1944 Team Photo

Heritage Auctions

This gorgeous 1944 Brewers team photo was recently sold by Heritage Auctions.

Right in the center, we have Casey Stengel, the Perfessor himself. To his right sits coach Red Smith, one of the Brewers' stawarts for decades. Some of the others are harder to identify. Fortunately for us, an almost-identical photo, taken at the same time, was published in the Milwaukee Journal on Sunday, July 23, 1944.

—Journal Staff

Here are your Milwaukee Brewers who Wednesday night will oppose the stars of the seven other American association teams in the annual All-Star game at Borchert field. Left to right, they are (top row) Owen Scheetz, pitcher; Frank Secory, outfielder; Julio Acosta, pitcher; Roy Easterwood, catcher; Ed LEvy, outfielder; Bill Norman, outfielder; Charles Sproull, pitcher; Earl Caldwell, pitcher; George Binks, utility man; Floyd Speer, pitcher; (second row) Trainer Robert Feron, Coach Red Smith, Manager Casey Stengel; Ken Raddant, catcher; Ed Scheiwe, utility infielder; Jack Farmer, pitcher; General Manager Rudy Schaffer; (bottom row) Bill Nagel, third baseman; Heinz Becker, first baseman; Harold Peck, outfielder; Tommy Nelson, second baseman; Don Hendrickson, pitcher; Jim Pruett, catcher; Dick Culler, shortstop, and Charles Gassaway, pitcher. Batboy Clyde Liedtke is in front.

This is also a wonderful look at Borchert Field being prepared for a game, with the rows of fixed seats in back and the very spiffy ushers setting up folding chairs in the field boxes.

With team prexy Bill Veeck in the Marines, these Brewers would go on to glory, bringing the 1944 American Association pennant to the Cream City fans. The glory would be short-lived; Stengel would move on after only one season in Milwaukee, following conflicts with team management. But that's a story for another day.