Competitive Boosterism: How Milwaukee Lost the Braves

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Competitive Boosterism How Milwaukee Lost the Braves Competitive Boosterism How Milwaukee Lost the Braves

Glen Gendzel San Jose State University glengendzelsjsuedu

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Glen Gendzel Competitive Boosterism How Milwaukee Lost the Braves Business History Review (1995) 530-566

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Competitive boosterism How Milwaukee lost the Braves Gendzel Glen Business History Review Winter 1995 69 4 ProQuest Research Library pg530

Glen Gende[

Competitive Boosterism How Milwaukee Lost the Braves

By any measunmiddot major-leagmmiddot baseball in ~orth Amelica surPiy qwtlifltgts as big business The national pastime is a middotita compontgtnt of todays urhan political Pconomy aiiCI hasphall tltbullan1s nmiddotsemhltmiddot other high-prestigP husiJHmiddotmiddotssps in that cititi lllllSf COill[Wfe for tJubull priyjlt_bullgp of hostill) thtbullJJIshy

WhatelT thtgtir tnw worth This artidtgt analyltS tlw transft-gtr of the Milwat1kee Branbulls has(hall franchise to Atlanta in 19(i5 as tlw oukonw of middotcompCtitinbull hoosteJism or the actiHmiddot pltutiCipation of lmmiddotal tbulllitfS in lurin) trade indnstry and innmiddotstni(nt fr01ll otlwr dties fi1r tiH pui)OSt of PcoshynltJnlic dltbull-tgtIltJpnHbullnf

Baseball sfasons of the mid-990s with a fulllioeup of stJiking players rapacious owners and disaffeeted fans surely set

records for most rPpetitions of the f~uniliar refrain Baseball is a business not a sport The conhmporary sports page came to rtgtsemhltgt tlw finandcll page lavishing attention once nbullsenmiddotecl for pitching and p(miUlts onto the minutiae of labor rPiations and antishytnrst law Each yt-gtar sportsw1iters and fms SPemed to rediscover that big money had tunubulld all big-league sports into hig business Vhat still went unnoticed by baseball writers howver middotas that while the national pastimf mub1ted hom sport into husint-bullss ltl much larger sPctor of the US political t-gtconomy shifted in the oppositt direction Vhat used to be the lmsincss of urban ecmtomir dedopment

CLE CEDZEL i~ t doetoral calldidate ill LS llistor tt tlw luinmiddotr~it~ of is~ comiu ladi~on For their lubulllpfid (OttlllHnt~ the autlmr mmld iktmiddot to tlwnk Prof Stanshyk~ Schult ProL Jolm liltoll Cnoplr Jr Prof Stanlcmiddot_ 1utlcbullr and Prof Halph Andnmiddotano of tilt Uttinmiddotrltih of iscousill I htrr tilltbullJ of tlw Staftbull Historical Sotiet- of i~tmiddoton in tlw lditor of himiddot_ journal awl an mctl rllOH rdlmiddotnbulltbull Au ltrlitbullr trsiun of thi~ artidtbull wL~ prtmiddot~tmiddotuhmiddotd to ihtbull lorth rnwrican So~middotid lilf Sport lliMory mtbullding at Ctliimtia Statt UniN~ity-Lon~ lkaeh 2~J Ia~ HJJJ

B1nimmiddotss lifurrf UTinlmiddot (-)9 (itlter Hl~J)J 530-)h(i middot0 1WJ5 h_ Tlw Pre~ideut aucl

Fvllmn of llollYard Colltbullgtbull

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Competitire Boosterism Hotc Milrcaukee Lost the BraGes I 531

became the sport of cmnpetitinbull hoosttgtrism~~md nwjor-leagne bastntll was one of the most covettbulld trophies to he wm1 1

Cities themselves played a cutthroat game in which c-ompetition for baseball franchises might hf considered tlw ultimate World S(bull1ies That game was contpetitive boosterism the actin participashytion of local elitfS in luring tradP industrymiddot aud inveshnent to thtir own cities from elsewhere in a zero-sum Darwinian contlSt Cities of thegt lcbullan-and-mcc_m 1990s coped with flscal austC1ity and slow growth by seeking regional n-middotdistrilmtion of jobs and capitaL offlrshying to private innbullstors hl b1Tbullaks rPtllllf bonds speculatin_ buildshyings research parks redemiddotdopnwnt aiel and other inducements On the payrolls of statfs and eitiPs across Jmth America were spfcialshyists in pconomic developmeut-players in the game of competitive hoosterism the last tgtntrepreneurs fighting a ne civil var1

