Brewers 40th anniversary season (promotions)

[bjkrautk]

The Milwaukee Brewers will celebrate 40 years as a franchise this season with four different "Retro Weekends" featuring appearances by former Brewers, all-fan bobblehead giveaways on "Retro Weekend" Sundays, and a new anniversary logo that players will wear on the Brewers' home, road and alternate uniforms.

Fans also will have the chance to vote on the 40 greatest moments of Brewers baseball with a "40 Years/40 Moments" promotion in partnership with Fox Sports Wisconsin, the Brewers Web site and WTMJ-AM (Radio 620), the flagship station of the Brewers. The 40 greatest moments will be announced at the end of the season.

The new logo and patch evoke the history of the team and the brewing industry and employs the "Beer Barrel" design behind the current "M" logo.

The team plans to sell special apparel that includes the logo for the first time at the Brewers on Deck show on Jan. 31 and at the Brewers Team Store at Miller Park.

Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers' executive vice president for business operations, said plans to celebrate 40 years of Brewer baseball took months of planning involving a number of front-office departments.

"We talked to other teams. The one thing about baseball is the connectivity between fans and a team's history," Schlesinger said.

The idea to concentrate much of the celebrations on weekend was chosen because weekends "have the most impact," Schlesinger said.

Research has also shown that Brewers' fans like and respond to all-fan bobblehead giveaways, Schlesinger said. "When we start selling tickets, the first games to go are bobblehead games," Schlesinger said.

The bobbleheads will each represent one of the greatest moments in the club's history and will be handed out on each Sunday of the Retro Weekends.

Here are the details of each Retro Weekend:

1970s Retro Weekend: On May 14 in a series against the Philadelphia Phillies, players will wear reproductions of the home 1972-'77 uniforms with "BREWERS" in royal blue block letters on the front of the jerseys and the yellow "M" logo on the cap.

At the same game, former Brewers Gorman Thomas and Jim Colborn are scheduled to appear.

On May 16, the bobblehead will feature Hall of Famer Hank Aaron hitting his 755th and final home run as a Brewer.

Throughout the weekend, Fox Sports Wisconsin, the team's television partner, will feature great moments of the 70s.

1980s Retro Weekend: On June 25 against the Seattle Mariners the team will wear reproductions of the home 1978-'89 uniforms, which was highlighted by pinstripes with BREWERS" block letters on the front and the ball and glove logo hat.

Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor are scheduled to appear at the June 25 game.

At the June 27 game, the bobblehead will mark Cecil Cooper's base hit that was the tying and winning runs in Game 5 of the 1982 American League Championship Series.

Over that weekend, the greatest moments of the 1980s will be shown on Fox Sports Wisconsin.

1990s Retro Weekend: On July 23 against the Washington Nationals, the Brewers will wear reproductions of the home 1997-'99 uniforms. The jersey has "BREWERS" in block letters on the front, while the cap features an "MB" logo.

Also at the July 23 game, former Brewers Greg Vaughn and Jeff Cirillo are scheduled to attend the game.

At the July 25 game, the bobblehead will feature Yount recording his 3,000th base hit. And through the weekend, Fox Sports Wisconsin will feature great moments of that decade.

2000 Retro Weekend: For the Aug. 27 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Brewers will wear their current uniforms. Former Brewers Geoff Jenkins and Bob Wickman are scheduled to attend the game.

For the Aug. 29 game, the bobblehead will feature CC Sabathia getting the final out of the final regular season, playoff-clinching game in 2008.

And Fox Sports Wisconsin will feature the greatest Brewer moments of the 2000s.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

 

 

As someone who has picked up most of the bobbleheads from previous seasons, I'm not completely looking forward to getting another Hank Aaron, Robin Yount, and Cecil Cooper bobble. Also, given the high price, I'm not completely sure if I'd prefer buying tickets to get a C.C. bobblehead, or just renting one for a few months.

[Vgmastr]

Wow, they're actually digging out the late '90s German unis? Those are ones I never thought I'd ever see again. Also, for the 2000s weekend, it seems weird to call it a retro game when they're just going to be wearing their normal uniforms. Now that I think about it, this is the 11th season in the current unis, it doesn't seem like they've been around that long.

 

Also, for the Philly series, the Saturday game will be on FOX, and ESPN is doing the Sunday game, so the only game FSN is doing in that series is the Friday night game. Seems weird to say FSN will be featuring the greatest moments of the '70s throughout the weekend when they're only doing one game. Kind of bad planning on the Brewers parts.

[John Brew]

This all sounds pretty cool to me. I like that there won't be any alternate versions of these bobbles. I think that leaves Sun Apr 11 and Sun Aug 8 as the only unknown all fan giveaways.

