"The Patch"

"The Patch"
by Paul Tenpenny
(Tencentz@aol.com)
Copyright 2013 Tencentzports
Printed with permission of the Author

A frequently talked about item from the collection of the late Bill Topitzes has surfaced and will be preserved and displayed in the MEARS Museum says its President, Troy Kinunen.

Bill Topitzes pictured on the right

Bill had a long history working with the Brews from the early forties until their departure after the 1952 season. "Greek" and this author often talked about an artifact we called "The Patch," but it was buried in a storage container along with other items while work was being done at his home. His failing health denied me the opportunity to verify its existence. When Bill passed away, I was concerned that it would be lost in the shuffle.

While visiting Troy in South Milwaukee yesterday, I was able to see it for the first time. (MEARS Auctions recently handled Bill's collection for his family.)

"The Patch" of course is an image of Owgust, the mascot of the Milwaukee Brewers.

1942 Milwaukee Brewers Score Card

While this version of Owgust showed up on the 1942 scorecard, partial glimpses of him on a team jacket fueled great interest among Borchert fans for decades.

1943 Milwaukee Brewers - see team jacket far left
(Author's Collection)

This team logo was introduced by president Bill Veeck as part of a uniform overhaul in 1942:

Well, I can report that the "Grail" exists!!!

An awe inspiring day for me to finally meet up with this precious artifact. MEARS was kind enough to provide a nice high-resolution photo for us.

Owgust!!!
(Courtesy of the Mears Museum)

While both Chance Michaels and I would love to personally own this piece of history, our sincere thanks to Troy Kinunen for sharing him with us and for a museum which will continue to preserve local baseball history for many years to come.