Competition for fCnnomk dtgtnlopment is systemk to tlw politshyical economy of US dtiPs Likewise hoostPrism or middotthe promotion of tgtconomic enterprise by organized public and private groups within urban communities as the historian Charles Glaab defined it runs clccp in the American grain James Fenimortgt Cooper llark Twain and Sinclair Leis created booster archet1Jes in their novels and dozens of historians have chronicled the activities of land specshyulators railroad boomers and town promoters ~or has the competshyitive side of hoosterism suffered from historical neglect Daniel Boorstin Richard Wade and Paul Wallace Gates deseribed lively nineteenth-century contests among frontier towns for rail depots posh hotels county seats and state capitals Over thC last thirty years howPver not even a Japanese automobiltgt factory could match

1 Cmwin~ c~middotnidsm toward thtmiddot hasehall bu~iness can he glimp~eJ in Villiam Oslttr Johnson middotmiddotFor Sale Tlw ational Pastiualt Sports Illllfmted (17 1a~middot 1993 12-39 John Undtmiddotmmiddotood From Bot~Pball and Apple Pie to (reed and Sky Boxes NitLmiddot York Tinw~ 31 Od 1993 Sec 8 ll Jack Sands and PetPr Gammons Cmning AJlflf1 at the Semm lime Baseball Ottmiddotmbullr Players ami Tclniltimi Execufiu5 lla~e Lnf Our atimwl Pfl~fimc to the Brink of Dhmta (NPw York HJ93 John Htgtlyar Lords I tlw Realm Tlw Real History of Baseball (gtJew York 1994) and Claire Slllith Game Is in Dinmiddot Ne(bulld of Posshyiti Spin Neu York Tilnf~ H Jnne 1915 RIS

1 Rohert Goodman The la~t EntrepremHrs Americos Rqimwl -an for Jobs and Dolan (1(V York 197-)i Dou~las J atson Tlubull ltL Cidl Vor Covet71lllllf Compeshytition for Ecmwmil Dntbulllopment le~tport Conn 19951 For introductiom to tlw volushyminOII~ ecnnomilt Jenmiddotlopmfnt literatllrt ~Pe Clartll(( N_ Stone and lle~gtuod T SaHflPrs eds 1111 Politin 1if Urban Detelopnwut (LawTfIKt Ks 19Hi) Peter Eisengfr Jlw Rise uf tlw fntrepntwurial Statemiddot State mtd I oral Economic IJibullteopmetlf Poliry i11

t1w Lnited Statt-s (Madison Wi~c 19RS) and Hichard D Bin)ham and Robert Mier eds Tlteoricgt of Local f()tlomic Jetelolmteut Perspectives from Acmss tlw Discipli11c~ i (Wshy

hmy Park Calif 1993)


Glen Gendzel I 532

a major-league baseball franchise in prestige for the home comnumity-and in the lengths to which boosters would KO to proshycure it1

Ciit lPaders indifftgtrltnt to shuttered Ltctories jobless workers and fletgting flrms often spared no dl(Jrt to retain a major-league hast hall franchise middot~lajor Ltbullague City is the arch-cadwt of Anwrshyican cityhood which presumably brings civic pridemiddotmiddot ami economic growth according to the historian Janws Edward vlillLr But the hctst-hclll economist Andrew Zimhalist hmnd that whilt c1 dty f(aps nnquantifiahle benefits from haing a team it is also true that citshy

ifS that hanmiddot ha1ns and losp tl1em are liktly to tbullncounhmiddotr an illlage problemmiddotmiddot Politicians tactd tnbullmemlous pn-ssnre to hold onto the hometown tavorittgts regardltbullss of their trw economic worth Big league 01ltIS know that by thrPatening to move they can extmt any concessions tlwy Vcmt from their dti(~s sports columnist Allen Barra notpd rPtently Til hltgted and Ill die vowed Governor Jim Thompson of Illinois in 1911 befimbull I let the [White] Sox ltgtaVP Chieltlgo Owners have suecessfully exploittd that sort of leverage to obtain magnif1eent nPw stadiums and gtnerous leaes from anxions comnltmities not least in Chicago~