[JohnBriggs12]

On May 16, the bobblehead will feature Hall of Famer Hank Aaron hitting his 755th and final home run as a Brewer.

 

It always bothers me that no attention is ever paid to Aaron's 754th home run. If you read his book, he lists it as one of his most memorable, way ahead of his 755th, and certainly his biggest as a Brewer.

 

Since most of you are probably not aware of the circumstances, let me fill you in as I was there. The Brewers were struggling in 1976. Unlike 73, 74, and 75 when the Brewers stayed near the top of the standings into July, 1976 was kind of a downer. The Yankees were controlling the AL East, and the Brewers were struggling along in the cellar. But that July weekend, the Brewers were showing life for the first time all season. They had a 4 game win streak going into the 2nd game of a (gasp!) Sunday doubleheader against the visiting Texas Rangers. It was a glorious humid summer day with a big (for then) crowd of 28,000 on hand. That year was about the last I remember before Sunday doubleheaders were phased out completely. A good portion of that crowd had stuck around late in the 2nd game and saw the Brewers rally to tie it in the 9th on hits by Bernie Carbo and Robin Yount. After Bill Castro (yes, that Bill Castro) retired the Rangers in the 10th, Aaron, who had done nothing up to then in the game, sent a glorious blast over the left field wall to win the game. The crowd, sensing that they had just seen the last such moment in the career of the Home Run King, went nuts. For 5 minutes, it stood and cheered and waited for Hank to be brought out from the clubhouse for a final bow. For those of you too young, I can't possibly describe the emotion in that crowd. Remember in 1976, the abandonment of Milwaukee by the Braves and the loss of star like Aaron was still fresh in fan's minds and here 11 years later was the same Aaron that had thrilled Milwaukee so many times as a Brave was doing it one more time.

 

It remains my favorite Brewer moment of all time that I witnessed and I witnessed a lot of them.

[brwrsfan]

This all sounds pretty cool to me. I like that there won't be any alternate versions of these bobbles. I think that leaves Sun Apr 11 and Sun Aug 8 as the only unknown all fan giveaways.

I'm sure one of those games is the final sausage. I'm having a brain fart right now, but I believe they haven't done the Italian Sausage yet? It's that or the brat, I just can't remember. Either way, they have to round out that collection and have had a sausage the last few years. I'd be shocked if that isn't one of them.

 

The last one almost has to be a current player doesn't it? I mean, they're doing 4 "retro" ones, I would think it's someone currently on the team - I'd venture a guess that it's Gallardo.

 

As far as the "retro" weekend ones, it's a cool idea, I'm just not overly stoked about getting 3 more bobbleheads of players I already have - and how exactly are they going to illustrate a hit on a bobblehead? Just put a date on it or something? Just seems kind weird, I'm interested in seeing them, just wish it wasn't Aaron, Yount (again, for the third? time now) and Cooper. The CC one will be cool, I'm sure it's him on the mound, letting out that massive scream after the DP. It's a great photo and will be a cool bobblehead, just going to be a bit depressing to see.

[patrickgpe]

very cool idea. My only complaint is that there still is no mid-late 90's bobblehead offered. I thought this would be a year. I already have an Aaron, Yount, and Cooper bobblehead. I'd love to get a Cirillo or someone from that era.

[sheethead]

JohnBriggs12, thanks for sharing. That definitely would have been my favorite Brewer moment had I been there and remembered it.

[CheezWizHed]

very cool idea. My only complaint is that there still is no mid-late 90's bobblehead offered. I thought this would be a year. I already have an Aaron, Yount, and Cooper bobblehead. I'd love to get a Cirillo or someone from that era.

Everyone is trying to forget the dark ages... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[hawing]

On the Brewers' Facebook page, this image appears:

 

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs195.snc3/20256_262479219075_7678514075_3132762_7616282_s.jpg

 

Even I thought of Ken Macha right away, and I'm not nearly as fervent (positively or negatively) about the managers as some fans are.

I guess it beats associating 40 with Lil' Ben Hendrickson.

 

As for the retro bobble ideas, at least they seem kind of creative. I hope the Yount 3000th hit-bobble isn't clothed in the 1990s retro uniform, because that's not what they wore in 1992.

[owbc]

I'm excited about the 90s uniforms. That will bring back some childhood memories and I will make the effort to attend that game. As hideous as the uniforms (and the teams) were in that era, those were the Brewers that made me into a baseball fan.

 

Although we clearly have some bobblehead collectors here, I image that most Brewers fans have a rather sporadic collection like I do. I think those games will all be popular (and sellouts).

