The Braves and the Brewers

Milwaukee has always been a city that loves baseball, but until 1953, the city did not have its own major league baseball team. Since 1902, one of the most beloved minor league teams in the country had been the Milwaukee Brewers. They played at Borchert Field, a tiny antiquated stadium. Milwaukee County Stadium was built in 1950 as a replacement, but more importantly, to lure a big league team to the city. In 1953, the Boston Braves announced that they would move to the city. Residents were ecstatic. The opening season broke a national league attendance record. It helped that the Braves were a superior team. They won the World Series in 1957 and the National League pennant the following year. But then they lost momentum and Milwaukeeans lost enthusiasm for the team. Even though attendance dropped, Milwaukee residents were upset when the team left for Atlanta in 1965.

Major League baseball returned to Milwaukee in 1970 when the expansion team, the Seattle Pilots, moved to the city and changed their name to the Brewers. The Brewers didn't repeat the immediate success of the Braves but went to the World Series in 1982. Still, the city loves the Brewers through both its good and bad seasons. Milwaukee County Stadium was razed in 2000 to make room for Miller Park which opened in 2001.

In 2004 The Milwaukee Brewers where bought by Mark Attanasio.



Time Line

1674 to 1840
Native Milwaukeeans
The French
The Founders

1840 to 1865
The Bridge War
A City Joined
The Germans
BEER
Wheat

1865 to 1900
Growth
Steel & Iron
Workers vs. Owners
The Poles

1900 to 1920
Socialist Era Begins
Mayor Dan Hoan
WWI Anti-Germanism

1920 to 1950
Prohibition
The Depression
"Best Governed City in the U.S."
World War II

1950 to 2003
Growing Pains
Civil Rights
Urban Renewel
Braves & Brewers
 

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