Young and Polli in Spring Training

This Spring Training wire photo, dated April 2, 1933, shows catcher Russ Young conferring with right-handed pitcher Lou Polli.

Let's look first at the two men.

Russell Charles Young was an institution behind the plate at Borchert Field, with over 800 appearances in a Milwaukee uniform over the course of eleven seasons. He made his professional debut with the 1923 Brewers at the ripe old age of twenty. A two-sport athlete, Young left baseball in 1925 to play one season with his hometown Dayton Triangles of the NFL. He must have decided he had a better future in baseball, because he was back with the Brewers in 1926. In 1931, he had a cup of coffee with the St. Louis Browns, during the brief time the Brewers were owned in part by Philip De Catesby Ball, who also owned the Browns. Young saw action in sixteen games during his time in the majors, but managed only a .118 batting average, and was back with the Brewers the following spring. He flourished in Milwaukee, and bounced back with an excellent season as the Brews' starting backstop. As the picture was taken he was about to have his best season overall; in 1933 he played 113 games as catcher with a .302 batting average and 72 RBI.

Louis Americo Polli has been called "one of the greatest pitchers in minor league history". He was born in Baveno, Italy in 1901, immigrating to America with his family when he was just seven months old. After coming up through the Yankees organization, he came to the Brewers in 1931. Like Young, Polli also spent a short stint with the Browns; his was in 1932, making him the first Italian-born player in Major League Baseball history. He pitched 6²⁄₃ innings over five games in St. Louis, earning an ERA of 5.40. He had more luck that year as a starter in Milwaukee, making appearances in 26 games and earning a record of 14-6. Polli threw a no-hitter against the St. Paul Saints on September 7, 1935, before moving to the International League's Montreal Royals at the end of the season. His career would eventually span twenty-three seasons, all of it in the minors except that one stint with the Browns and a slightly longer nineteen-game run with the New York Giants in 1944. When he died in 2000, he was the oldest living former major league pitcher.

This is one of my favorite Brewer uniforms; about eight years ago I had Ebbets Field Flannels make a reproduction. Very classic; navy details on gray flannel. Pinstripes and piping, rare to see these two elements paired these days but not uncommon in its era.

The photo itself is also interesting for the retouching. Click to enlarge, and you can see the details exaggerated and rough edges smoothed out in those very pre-Photoshop days.

Young's face has been pulled away from the background by a liberal application of white, and dark streaks accentuate the detailing on Polli's uniform.

There are more interesting details in the lower half of the photo:

Look at the suit of armor Young is wearing on his legs. Looks like rivets.

We can also see that Polli's socks have a Northwestern stripe pattern, one thick stripe surrounded by two thinner stripes. It's dangerous to extrapolate colors from old sepia-toned photographs. I presume those are the same socks our Brewers were wearing in 1931: red stripes on a navy background.

All in all, another wonderful look at our Brewers from the early 1930s.

1940 Negro League Pass

This amazing Negro League season pass recently came up for auction on eBay.

Good for all American Negro League baseball games at Borchert Field. Outstanding.

At first glance, you may be wondering what this is about. Milwaukee is not today known for its Negro League legacy; we all know about the 1923 Milwaukee Bears, but they were so short-lived that the Brewers may have played more games in Bear throwback uniforms by now than the original Bears ever played.

Milwaukee's history with the Negro Leagues runs deeper than just the one team, though. After the Bears folded, the Chicago American Giants used it as a second home in the 1930s and 1940s, even hosting playoff games in 1939.



Milwaukee also saw many traveling teams come to Borchert Field. It was one of those teams, the Kansas City Monarchs, who brought their $30,000 portable light system to the Orchard in 1930, giving the Cream City its first-ever taste of night baseball. That game was arranged by local promoter Eddie Stumpf, one of the names listed on this pass.

Stumpf was a native Milwaukeean who broke into baseball in 1916 as a catcher for the Brewers. He played briefly for the Brews and the Columbus Senators before going into sports promotion. He brought the best baseball shows to Borchert Field, including exhibition teams led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

At the age of 47 he returned to the diamond as a player/manager for the Janesville Cubs of the Wisconsin State League. It was there he heard about Cubs' president Philip K. Wrigley's plan for a girls' softball league, which would eventually be known as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Stumpf was hired as the Wisconsin organizer of the league, overseeing tryouts at Borchert Field.

