t-shirt:

This "Welcome Brewers" logo, while made to look as though from the 1970 inaugural season, was actually created in the 1990s by MLB Properties for inclusion in the Cooperstown Collection line.

MLB worked up a whole bunch of throwback logos for the various clubs. The same logo appears on the shot and pint glasses.

I like the 1970s Beer Barrel Man cap, even if I'm not wild about the gold bill. And the stuffed Men are pretty cute.


The second cap is definitely the same c. 1970 water transfer Flex-Cote decal we've seen before.

The blue t-shirt is a women's cut, and it features a variant of the Beer Barrel Man which was featured on the cover of the team's 1975 Media Guide (hence the uniform number).


For what it's worth, the caps seem to be the only items currently available in the Brewers' online shop. But that can change - I know the gold t-shirt was up there earlier in the season.

So, on the whole, my reaction? Something of a mixed bag. I wish there was more focus on the Beer Barrel Man himself, aside from the "Welcome Brewers" dressing. But I'm so glad the Brewers are finally recognizing this long-neglected chapter in their history (and Milwaukee baseball history in general), I don't really mind.

Now it's our turn. If you're also glad that he's getting a shout out in the land of the Ball and Glove, let the Brewers know. Perhaps even buy an item or two. That might be the only way we can get the National League outfit to recognize the legacy of the American Association Brewers in any form.

Let There Be Light(s)

On June 6, 1935, the Brewers took the field for the first time under Borchert Field's new floodlights.

Milwaukee wasn't the first American Association club to go electric - in 1931, the Columbus Redbirds had installed lights, and the following year they outdrew their parent Cardinals 310,000 to 279,000. When Redbirds General Manager Larry MacPhail jumped up to the Cincinnati Reds after the 1933 season, he dragged the big leagues into the Electric Age.

The first major league game played under floodlights was at Crosley Field on May 24, 1935 as 20,422 fans watched the Reds down Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1. As with Columbus, night baseball was a success in Cincy - the seven night games averaged 18,620 spectators, far and above the 4,700 average the remaining 69 home games drew.

The Brews had already jumped on the electric bandwagon, working on illuminating the Orchard, and less than two weeks later were ready to play their first game under the floodlights:

(click for full Milwaukee Journal article)

Borchert Field's unusual layout, wedged in between 7th and 8th Streets, forced some creative work from the lighting crew. The outfield standards were in fair territory and their infield counterparts were placed in front of the grandstands, as you can see in this 1940s promotional photo:

(Click to enlarge - huge)

As if the Orchard's sightlines hadn't been bad enough....

Gimme an "M"!

In this Milwaukee Journal photo from April 25, 1935, the Brewers inspect their new home uniforms, delivered just in time for Opening Day.

The caption reads:

Brewers Home, Look Over New Uniforms for Friday's Opening

The Milwaukee baseball team pulled in from Minneapolis at 5:30 a.m. Thursday and-much to the surprise of trainmen who know the late sleeping habits of ball players-turned out at once, having orders to report for practise at Borchert field. The picture shows Manager Sothoron and some of the players looking over the new uniforms they will wear Friday in the opening game. Left to right they are Ted Gullic, Sothoron, Wayne La Master, Ernie Wingard, Massmann, Detore, Hope, Forest Pressnell, Jack Rowe and Tony Rensa. (Journal Staff Photo)

I rather like the stylized M logo, matching the "MILWAUKEE" wordmark from the team's road jerseys. And is that a new cap Gullic is holding? Perhaps with a matching M? I'll see if I can dig up some more photos.

Sadly, this stylish new home uniform was to be short-lived; by the 1936 season, when Sothoron's boys brought the American Association pennant back to Milwaukee, the Brewers were wearing a block M over their hearts. The Brews would then stay with the block monogram until adopting a script wordmark for their jerseys in the late 1940s.

So why ditch the new jerseys?

I suspect I know the answer. It seems likely to me that the Brews decided to drop their new logo because they looked too much like that of the Minneapolis Millers, who were wearing an almost-identical monogram, modeled here by former Brewer legend Joe "Unser Choe" Howser, who spent several seasons off and on with Minneapolis:

I don't know when the Millers adopted their version of the "M" logo - reliable information on the Millers information isn't any easier to find than that of the Brewers - but it was no later than 1932. The "M" isn't exact, but it's pretty darn close to the Brewers' 1935 duds.

As of 1933 the Millers were sporting a more flowing M:

But by 1938, the Millers would return to their similar monogram, seen here on a young Ted Williams:

The logo had changed a bit in the intervening years. That's not quite the same as our 1935 Brewers' initial - the diagonal lines are thicker, and the verticals are missing the inside spur.

So, was that it? Did the Brews decide that their fancy new jerseys made them look more like Minnesotans than Wisconsinites? Again, more research is needed.

Who is That Mystery Man?

The LIFE Magazine photo archive on Google once again reveals new treasures.

You have to get creative with the search terms, though. Every new search term you add yields an entirely different set of results. Under a search for "world series braves" we find this series of photos of the 1957 World Championship parade down Wisconsin Avenue.

The item of particular interest to Brewers fans comes from these two photos of the Milwaukee Braves Boosters. At the left edge of the frame, next to the Boosters, we get a glimpse of a familiar uniform:

Does that group look like they know how to party, or what? Hilda's got her cowbell at the ready.

Unfortunately, there aren't any better photos of our mystery man, at least none yet posted. The photographer, Yale Joel, doesn't appear to have been particularly interested in him beyond his proximity to the Braves Boosters.

While we don't get a good look at him, we do know a little bit about his jersey. The patriotic "HEALTH" patch was worn on all major league jerseys in 1942 before being replaced by a stars-and-stripes shield. The American Association also wore the patch, and so far as I know, dropped it at the same time. The zip-front jersey with sleeve and neck piping would have been worn that year.

So we have what appears to be an older gentleman wearing a fifteen-year-old uniform to the Milwaukee Braves victory parade. But who is he? Does anybody recognize him? Could he be a former player, turned up to the parade in his old duds like a veteran at the Memorial Day parade? So many questions....

Hat tip once again to Hat tip to Lance Smith for continuing to teach me how to navigate the nigh-impenetrable archive. I can't help but wonder what other old Brews items are hidden out there, obscured by Google's poor search tagging.

New Brews merchandise from Ebbets Field Flannels

I got the new Ebbets Field Flannels catalogue in the mail yesterday (yes, I know, I'm terribly retro that way).

You can see their Grounds Crew Jackets on the website.

These garments are practical as they are affordable, and best of all, can be ordered in almost any team we make a jersey for!

That tears it - I'm going to get a Brews jacket. I love the style, and $79 is pretty good.

So what would it look like? We'd start with a basic navy jacket. It's tempting to put the stadium name on the back, but I think I would prefer to use the elegant 1940s wordmark, as was actually seen on the ushers' uniforms:

Maybe even with the city name above it:

Okay. So that's the back. But what about the front? The Brewers never had a really identifying cap logo, so I'd have to go with something like Owgust. The "running" version the Brews wore on team jackets in the 1940s.

So whad'ya say? Anybody with me? The more interest in Brews merchandise we show, the more stuff Ebbets Field will make.