In a 19U5 interview Amtrican LPagne president Gene Budig underseorNl the pmer of major-league baseball to f()rlte cities to pia~middot competitivtgt hoosterism and he reminded them of thP stakes

ltharl(bulls N Chwh fistoncal Perspedi1bull on Urhom l)tmiddotnmiddotlpmeut Seheuws i11 leo F Sdmorlt and lien~ Fagin ed~ (r)(lt lksmtTh ami Policy Plmmin~ (Beverly Hilk CaliL 10071 ~7 James Fenimore Couper Home n Fo~tld- a Sn1mmiddotl to lfomtmiddotlrnrd Bound (New York 1900 orig puh 1~3Sl lark Twaiu and Charltbulls Dudley mltr The Gilded Ae A Taltmiddot of Tod(ly (Hartford Conn Vf73) Sinclair leiS Babbitt NPw York 1922 Dm1kbullIJ Boorstin Tlu Ameri((11 The Natimurl EqwriltiCC (New fork 1005) Richard C W~Klt The [rhan Fm11tifr Tlubull Riw of H-tslt11 Cities 1(90--JJJ() (Camshy

bridge Mass 959) Paul WallaCI Cate~ The Rolbull of thf Land Sp(culator in Vtbullstern Dtllopm(bullnt Pn~t~gtmiddotyh atti(i fagaill( of History a1(1 BioJmhy 66 ( HJ42 110 For exawples of thP )TOin~ hnosterislfl literatHre- sef Carl Abhott Boo~frngt and Bu~imgt~-~-11111 Poprdar Economic Tlumlht mul trlum Grmcth ill the ntehdlwn Middle West (e~tport Conn 19)1 ) and illiam Cronon Booster Drellls in 1atunltsmiddot 1-fltmpoli~middot Clti((tgo (11( tu Crtal lnf (New York Hffil) 31--H

J William Fulton Oestwrately Stbullrldng Sports Teotms Goumilll l I98S) 34-40 james Edward MillN Tlumiddot Basehnll B1uiness Pursuing PeiiUIIIfs mul Pnifits ill Baltimore (Chapel Hill NC lWOl 297 AndtlVvmiddot Ziluhalist Blisdmll and Biliom A Pmhing [ook ln~ide the Big Bllsiwn uJ 01tr atimwl Pastime (~f York 1992) J3R AllPn Barra middotmiddotHow to San Yankee Stadium VIU York Time~ 21 (kt 1991 A2i Thompson quoted in Chiwlo Trilmtlt 29 May L9~middot Hichanl Corliss Build It and They Might Come TIME (24 Au~ 1992bull 5--52 Handall Lane Hread and Circuses Forbes (6 June 1994) fi2-64

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Competitire Boosterism Hotc Milwaukee Lost the Braces I 533

I btgtlieve tlw general puhlic realizes tlw importancl of llllt~or leaguf hasehall to their comlmmitiPs It is elearlv in tlw hest int~rests of those eornmunities to protect thos~middot fraJI(hises They are important to economic development as Wtli as quality of Jifp To losP a major league baseball franchise would send an unfOrtunate nwssage to business and industry that Olild hawmiddot interest in possible location [in those citifs]

Faced with this kind of threat elected offleials wtgtre highlv wilnerashyhle to what Forhes called big-league blackmail and wlat Sports Illustrated denounced as the recurring scam by which plutocratic extortioners who happen to own teams blackmail communities into meeting tlwir demancls-or elsegt

Cities struggling with the sports franchise relocation issue found themselves trapped in an urban arms race which forced them to defend their major-league status with plush stadiums and subsishydies Economic development specialists doubted the wisdom of investing tax dollars and emotions in sports as a development stratshyegy especially when compared to alternative investments in infrashystructure education or manufacturing employment Charles Euchners indictment of the cannibalistic struggles f(gtr sports franchises called for federal intervention and Kenneth Shropshire suggested that sports-minded cities caught in this surrogate warfare should question whether the huge expenditurtgts needed to be perceived as big-league are worthwhile Indeed economists find little rational basis for thltmiddot half-billion dollars in annual net tax transfers to professional sport entities Yet baseball bidding wars escalated in the 1990s--euroven though as eeonomist Benjamin Okner found decades ago precious public dollars flow into thf pockets of some of the nations Vealthiest private indhiduals Dean Bahn conshyfinned that sports subsidies constitute highly regressive ineome transfers from poor urban taxpayers to a few millionaire Ovners and players How did American cities get mired in this elensive and unproductive game0