In 1946, team president Bill Veeck hired Stumpf to oversee the Brewers' farm system, which at the time included four lower-level clubs.

in 1954, as general manager of the Indianapolis Indians, Stumpf was selected "Outstanding Minor League Official" by the Sporting News. His last job in baseball was as a consultant to Bud Selig's American League Brewers from 1970 through 1972.

Veeck Calling, 1943

From the Chicago Tribune archives comes this lovely staged photo of our very own Sport Shirt Bill.

William Veeck Jr., president of the Milwaukee Brewers and former Chicago Cubs official, finds the telephone useful in helping dispose of the association's war time problems in 1943. (Chicago Tribune)

Mugging for the cameras a bit, our Bill. He knew promotions better than anyone, and he also knew that he was part of the product.

Milwaukee Brewers Grounds Crew Jacket (New and Improved!)

Ebbets Field Flannels is introducing a new line of Grounds Crew Jackets, replacing the versions they've had in production since 2009.

Their Borchert Field version includes a special treat for Milwaukee Brewer fans: an Owgust patch!

MILWAUKEE BREWERS GROUNDS CREW JACKET

$125.00 $99.00

American Association

History: The American Association Brewers started play in 1903, with the colorfully-named Jiggs Donahue leading the league in hitting. The club maintained a rabid fan base for half a century, until they were supplanted by the Boston Braves, who became the first MLB franchise in modern history to relocate. The Brewers name was revived in 1970 when the bankrupt Seattle Pilots moved to the Cream City.

ITEM: MILWJ

PRODUCT DETAILS

• Lightweight cotton blend water resistant fabric
• Heavy duty brass zipper
• Slash pockets in front
• Felt chest emblem & felt letters on back
• Pencil pocket on left sleeve
• Cellphone pocket inner-left chest
• Made in the USA

Please allow 3 - 4 weeks for production

Can't wait to see this.

The Sports Parade: May 4, 1941

Published seventy-six years ago today, a fantastic full page of Brewer coverage from the Milwaukee Sentinel. Click to enlarge and savor every detail:

A Sunny Yellow Flag for a Great Place, 1975

I recently came across this photo of local artist Leland (Lee) Tishler, who won a 1975 contest to redesign Milwaukee's city flag. As you might remember from my lengthy article last year, this was one of a series of Milwaukee flag design contests held during the 20th Century.

–Journal Photo

Artist L.G. Tishler displayed his winning design for a new city flag.

Tishler's entry was a notched yellow banner featuring symbols of Milwaukee's people, parks, industry and lakefront.

His original design, seen in the wire photo above, included three male figures across the top. In the inclusive spirit of the time, these were revised to an adult male and female flanking a female child.

It is very 70s in its bold iconography, isn't it?

In recognition of his work, Tishler was awarded a $100 savings bond at a ceremony at City Hall, and then his design was quietly shelved. The common council considered borrowing bits and pieces of it for another composite design, but ultimately abandoned it.

This is a fantastic find - I'm going to update the original post to include this and the 1950 design winner.

A Bold Civic Banner, 1950

I recently came across this wire photo, which gives us a look at what Milwaukee's flag might have been.

The contest for a Milwaukee flag was won by this entry at the city hall Tuesday. It was designed by Alfred P. Dannenmann (not shown), 17, of 2859 N. 4th st. Shown are Carl P. Dietz, chairman of the city art commission, and Francesco Spicuzza, an artist and a member of the commission. The first prize was a $100 savings bond.

As discussed in a series of lengthy posts last year, the 1950 contest was one of many over the past century-plus to create a timeless flag for the Cream City. This is the first time I was aware of the name of the winning entry's designer. He was just seventeen years old at the time.

We previously saw this design in a Milwaukee Journal photo of some of the designs entered into the competition.

With this wire photo and a little Photoshop magic, we get a pretty good look at the design.

