It's the season again - baseball. Here in southern Wisconsin, we're not in the heart of Brewers country, only on the southern fringe. Just a few miles farther south, the line between Brewers and Cubs territory gets a little fuzzy.
It hasn't always been that way. To younger fans, it seems like ancient history. But in the days of yore when the American and National Leagues each had eight teams, Boston, Philadelphia and St. Louis, along with Chicago and New York, each had two teams. Chicago and St. Louis were on the western edge of major league territory.
Milwaukee was home to the American Association's Brewers, AAA farm club of the Boston Braves. That didn't seem to cut much ice around here. This neck of the woods, in a nod to that metropolis 100 miles to the southeast, was strictly Chicago Cubs country.
In 1953, the first of baseball's great reshuffling occurred. The Braves moved to Milwaukee and took the state by storm, and Wisconsin moved into the big leagues. Those were exciting days with pitchers Warren Spahn, Lou Burdette, Bob Buhl; sluggers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron; Del Crandall, Joe Adcock, Johnny Logan, Jack Dittmer; Wisconsin native Andy Pafko acquired from the Cubs; Red Schoendeinst acquired from the Cards; and Bobby Thomson acquired from the Giants.
Naturally, loyalties shifted en masse from the Cubs to the Braves - but not totally. The guy running the DX gas station - remember that brand? - across from Monroe High School, now the Turner Hall parking lot, had a sign reading, "Here lies the last of the loyal Cubs fans." Even that wasn't true. A kid in the class behind me, Rudy Rothenbuehler, was infamous for retaining his fierce loyalty to the Cubs.
Rudy can still be seen wandering around Monroe wearing Cubs paraphernalia. And he is featured in the April issue of "Vine Line," the official Cubs magazine, pictured standing in front of his Cubs Tree.
Then there's Cubs fan Gil Jelinek. But you can tell by his name - it's not Swiss or German, or even Norwegian or Irish - that he's not originally from around here. He's from suburban Chicago, "North" suburban Chicago, that is.
Then there's Gil's long time umpire buddy, and my long time pal and classmate, Frank Dillon. Frank is a long time White Sox fan. I'm not sure where the line in Chicago is between Cubs and White Sox territory. But when my wife was flying out of Midway Airport, we had a house near there. I was walking my dog in the neighborhood one afternoon. A little girl barely old enough to talk pipes up, "Hey Mister, that's a Cubs leash on that dog." Holy smokes. Here I was, deep in White Sox territory, caught red-handed with Cubs logos on my dog's leash. I took the coward's way out - explaining, truthfully, that my wife was responsible for that transgression.
I can understand Gil's, and even Rudy's attachment to the Cubs. But sometimes there's no rational explanation for team loyalties. For example, my childhood pal, Dick Sarles, and I faithfully followed the hapless St. Louis Browns. Was it because we liked underdogs? The Browns were perennially in a race with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators for last place in the American League.
Browns owner Bill Veeck's most infamous antic was pinch-hitting with a midget, Eddie Gaedel. With his minuscule strike zone, Eddie was walked in four pitches and, upon reaching first base, substituted with a pinch runner. The AL president was not pleased.
When following perennial losers, victory brings so much joy - and so much humiliation to the teams that act like they have a God-given right to victory.
When living in Minnesota, my son became attached to the Minnesota Twins in his early years. If the Twins had a runner trapped between third base and home plate, you could bet that the runner would score. The Twins were that kind of team. However, for a few measly bucks you could go out to Metropolitan Stadium and get a choice seat along third base - a great way to spend the afternoon. No crowds to fight, and dropped fly balls by the Twins just added a touch of comedy.
Then Clark Griffith sold the Twins to Carl Pohlad. Metropolitan Stadium was abandoned in favor of the plastic Metrodome with its ascetic environment. The Twins started winning. Yuppies that never went out to the Met got caught up in the excitement, leaving son Johnny to lament, "where were these people when the Twins were losing?" We can't accuse the long-suffering Cubs fans of that kind of fickleness.
In the 1960s, a lot of things changed. The hapless St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore, changing their name and their players, doing everything to dissociate themselves from their losing legacy at St. Louis.
The Braves, after being so well received, stabbed Wisconsin in the back and moved to Atlanta. An expansion team, the Pilots, played one year in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee in 1970 as the American League Brewers. They eventually developed a pretty good rivalry with the Twins.
With multiple reshuffling, the Brewers are now National League with the Cubs. Even those of us who have never been Cubs fans know that Wrigley Field with its ivy-covered walls is the most picturesque park in baseball. Too bad that they eventually had to install lights, but that's economic reality.
Wrigley Field is hard to get into. So naturally, to see the Cubs, affluent Chicago fans make the short drive up the shores of Lake Michigan to watch the Cubs play the Brewers - a natural rivalry developing. So it's a win/win situation, especially as long as the Cubbies pose no credible threat. Hard to dislike 'em that way.