~ Cene Budig rptottd in Boll 1i~hten~alf middotmiddotBaseball Mu~t (_pt Basic Bef(Jre An~ thin~ Elsemiddot Tlumiddot Sporting Ze1cs j JunP 1995) 17 Marcia Rem Big LeaIUf Blackmail Forlw1middot (11 -lay 1912) 45 Tim Crothtgtrs The Shak(~tl011middot Sports Illuslmttd (19 Junt )99j) 71

r Arthur T Johnson Municipal Administration and the Sports Franchise Htgtlocation IsSIE Puhlic Adminilttmtion Retieu +1 1981) 519-523 Jollll Pelissero Beth Henschtgtn and Edward Sidlow Community DevPlopment or Business Promotion A Look at Sports-Led Econolllilt J)pyelopmfnt in Oaid Fultgtenfest ed Cunwumity Economic


Glen Gemlzel I 534

Optning Day of baseballs competitive boosterism scgtason came on 21 October 1964-the day the Milwaukee Braves baseball team ltUlH01mced their move to Atlanta Thtgt importance of this episode ovPr otlubullr traumatic sports team moements was emphasized by the broadcaster Howard Cosell who testified before Congress that tnmsferring the Braves franchise was thtgt first and worst example of what he called the rape of the cities or the abuse of monopoly power by bltLseball owners exempt from antitrust law Bill Vecck another noted baseball expert complained at the time that the Milshywaukee situation has disgusted the tgtntire nation Of course other cities lost baseball teams before Milwaukee but forsaken flms of the Boston Braves the St Louis Browns tlw Brooklyn Dodgers the New York Giants and thtgt Washington Senators could always transshyfer their allegiance to another major-leagm-middot team in tmvn That may have been paltry consolation but lmiddotfilwaukee f~lns Vere left with no major-league team in any sport For the first time in modem history a eity was stripped altogether of its major-league status 7

I

The Boston Braves were a charter member of hasehalls Iational League organized in 1876 but the franchise enjoyed only sporadic success Attendance topped one million only three times in Boston and in ]952 it fell to 282000 0oler Lou Perini a millionaire conshystruction tycoon took pridf in his sound busintgtss approach to bastgtball Lou did not becomltgt a successful contractor by letting thtgt grass grow under his feet admired John Giloly of the Boston Record with unwitting prescience The Braves lost OPf Sl million

lgtnlloJmcnf (Itbullw York 19middot3) 72 Charles C Eudmt-r llayiug flU Fibullld hy Sp1JrlS

Tnum loumiddot a11d Citit~ Fight to Vcp Thrmiddotm (Hahimonbull -f(l Hl93) llf KltTllH-th L Shropshire Tlw Sportmiddot Fnmchiw Game Cifits iu Pwfmiddotuif of Sporls Fmnchises fve11ts bullitadillliiS ami Anmiddottw PhiLtdtgtlphia ltgttm 115) 2L 6L Hohert A Baadt ami Hilhard F D_H Sports Starliums and rta Dewlopnwnt A CntiL1 Rtbulliev Eco~rolli(lJnelopshymenf Qllarltmiddotrly 2 J9SSl 263-275 Benjunin A Okner middotSubsidie of Stadi11m~ and ArPllil~middotmiddot in HogN G oil ed CouniiiUIII ami the Sports BIISirw~s (Vashingtnn DC 1974 Deal Baim Tlw Sporl toditllll rna Mtmidpal ltltrsfmtgtllf (e~tport Conn 1994) 163