I find that I don't dislike the design. There's a real draftsman quality to it. Of course, it's way too wordy, which is a huge pitfall in vexillological design. Do "HOMES", "INDUSTRY", and "SHIPPING" really need to be labeled? That aside, the central image of gears and lightning bolt, stripped of the other elements, might have made for a fine municipal design. It seems very much of its time; very industrial-optimistic, very Reddy Kilowatt. And unfortunately, we can only imagine what Mr. Dannenmann's color scheme was. I'd like to think he chose a light blue for his background, as the eventual city banner featured.

"The last opening day at Milwaukee's Borchert Field", 1952

Fans are right up on the action during opening day at Borchert Field on April 16, 1952. Attendance was 11,190 for the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Minneapolis Millers, in what was the final home opener played at the Milwaukee ballpark. (Milwaukee Journal)

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel just published an amazing retrospective of the last home opener at Borchert Field.

Our Back Pages: The last opening day at Milwaukee's Borchert Field

Chris Foran
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Published 8:24 a.m. CT March 28, 2017 | Updated 4:25 p.m. CT March 28, 2017

It was the end of an era, but at least it was warm and sunny.

On April 16, 1952, the minor-league Milwaukee Brewers played in what everyone knew was going to be the last opening day ever at Borchert Field against the Minneapolis Millers.

"Borchert's Orchard" had been the home of Milwaukee baseball for half a century. But the wood-framed stadium — rickety, worn out, its roof ripped off by a windstorm eight years earlier — was making way for a new baseball palace. Workers were in the home stretch on County Stadium, the Menomonee Valley ballpark being built ostensibly to house the 1953 Brewers but really to lure Major League Baseball back to Milwaukee.

But on this spring day, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s, Borchert Field, at the corner of N. 8th and W. Chambers streets, was where the national pastime returned for one final opener.

The Brewers came into the 1952 season with high expectations. The team had won the American Association pennant in 1951, and beaten the Montreal Royals in the "Junior World Series."

"A holiday atmosphere pervaded the old field," The Milwaukee Journal's Bob Wolf reported in his game story on April 17, 1952.

"The park was spruced up for its last opening-day fling. Bunting billowed in the fresh breeze, and the many shirt-sleeved fans provided an unusual sight for such an early opening," Wolf wrote. "Even the grass was surprisingly green."

After a color guard ceremony came the speeches. Wolf reported that Frank Zeidler – who was sworn in to start his second term as Milwaukee's mayor the day before – "drew a laugh when he suggested the shortest speech on record: 'Milwaukee, hurrah; Minneapolis, hah-hah; umpires, bah.' "

Once the game started, the Millers struck first. Brewers shortstop Johnny Logan, who had set a league record the year before with 46 straight games without an error, fumbled a grounder hit by future Hall of Famer Ray Dandridge, and before it was over, the Millers had scored three runs.

The Brewers responded with four runs in the bottom of the first, powered by a three-run homer by Hank Ertman. But that was the only lead the Brewers would have in the game, as the Millers pounded four pitchers for 14 hits and won, 11-5.

"It emphasized again that we must have some experienced pitchers to get along in this league," Manager Charlie Grimm told the Milwaukee Sentinel in its April 17, 1952, game report. "And the sooner the better."

Attendance for the game was 11,190, 40 more than were at the 1951 opener, which the Sentinel reported had more "rugged" weather. But, the Sentinel added, "most of the fans took the shellacking in good spirits."

Concessionaire Jack Schwid told the Journal that he had his best opening-day business in years. The Journal dutifully ran the numbers: "The fans consumed 7,425 hot dogs, 12,780 bottles of beer, 8,700 bottles of soft drinks, 3,800 bags of peanuts, and 2,040 ice cream bars. Sales averaged 55 cents a head."

The Brewers regrouped from that opening-day defeat to top the American Association standings again in 1952, only to lose in the playoffs to the Kansas City Blues, 4 games to 3.

Demolition of the old ballpark began in December of 1952. County Stadium opened for business, with the major-league Milwaukee Braves, in April 1953. Two months later, Borchert was gone, replaced by a city tot lot and, later, by I-43.

There's also an amazing photo gallery.

Give the Journal Sentinel a click, so we can get more articles covering the Orchard's history.

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.