As we've covered countless times in past editions of this series, Milwaukee's major league history reaches all the way back to 1901 when the original Milwaukee Brewers were part of the American League's inaugural season. The Brewers moved after just one year in Milwaukee, however, and it was 67 years before another AL game was played in the city.
On this day in 1968, however, County Stadium hosted an AL game for the first time. The Chicago White Sox came north for the day and played their first of nine regular season home games in Milwaukee. 23,510 fans came out to watch them take on the California Angels. The White Sox weren't very good (losing 4-2 on this day dropped them to 11-17) and the Angels weren't all that exciting either (the win improved them to 15-18), but Major League Baseball was back in the city for the first time since the Braves left following the 1965 season.
As I mentioned earlier, the White Sox hosted nine games at County Stadium that season. The next year they also hosted a game against the Seattle Pilots, who would take over the ballpark in 1970 as the new Milwaukee Brewers.
With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- Brevard County Manatee Miguel Velasquez, who turns 24.
- 1997-2000 Brewer Steve Woodard, who turns 37.
- Larue Baber, the Brewers' top pick in the 1990 draft (#54 overall), who turns 40.
- 1983-85 Brewer Rick Watts, who turns 60.
Today is also the anniversary of two very long Brewer games. On this day in 1973 the Brewers beat the Indians 2-1, and on this day in 2003 they lost 4-3 to the Cubs. Both games went 17 innings and are tied for the sixth longest game in franchise history. The 2003 game is the longest in Brewer history between two NL teams.
Finally, today is the 21st anniversary of Paul Molitor's 1991 cycle as the Brewers beat the Twins 4-2. We covered that event in this space last year.