The Knothole Gang

From the archives of the Milwaukee Sentinel comes a delightful 1988 article about Borchert Field's knothole gang, including this picture of the boys watching a game through the Orchard's outfield wall:

Norman Rockwell, eat your heart out.

By 1988 some of the facts had become murky - Athletic Park was re-named for Otto Borchert after his death, not when he bought the team - but the personal reminisces of these young fans are so valuable they outweigh such little slips.

I'm intrigued by the notion that the Brews paid teenagers to lurk outside the ballpark and collect home run balls, and that any fans who caught a ball could redeem it for a game ticket. With those short portches forced by the confines of the city block, they must have seen a lot of dingers to the corners.