A Day at Athletic Park, 1909

by Paul Tenpenny

Athletic Park exterior, 1909

100 years ago, photographer Sumner W. Matteson's camera captured a baseball game at Athletic Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (later to be re-named Borchert Field). One of the resulting photos was colorized and turned into a great postcard.

Postcard of Borchert Field, 1909

A good time and a few Blatz beers were enjoyed by the fans
...showing the aftermath of the game.

Close up of Val Blatz Beer case circa 1909

Recently obtained sign made from a Val Blatz case

The black and white images are courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Museum.

One Hundred Years Ago Today...

There's a fascinating project underway at The American Association Almanac. Rex Hamann is chronicling the 1909 pennant race with a "This Day in History" format, providing box scores and game recaps from a century ago.

In the summer of 1909, the Milwaukee Brewers were locked in a tight race the Minneapolis Millers and Louisville Colonels. On September 11th, with three weeks to play, the Brewers had a three game lead over the Millers. Since then, it's been tightening up.

Even though we know how the story ends (I'm not going to spoil it here), it's a fascinating tale and a tremendously ambitious research project. Thanks, Rex!

Now That's What I'm Talking About

The San Francisco Airport Museum, located (as one might expect) within San Francisco International Airport, currently has an exhibit devoted to the Pacific Coast League's glory era. The display is amazing - programs, pennants, trophies, player memorabilia and equipment from the League's eight primary franchises: the Hollywood Stars, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Oaks, Portland Beavers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Seals, Sacramento Solons and Seattle Rainiers in all their glory.

I particularly like the uniforms.

Great photos here. It's my dream to help create an exhibit like this devoted to the Brews. With the possible exception of the location - not that I don't like Mitchell Field.

Pacific Coast League: the West Coast’s Major League 1903-1957 is on view in the International Terminal Main Hall through October 30, 2009. I'm tempted to buy a ticket through SFO just to see it.

A Little Labor Day Uni Watching

We got some nice press this holiday weekend from Paul Lukas' fabulous Uni Watch site.

They've been running a series on re-designing Major League clubs, and my Brewers designs (most recently discussed here) were a major focus. That, and Uni Watch stalwart David Frost's concepts. Frosty makes handmade jerseys (he's what Lukas refers to as a "DIYer"), mostly from his own concepts but recently adapted from mine, including this beauty:

He does amazing work - I love using the "fielding Owgust" as a sleeve patch. Frosty's agreed to make a jersey of my one of my concepts for me if I can ever get up to the Fashion District to look for soutache.

Thanks to Phil Hecken and Uni Watch for the article - nice to get some notice for the site. If only we can catch the eye of someone at 1 Brewers Way....