110: Milwaukee County Stadium-MLB & NFL

Sports' Forgotten Heroes

In 1950, the residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin were given hope. Hope that with the building of a new stadium, professional sports would follow. Well, it didn’t happen right away, but it didn’t take too long before Lou Perini moved his Boston Braves of the National League to Milwaukee. On, April 6, 1953, the Milwaukee Braves took the field for the first time in County Stadium and a love affair between a city and its team was born. In fact, even today, there are those who can’t get over the fact that the Braves packed up after the 1965 season and left for Atlanta. Even with the Seattle Pilots moving to Milwaukee in 1970, there are those who felt so betrayed, they have watched baseball since. They enjoyed the experience of going to County Stadium and watching their beloved team featuring the likes of Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews and so many others win the World Series in 1957. They came out in record-breaking numbers … over two-million packed the Stadium in 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957 – they were the first team to cross that threshold. The Brewers moved into the old ballpark in 1970 and stayed through the 2000 season; and the Green Bay Packers played anywhere from two to four games there every year between 1953 and 1994. Even the Chicago White Sox played a few “home” games there during the 1968 and 1969 seasons. Was the stadium a palace? Nope. Did it have phenomenal, ultra-modern features? Nope. It was just a structure. A building where people could go to watch the favorite baseball players, their favorite football players, grab a hot dog and a drink, sit back and take it all in. In his new book, “On Story Parkway,” author Jim Cryns recalls the events that led up to the building of the stadium, the determination of Bud Selig to get another baseball franchise in Milwaukee after the Braves left and the great memories and stories so many had in relation to the stadium on this episode of Sports’ Forgotten Heroes. Join me and Jim as we talk about the history of Milwaukee County Stadium, some of the great events that happened there, its birth and its final stand.

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