7 H()wml Cosdl t(stimony in 9ith Coug lst and 2d Sess House of Rep Antitru~l Poli( and Profes middotimw Sporls (Washington DC 1914) ]19 Hill Vtbulleck ith Ed Linn Tlumiddot lfnstlcrs lhmdhook New York Hlfi))112 For a more eursonmiddot treatmlnt of tht Branmiddot~ Ppisote Sf-t S Prtkash Stthi [p Against tilt Corporate Fat( Modem Co1HJmshytimgt and SocialiHrus ~~f the Seuntie1middot (Eug]pwornl CliffS NJ 971) 267 -2HO


Competitive Boosterism Hou Milwaukee Lost the Braves I 535

in 1950--52 and even Bostonians admitted that the tlw worst franshychise in the history of baseball desrvcd a better fate One of these days the Braves may go on the road warned a local reporPr and never come back But no team had moved in half a century so leaing Boston would take an auJacious actll

As owner of tlw minor-league Milwaukee franchise Perini had the exdusimiddote territorial rights to that city under btseballs monoposhylistic operating agreement In 1952 boosters led by Clifford Randall of the Greater Milwauktbulle Committee and Alin ~lonroe of the Milshywaukcc Association of Commerce pressured Perini to permit a transshyfer of the struggling St Louis Browns franchise to their city Russ Lynch of the Milwaukee Jounwl kept up a steady barrage of columns imploring Perini to let Milwaukee join the major leagues and he testified before Congress for legislation to force baseball expansion Meanwhile vlilwaukee County Stadium built to host a minorshyleague team but expandable to major-league size was reaching comshypletion in 1953 after years of delay thanks to the intercession of boosters William McGovern of the Wisconsin Telephone Company and brewery magnate Frederick Miller9

Milwaukee boosters demanded that Perini let their city join the major leagues llaing him in the press for blocking their aspirations You dont know all the letters telegrams and telephonP calls Ive been getting on this thing Perini complained to fellow 01lltrs After negotiating with Miller personally Perini finally decided to head off other teams and move his own Boston Bravltgts into Mihvaushykecs new stadium Business Veek called it a dPsperation move by a floundering franchise but the Milwaukee Joumal praised the citizen initiative of city boosters vho went out and got a big league team for their city The Association of Comtntgtrce gavtgt th( greatest credit to Frederick vtiller and his businessmen-boostPrs

~Harold Kaese and H G L1tcb Tlw liltntukei RrmiS (1tw York 1954) 2RJ PNshyini ltllottgtd tn ihid 255 Tom -tgtany and Otlwr~ Milurmkngtr fimdl Bracemiddot (~ew Ym-k 1954) 7 Cillo~ quoted in Boh Bw-middotge 11umiddot Mihcrwkee Bnun A Baseball Eulogy tiHishywuuklte HJH8) lfi spnrtsw1itcr jllOttd in Ka(se omd I y1wh Miluallkll Bmumiddot 2S3

fJ H C Lynch Tiw ~-tirade iu Mtgtmy liltwukees Minuk Bmtes 19-38 Bill VPeltk eeck-As i11 Vreck (lew York 1962) 279 L)mh ttgtstimony in S2nd Cong ht Sltbullss House of Rtgtps- Study of fonopoly Poucr (Vashiul_rtun DC 1))2) 79R-H2-3 Milnmkre joumal_ Stadi1tm Edition 11 April 1953 -fichatgtl Hlnsou Rall1Jark 1if Nortl1 America (jefferson C 1989) 2)l-23-4 Harry fl_ Andenun Rtgtcreation Enttgtrtainshyment and Optmiddotn Spactgt Park Tmditions of Milwauktbulle Couuty in Ralph M Aderman ed fmding Post to Metmpoli~- Milttaukce Couutys First 150 Ye(1gt (Milwaukee ise HJI-)7) Rohtgtrt L Dishou Tlttgt Sil-tlll Partwr~ (Milwaukee Vise 1965) 11 Tim Cohmw None But th1bull Braves LOOK 125 Aug- l9i3) h7