And it's nice of the Cubs to feature Monroe's own Rudy in their official magazine. He and all Cubs fans deserve recognition for their loyalty.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
It hasn't always been that way. To younger fans, it seems like ancient history. But in the days of yore when the American and National Leagues each had eight teams, Boston, Philadelphia and St. Louis, along with Chicago and New York, each had two teams. Chicago and St. Louis were on the western edge of major league territory.
Milwaukee was home to the American Association's Brewers, AAA farm club of the Boston Braves. That didn't seem to cut much ice around here. This neck of the woods, in a nod to that metropolis 100 miles to the southeast, was strictly Chicago Cubs country.
In 1953, the first of baseball's great reshuffling occurred. The Braves moved to Milwaukee and took the state by storm, and Wisconsin moved into the big leagues. Those were exciting days with pitchers Warren Spahn, Lou Burdette, Bob Buhl; sluggers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron; Del Crandall, Joe Adcock, Johnny Logan, Jack Dittmer; Wisconsin native Andy Pafko acquired from the Cubs; Red Schoendeinst acquired from the Cards; and Bobby Thomson acquired from the Giants.
Naturally, loyalties shifted en masse from the Cubs to the Braves - but not totally. The guy running the DX gas station - remember that brand? - across from Monroe High School, now the Turner Hall parking lot, had a sign reading, "Here lies the last of the loyal Cubs fans." Even that wasn't true. A kid in the class behind me, Rudy Rothenbuehler, was infamous for retaining his fierce loyalty to the Cubs.
Rudy can still be seen wandering around Monroe wearing Cubs paraphernalia. And he is featured in the April issue of "Vine Line," the official Cubs magazine, pictured standing in front of his Cubs Tree.
Then there's Cubs fan Gil Jelinek. But you can tell by his name - it's not Swiss or German, or even Norwegian or Irish - that he's not originally from around here. He's from suburban Chicago, "North" suburban Chicago, that is.
Then there's Gil's long time umpire buddy, and my long time pal and classmate, Frank Dillon. Frank is a long time White Sox fan. I'm not sure where the line in Chicago is between Cubs and White Sox territory. But when my wife was flying out of Midway Airport, we had a house near there. I was walking my dog in the neighborhood one afternoon. A little girl barely old enough to talk pipes up, "Hey Mister, that's a Cubs leash on that dog." Holy smokes. Here I was, deep in White Sox territory, caught red-handed with Cubs logos on my dog's leash. I took the coward's way out - explaining, truthfully, that my wife was responsible for that transgression.
I can understand Gil's, and even Rudy's attachment to the Cubs. But sometimes there's no rational explanation for team loyalties. For example, my childhood pal, Dick Sarles, and I faithfully followed the hapless St. Louis Browns. Was it because we liked underdogs? The Browns were perennially in a race with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators for last place in the American League.
Browns owner Bill Veeck's most infamous antic was pinch-hitting with a midget, Eddie Gaedel. With his minuscule strike zone, Eddie was walked in four pitches and, upon reaching first base, substituted with a pinch runner. The AL president was not pleased.
When following perennial losers, victory brings so much joy - and so much humiliation to the teams that act like they have a God-given right to victory.
When living in Minnesota, my son became attached to the Minnesota Twins in his early years. If the Twins had a runner trapped between third base and home plate, you could bet that the runner would score. The Twins were that kind of team. However, for a few measly bucks you could go out to Metropolitan Stadium and get a choice seat along third base - a great way to spend the afternoon. No crowds to fight, and dropped fly balls by the Twins just added a touch of comedy.
Then Clark Griffith sold the Twins to Carl Pohlad. Metropolitan Stadium was abandoned in favor of the plastic Metrodome with its ascetic environment. The Twins started winning. Yuppies that never went out to the Met got caught up in the excitement, leaving son Johnny to lament, "where were these people when the Twins were losing?" We can't accuse the long-suffering Cubs fans of that kind of fickleness.
In the 1960s, a lot of things changed. The hapless St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore, changing their name and their players, doing everything to dissociate themselves from their losing legacy at St. Louis.
The Braves, after being so well received, stabbed Wisconsin in the back and moved to Atlanta. An expansion team, the Pilots, played one year in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee in 1970 as the American League Brewers. They eventually developed a pretty good rivalry with the Twins.
With multiple reshuffling, the Brewers are now National League with the Cubs. Even those of us who have never been Cubs fans know that Wrigley Field with its ivy-covered walls is the most picturesque park in baseball. Too bad that they eventually had to install lights, but that's economic reality.
Wrigley Field is hard to get into. So naturally, to see the Cubs, affluent Chicago fans make the short drive up the shores of Lake Michigan to watch the Cubs play the Brewers - a natural rivalry developing. So it's a win/win situation, especially as long as the Cubbies pose no credible threat. Hard to dislike 'em that way.
And it's nice of the Cubs to feature Monroe's own Rudy in their official magazine. He and all Cubs fans deserve recognition for their loyalty.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
