Video From the Orchard

Milwaukee historian Bob Buege was on WTMJ's "The Morning Blend" promoting his new book "Borchert Field: Stories from Milwaukee's Legendary Ballpark", and shares not only some stories but some rare video.



Check out the video on YouTube, it's amazing.

"Borchert Field: Stories from Milwaukee's Legendary Ballpark"

Milwaukee baseball historian has a new book out, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. And brother, is it a doozy.

Borchert Field: Stories from Milwaukee’s Legendary Ballpark is three hundred and ninety-two pages of pure history gold. I can't say enough about it, but if you're here you certainly don't need me to.

Buy a copy from your local bookshop or directly from the Wisconsin Historical Society itself and support this grand work.

Bob Thorpe Wire Photo, 1951

This gorgeous photo shows outfielder Bob Thorpe in his Brewer uniform standing on the grass of Borchert Field.

He looks like he's waiting for a popup to come down, although the men in the background betray the staging.

Thorpe was a right-handed outfielder who had worked his way up through the Braves' organization. He was in his sixth year of organized baseball, starting with the Florida State League's Gainesville G-Men and ending with the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association in the year before this photo was taken. Milwaukee was the last stop on the way to the majors, which is exactly where he was headed.

1951 was a good year for Thorpe. He led the Brews in runs and stolen bases, and was in the top four in hits, doubles, triples, home runs and RBI. His batting average was just a point below .300. All of which earned him a spot on the Braves' roster in 1952, and when he next returned to Milwaukee it was with the rest of the Braves team in the spring of 1953.

The photo doesn't have any copyright, newspaper stamps or wire service information. It is simply stamped "FILED MAY 2, 1951".

It is particularly interesting for its look at the outfield ads, most notably WEMP radio up top (proudly boasting of its Brewer baseball broadcasts with Earl Gillespie) and Miller High Life down below.

I'm not familiar with the John Schroeder Lumber & Supply Company, but a quick Google search tells me that it was a Milwaukee-based lumber company, at one point among the largest lumber retailers in the United States. They owned logging forests upstate as well as Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

That's a gorgeous uniform Thorpe is wearing. It illustrates the Brewers' move from fully-independent club to minor-league affiliate, as the uniforms became more and more like the parent club's. The rich, cream-colored flannel stands out in this photo.

1922 Oorang Indians vs. Milwaukee Badgers Government Postcard

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1919 Schedule Card

This 1919 schedule card sold a couple years ago on eBay. A simple wallet-sized card, it lists the team's schedule, both "At Home" and "Abroad".

On the back, a 1919 calendar.

Notice that there's no team nickname. There's a very good reason for that, but it's a story for another time.

Happy Holidays from Jolly Cholly and All of Us!

We've published this holiday card before, but hey. Classics are classics.

Have a Jolly Cholly Christmas, and Happy Holidays from everyone at Borchert Field!


The story behind our seasonal photo is here.

PFC Veeck Reports, 1943

In honor of Veterans' Day, here's a photo of our very own Private First Class Bill Veeck reporting for duty.

Marine Private William L. Veeck, 29, who started out selling pop in baseball parks and now owns the profitable Milwaukee Brewers ball club, starts a new career -that of a leatherneck. Veeck is reporting to his recruit tent at San Diego, following his initial equipment issue on Dec. 24, 1943. — Marine Corps photo from Acme

Mini Pennant c. 1950s

I just picked up this cute little pennant on eBay. It's smaller than the 1936-37 Red Ball Gum pennant we looked at a couple years ago. And unlike that other pennant, it eschews graphics altogether in favor of steeply-angled text trailing down to a point: "MILWAUKEE BREWERS" in gold piant on dark brown felt.

At 2⅞ by 1⅞, this is a very tiny souvenir of a bygone age.

We can date this to the American Association Brewers (as opposed to the later American League incarnation) by other exemplars from American Association clubs. I have photos of similar pennants for the Louisville Colonels (in burgandy), the Minneapolis Millers (navy) and St. Paul Saints (green).

Beyond that, I don't have any information on this pennant. I'm presuming that it was a premium, but for what? Baseball cards? Cigarettes? Anybody know?

Gone Fishing

I'm going to take a little break from this site. Well, maybe not a break so much as a slowdown.

The Journal Sentinel's decision to pull their archives off the web has hit me pretty hard. Even though we have reports that decision may be temporary, I'm going to run on a reduced schedule for a little while. I hope you'll bear with me.

Journal Sentinel Archive to Return?

Library Journal reports some good news, that the Journal Sentinel archives, pulled from Google last month, may be returning soon:

A popular digital Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper archive will "soon" be available again to Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) patrons after it abruptly vanished without explanation on August 16, the paper's president told Library Journal on Wednesday.

The online archive, which spanned millions of digital pages covering roughly 120 years of local history in city newspapers, had been available at MPL since 2009 through the Google News Archive. The database was removed without warning, leaving researchers, genealogists, and other library patrons in the lurch.

But Chris Stegman, who took over as Milwaukee Journal Sentinel president in June, said the digital archive's disappearance was nothing more than an unfortunate mix-up caused by a switch to a new computer system at the newspaper, which was purchased by the Gannett Corporation in April.

"That's hopefully going to be resolved soon," he said of the archive's removal, adding that he could not pinpoint a more precise date for its return. Google will no longer host the online material, Stegman added.

"The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a partnership with NewsBank to develop and maintain a digitized, permanent collection of our valuable archival information," Stegman wrote in a September 14 e-mail to LJ. "This is a massive development project involving digitizing millions of pages of microfilm. Once completed, NewsBank will provide the archive service to our newspaper and community, including the Milwaukee Public Library."

He continued: "NewsBank and the Milwaukee Public Library are in discussion to establish the business terms for this service. The library currently has a no-fee trial of the sample collection; library patron access to the archive is subject to further negotiation and agreement between NewsBank and the library."

So there's hope yet. I wouldn't paying a reasonable amount for access to the archives, so long as they're made available. Milwaukee's history has been uniquely accessible, as both major papers have had extensive archives posted to Google. That history is currently lost to us, but hopefully will return soon.