Party Like it's 1999

The Beer Barrel Man (known in his original incarnation as "Owgust") has been a symbol of Milwaukee baseball for decades. But aside from a brief spell on team jackets in the 1940s, he never made the uniforms. Until 1999. Ironically, it would come on an occasion when the team was looking to the future, not the past.

On July 23, 1999, the Brewers and the Florida Marlins played a “Turn Ahead the Clock” game in Miami. For years, MLB had featured “Turn Back the Clock” games featuring old uniforms and concession prices. The 1999 season saw a reversal in this format, in which teams hypothesized their own future, with futuristic pullover uniforms (but not, hopefully, future concession prices). For most clubs, the future looked much like the present. The Brewers, however, postulated a future in which the Beer Barrel Man would be returned to a position of prominence:

This is the first instance of which I'm aware that the Beer Barrel Man had graced a Milwaukee uniform (he did make an appearance on the team's jackets in the 1940s).



Here's how the look appeared in the MLB Style Guide:


While the Jetsons jersey template isn't anything to applaud, it was great to see the BBM back again. I bought one of those caps at County Stadium back in the day, wish I could find another.