Glen Ge11dzel I 536

Home of the Brates bull Milwaukt( County Stadium around tlw limt that tlw Boston Bra(S mowmiddotd tllt-r( in 1953 FaiL~ nr the 1ilwaukce Rranmiddots ctmiddotldnattbulld their IWW-fonml lllltIJmiddotor-IbullmiddotHgnP Sliltll~ with WltL~on afttr seL~on of reconl-~lttin) attcndammiddottbull in thl lf)Os lilwuJktbull(middot was prodaimcd middotmiddotsasdmll Capital nf tht Wort afhbullr tllf Brawmiddots drPw 22 milshylion fan~ and won tw World Stgtril~ in IH37 r Photograplbull n7nmiddotndlllwl rmutc~y of Stattmiddot HilfHi((f Society of Wigtwnbullmiddotin)

ly ambition is to make Milwaukee a sports center vowed Miller and keep it that way Handall predicted that the Braves would be the greatest psychological lilt Milwaukee ewr had prming that the cmnmunity can he as great as its citizens want it to heW

Spmtswriters marveled at the adulation and acclaim heaped on tlw Braves from the momeut they reached vtilwauktgte The strang_prs from Boston wPre greeted by 12000 ecstatic fans at the tmin station and 60000 more cheered during a Velcome parade through downtown I dont think any city has ever gone as crazy over a baseball team recalled third baSltbullman Eddie Mathews and teammate Warren Spahn agreed that the Braves attracted the bigshygest and most worshipful folloing in the majors Perinis gam hlP

1 Sam Lt- Milwaukrmiddotp dth Brand ~P Park illing ltlld WltLitiu)o lill Bij LtgtltljliC Berth Tlw Sl)l)r11flg cLmiddot-1middot 126 Kmmiddot 19i52) Ptrini quoted in Kwsc ltllld L~1wh liltwushykn- Bmnmiddot1 2)4-----2S5 Branmiddots Hidl Agotinmiddot Bu~i11l Wn-k (3 Oct HISTI 122 Milnmka mlnWI ApriL 19 March 19)3 Major Lrmiddotagne Basehall Con1es to MilwankPlt fif UYIlktbullc Conwltr(( (26 11f(middotla 1853) Iii IN (JUOted in CokuH- -ont But tht- BralS -) Handall ltuoted in lilrnwkC Jonmal 15 March ~April 1953


Competiti~e Boosterisnt Hmc Milwukee Lost the Braues I 537

paid off handsomely the ~middotfilwaukee Braves drew mmiddoter lH million hms in their first seltLiOll setting ltgtague records in attt-mbncc and profits BravPs bns showtbullred the playprs with $100K)() in free cars tPlemiddotisions clothing sausagt and fine Visconsin chCese Sportswrit~ ers dnhhcd County Stadium an insanrgt asmiddotlum with hases wlwrt fans hehawd likP children atPnding their first circus Perhaps the higlwst eompliment anyont-gt could bestow came from a Brans hm who told LIFE magazine This is tht gn-middotatPst thing that bas hapshypentbulld to MilwanklP since lwer 11

Thlt Association of Comnwrcc Pstimated that the Branmiddots attractfd nParly $5 million in new business to ~vtilwankltlt in HJ53 Th intangihlt htntgtfits of major-league status Pn- far gnmiddotater tlw Bravps imparted a new sphit of chic enthusias111 and tlw team brought success to dvie t~ntc111risc htr rtltiOPd from hasPhall

according to lgtlll study mericfm City reported that tlw BravPs

have infused an elcchic italihmiddot into this citv and Milwanktgte hoostshyPrs exulted in their new-found urban competitinmiddotmmiddotss middotmiddot~middotlilwaukeP is big-league in tltbullry respect not onl~middot in sport- hut in thP mneh bigshyger ltgtagnp of industry and commerce beamed local Jllanufacturer Tom Emerson Tlw Assodation of CommtgtrcP starttgtd a Ttgtcllll Up Vith Big Ltgtague ~middotIilwaukee men1bership drive and thtgt Gnater rvlilwauhbulle Connnittet~ adopted a HlW slogan Ltgtfs he big league all the way A prominent brtgtWfl) PXfCutive considerCd thf Braves to be the svmho that wemiddote bPCOJnc a big citv and a Visconsill bank presid~nt commented I cant think of m~e business or indusshytrv which hasnt been directly or indirectly helped by thP coming of major-leagmmiddot baseball Local post offices prondly stamped outgoin( mail Home of the BmvPs prodaiming Milwaukeemiddots HfV majorshy]pague status 12

