How Bud Selig Brought Baseball Back to Milwaukee

Worcester Red Sox Show: Charles Steinberg Reflects on Milwaukee Brewers World Series Victory

By-Hank Stolz
Graphic-Radio Worcester/ Photo: Worcester Red Sox

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Worcester, MA- Dr. Charles Steinberg, President of the Worcester Red Sox, who worked for Baseball Commissioner and Milwaukee Brewers owner, Bud Selig for a number of years, tells us how the franchise came into existence.

Milwaukee’s Baseball Roots

The origins of the Milwaukee Brewers trace back to 1901, when the franchise began as an American League team before moving to St. Louis as the Browns, and eventually becoming today’s Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball returned to Milwaukee in 1953 through the relocating Boston Braves, who assembled a powerhouse roster including Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, winning the 1957 World Series and breaking attendance records, only to depart for Atlanta in 1966 after new ownership sought larger markets.

Bud Selig’s Campaign to Bring Baseball Back

Left without a team for the first time in modern baseball history, a young Bud Selig, then working in auto leasing launched an unlikely campaign to restore baseball to Milwaukee.

He organized local business leaders including Schlitz Brewing CEO Bob Uihlein and Oscar Meyer himself, invested $1.5 million, and even sued baseball unsuccessfully to block the Braves’ departure.

His breakthrough came in 1967 when he convinced the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox to play a midseason exhibition game, drawing over 50,000 fans despite initial projections of 20,000.

From the Seattle Pilots to the Milwaukee Brewers

After expansion bids were awarded to Kansas City, Seattle, San Diego and Montreal rather than Milwaukee, Selig improbably secured the financially troubled Seattle Pilots just days before the 1970 season opener, discovering the news via a newspaper editor’s phone call.

With only one week to launch the franchise, the team retained the Pilots’ blue and gold colors while adopting the historic “Brewers” name.

The Packers organization assisted with ticket sales and staff, and Vince Lombardi personally supported the effort.