[dayzedcrewfan]

Just wanted to throw a thought out there. Of course the barrel in the background is a tribute to the original logo and how the Brewers name came about, but what about the red in the anniversary logo? It may be nothing but I'm wondering if that is a quiet tribute to not only the Braves franchise, but also the minor league Milwaukee Brewers that played at Borchert Field until 1952 where they won 8 American Association pennants and wore a uniform similar to that of the Milwaukee Braves. Any ideas or am I way off base??

[TooLiveBrew]

No, I think team do subtle things like that quite a bit in their logos. I actually really love that kind of stuff, so nice catch on the inclusion of red. I'd overlooked that.

[berniebrewer4life]

I lucked into two of these games(x-mas presents), and just bought two others online for VERY cheap. Should be a fun year. I can't wait!

[Crew2323]

I don't have tickets to the bobblhead games on those celebration weekends, but I am able to attend three of the four Friday games on those weekends through my Friday night 9 pack plan. Looking forward to it. I can actually wear my mid '90's MB logo hat with the teal green bill and not look out of place!

[bjkrautk]

Just wanted to throw a thought out there. Of course the barrel in the background is a tribute to the original logo and how the Brewers name came about, but what about the red in the anniversary logo? It may be nothing but I'm wondering if that is a quiet tribute to not only the Braves franchise, but also the minor league Milwaukee Brewers that played at Borchert Field until 1952 where they won 8 American Association pennants and wore a uniform similar to that of the Milwaukee Braves. Any ideas or am I way off base??

 

I'm guessing it's the same shade of red that they use for the stitches for the baseball in the Brewers (script) logo, and that you're reading too much into it.

[Invader3K]

I actually like that anniversary logo. I was worried they were going to try and "mash it up" too much. I'm going to try to get to some of those bobblehead games...I'd really like to get the Sabathia one, at least.

[BrewCrewForever]

Love the promotions, the retro's uni's and the bobbles. Also love that 40th anniversary logo, very cool.

[AJAY]

I am personally not crazy about that logo, but I do like the Retro-Weekends concept. I was actually hoping to hear news about the Brewers introducing a "Milwaukee" road jersey but I guess it's not happening anytime soon . . . unfortunately.

 

 

EDIT: After further reflection, I am starting to think that logo is really terrible.

[mtrebs]

I don't understand why the barrel isn't completely filled in in the 40th anniversary logo. The left half is white, and behind the "M" it turns tan.

[PrinceFielder28]

I agree AJAY i really don't like the logo. I like the celebration though.

[Mike Felder]

1990s Retro Weekend: On July 23 against the Washington Nationals, the Brewers will wear reproductions of the home 1997-'99 uniforms. The jersey has "BREWERS" in block letters on the front, while the cap features an "MB" logo.

Also at the July 23 game, former Brewers Greg Vaughn and Jeff Cirillo are scheduled to attend the game.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/brewers.html

Yeah, I'm a uniform dork, but the 90s uniform as described bothers me. The Brewers didn't wear the MB cap from '97-'99, they wore M hats (white M for home and gold M for road). Besides the fact that I liked those hats better than the MBs and would like to see them return, I think a team ought to be able to get its own history correct.

[AJAY]

Couldn't resist the opportunity to do some artwork and submit a couple of different ideas for the 40th anniversary logo. Both of these are assuming that the beer barrel concept is needed.

 

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/40thLogoIdea3.jpg

 

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b273/AJAY_02/40thLogoIdea2.jpg

[Bikeage77]

This all sounds pretty cool to me. I like that there won't be any alternate versions of these bobbles. I think that leaves Sun Apr 11 and Sun Aug 8 as the only unknown all fan giveaways.

 

you say that now, but remember how everyone was stoked on the braun from last year not having an alternate? i bet 1000 of each have an audio clip of the play call, which is cool, but being a total bobblehead nerd, i'm not shelling out 200-300 that the braun ones are going for...even though i was at two of those games

 

johnbriggs, that story is a great one, the only way it woulda been better is if you had caught Aaron's moon shot

[kestrel79]

I was also hoping for an updated road jersey with "milwaukee" text. It's already an official brewers logo, its on the bottom of their website, just put it on the jerseys!

 

Also that patch is pretty bad. How does that patch celebrate 40 years of brewers baseball history in Milwaukee? It doesn't. That 1/4 of a barrel in the corner of the logo just looks odd and thrown in at the last minute.

 

I am also very excited to see they will be wearing the uniforms from the late 90's. I used to think those were so cool growing up, even though they are pretty ugly http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Bikeage77]

in my opinion, they they shoulda made a shield with the 4 main logos: first M, ball and glove, MB, and the current M. with some kinda banner or something saying 1970-2010.