Love of Baseball in Milwaukee: the Cream Citys, Bears, Orioles, Braves and Brewers

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Abner Doubleday may not have known that his game would change people, cities, and an entire nation, but that happened to Milwaukee and the United States. Milwaukee’s “first” baseball game played in 1859, ended after three innings with a score of 40-35 (Mishler 1). Yet, that was only the beginning of Milwaukee’s love affair with baseball. Fans have cheered for Bears, Brewers and Braves, among others. Through thick and thin, Milwaukeeans have supported their heroes and the heroes have given it right back; this is the story of Milwaukee and its main love, baseball.

Eighteen years after the first game in Milwaukee, the Cream Citys joined the National League. On May 9, 1878, the Cream Citys beat Indianapolis by a score of 2-1. Sam Weaver tossed a no-no to get Milwaukee’s first win (Mishler 1). Managed by Jack Chapman, the team went 15-45 to finish 26 games back of the NL Champ Boston Red Caps. One of the only bright spots was the play of Abner Dalrymple who finished with a .354 average. The team went bankrupt and would not play another season.

Today’s Baltimore Orioles were yesterday’s Milwaukee Brewers, with yesterday meaning 1894-1901. For the first six years the Brewers were a part of the Western League, which was a minor league. In 1900, the Western League declared itself a major league opposite of the National League (NL). The Western League then became the American League (AL) with only eight teams competing. The Brewers finished the year with a 48-89 record, good for last in the AL. The team relocated to St. Louis after the season and became the Browns.

John Anderson was the star of the Brewers, as he led the team in every statistical category besides triples and walks. In 139 games, Anderson hit .330, with 8 homers an...

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...e NL History of the Brewers. Recently, the Brewers have had back-to-back winning seasons and look to do the same in 2009.

Works Cited

Buege, Bob. The Milwaukee Braves: A Baseball Eulogy. Milwaukee: Douglas American Sports, 1988.

Hamann, Rex, and Bob Koehler. American Association Milwaukee Brewers, The (WI) (Images of Baseball). Grand Rapids: Arcadia, 2004.

Hoffmann, Gregg. Down in the Valley The History of Milwaukee County Stadium. New York: Partners Group, 2003.

"John Anderson Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com." Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Baseball Statistics and History. 22 Mar. 2009 .

Mishler, Todd. Baseball in Beertown America's pastime in Milwaukee. Black Earth, Wis: Prairie Oak P, 2005.

Rambeck, Richard. History of the Milwaukee Brewers. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education, 1999.

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