Sports Illustrated put the Milwaukee Miracle on the cover of

11 rtlnumiddot Dally in liltcaukel Jmmwl 12 Jnl~ 19fi4 Buq~t )fihumklC Hmrbulls 15 Eddil ltlathev~ Fonbullword in ihid ) arreu Spahn I Say lilwauketbull il in Tlw PtbullIIJIltIIIt SaturdmJ Enmiddotuing logtl (20 April Hl57) 100 Ciltwrt Millstein ~lore Brookl~11 Thm Brookhn _umiddot Ym Tiuws lngrlilt (j Juh- HJ5)) 21-i Rohebull1 W cls Thi~ is liltmukee ((arden Cihmiddot gtJY 190) 231-240 u1ickntifkd nltrdmnl tuoiltd in Saushysa~tS Sautbullrhratfn uu(Sympathy UFI (fi July H))Jl 31

I liltmukee Comnwnmiddote 30 Od HJ-53 Pahicia C llan~hury tirlClc in Milwanktbullf A Study of thtbull Impacmiddott of middot11Jor Lmiddota~uf BasPhall nn a City (mashr thesis Uniwrsity nf WisltmiddotoJsin 11lwaukt-e lli2l s4 Dou~las S Pow(ll b Big I eagnt Rastgthal Good ~lunidplttl Hu~intgtss Amnimn CifJ 72 HJ57) 113 Emerson (jtlOtecl in liht-middotrmhbullbull CoiWIITr( 20 Oct w53 Jillnmkrmiddotv Jounwl 12 -0 [953 brtW(f and hanktl quot(-d in William Barry Furlong That Hig Ltbullagne Yetmin~ llc York Tiltumiddots ((l_a=itiC 16 Jummiddot N57) 14 16 Heinz BastgtLall Pla~middotlrs Dreun Townmiddot 90


Glen Geubd I 538

Booslt~r Politicim1s bull Milwaukte County mpt-nisors re-decliltatfmiddot thtgt improwd and Cgtpanded sbtdinm hfbullfort the start of mother suLTtssfnl major-ltmiddota)ut-gt hNmiddothall slltLiOil April 1955 The supeni~ors told rtgtpmitni that the~middot wert hnmhartlltd hy con~titnents ith ticket ff-JIItsts for JliIJWiuaJly sold-out HraHS ganlts middotlilwanketbull Journal 7 April 1855 i Plwtogmph rcprnrhunl courley of State flistori(lf Soddy 4 Wiscow-itl)

its inaugural issue in ]954 md tlw Braves kept setting higher attenshydance records peaking at 22 million in tlw championship season of 1957 Braves slugger Henry Aaron would play some 22 seasons in the major leagues but he considered 1957 to be the best year of baseball that any city ever had Capping it all was a World SerifS victor over the New York Yankees The ensuing civic euphoria seemed like fantasia mit sauerbraten urul gemuetlichkeit Milaushykeeans rcjoic(~d in triumph over N evv Yorkers who called their town bush league The victory (Ured a civic inferiority complex ltlC~ording to TIME Milwaukee erupted in pandemonium bedlam and a wild baseball bender a bigger party than V-E Day and V-J Day combined-bigger even than the night in the midst of the Great Depression when beer became legal again Mayor Frank Zeidler proclaimed Milwaukee the baseball capital of the worldll

11 Spmts Illustraltd (16 Aug 195J) Ileury Aaron with lunnit Vhet-lcr I Had a flammer Tl1e Hnnk Aaron Story Nev York 199) 130 A1thur Dailey in Millt-mlkee jmmwl 12 July 1964 Stmnger in Paradhemiddot SJwrls Illu~middottrated (14 Oct lYSi) 31 Big


Competitice Boosterism Hmc Afiltcaukee Lost the Braces I 539

Will Milwankee become jnst another haseball town n1used Cosmopolitan at tllP lwight of Braves mania when the IHwness wears ofP Many teams of that era suflered post-championship drops in attendance and the Milwaukee Braes proed no dillerent Despite another first-place Huish in 1951gt attendance ftbulllllwlow two million As the temns won-loss record slmnpt-d in folhming ~ears attendance declined to 17 million in 1959 15 million in 19fl0 and I I million in l9fll hen tlw Bnlmiddotes finished fifteen and a half games ont of first place in 19fl2 the sold onlv 7hfl921 tickets Pershyini had reaped $75 million in profits from 1ilwankct but afte-r posting his first losses in 1962 he sold the Braves to a group of Chishycago investors for $62 tnillion another baseball regtcord Tlw new owners denied any intention of moving the team Vt nenmiddotr had anything in mind hut making the most of hat we had in Milwaukee insisted team president John Mcllale But the Roer Boys as Oliver Kuechle of the Mihwukn Jmmwl dubbed them had come to town and they made their first owmiddotrtun_middots to Atlanta just nine months btcr 1-1

II

ho Vtgtre the Rover Boys Perini misleadingly introduced the new owners as young sportsmen -vho arc more intcrfstt--d in winning a pennant than in financial retun1s A wealthy insurance broker and self~proclaimed sports nut William Bartholomay age 34 led this group of affluent Chicago-area baseball fans who used borrowed or inherited riches to buy into the exclusive major-league fraternity Bartholomays associates included heirs to the family fortunes of Johnsons Floor Wax Searle Pharmaceuticals the Miller Brewing

Leagwrs at Last TIE (7 Oct 1957) 54 Odohermiddot~ Htgtro nAo t21 Oct l-l57) 2 The Stgtritgts Sends MilwankPe on a Vild Baseball Btgtndt-T UFE (14 Oct 1957) JS--40 Veils Tl1i is liltt(llkee 241 ZcbullJdler quoted iu Milumiddotrmhr Jmmud I Oct 195~

14 Htim~ Baseball Player~middot Drtgtmll T0middot11 93 Mdlale quotltmiddotd in Fnrnlltm Bi~lltT limch i11 Atlanta 11w Atla11fa Bnt1A8 Story (Cleveland Ohio 1966) 2-3 Barbara Cretbullnshywood Majors Retum to Milwaukle -iswmin Tfumiddotr1 mul Nou 16 (july Hl70) ~ lilshyumiddotmtktbulll Jmrmd 16 Nov 1962 Atttgtndanct ami profit fipures iu Arthur AndtgtrSOII amp Co Audit Htgtport on JmiddotlilwaukecAtlanta Braves Inc 12 Dec 1005 Ehihit 436 State tf Visronsiu Milfwukctmiddot BmttS rl al Milwaukel CountY Circuit Court Ciil Dii~ion Branch 9 Castgt No 332--026 copy in tlw Rtbulltords of Stflonl Rosenhmm Hieser and Hawwu l9=n-l966 Milwaukee RttOrds Cenhr Stale Histurict] Socilty of Wisconsin thereafter SRRH Rtbullconls


Glen Gendzel I 540

The Rour Boysmiddot William C Bartholomay htmiddotbullu of the group of Chi-ago innbullstors who purdw~ltd tlw ailin) MilwaukltgtP Bran~ for $fi2 million in Nottll)(bullr 1002 Afhmiddotr nurrwrnu~ deniab Bartholoma ami hi~ as~odatts ltUlllounct(_l in Octoher 1964 that tlw team would mowbull to Atlanta Th( fnmehi~tmiddot transfer fri)gltwd an uproar in -llhvauktbulle md promktmiddotd an urtitnrst lawsuit frorn thl stattbull trf WiMOn~in rllwtomph nbullprtJduad cmlrshytesy of Jlw lolita Hmtes)

Company and Chicagos Palmer House Bill Ve~ck who at various times owned several teams himself scoffed that the sum of their total knowlltdge of baseball is zero lie predicted that thcslt opulent sportsmen would never be welcome in fvfihvaukee which already smarted from Chicagos regional dominance To the folks of


Competitive Boosterism Hotc Milrcaukee Lost the Braves I 541

Milwaukee sympathized eeck the whole deal had the uncomshyfmtable smell of city slickers coming in to take over

The Rowr Boys quickly ran afoul of local skepticism Before the start of the 1963 season the npoundwcomers offered 115000 shares of Braves stock for sale to Wisconsin residents They hoped to promopound fm interest and allay fears of absentep ownership while retaining a majority interest for thtgtmse1vemiddots fpw Visconsin investors doubted that the real intent of the stock ofllgtring was to pay debts incurred in hu)ing thpound team the prospectus ltbullvpoundn admitted that the offering was for liquidation of interim financing Not suqJrisingly only 11 of the shares were sold Few local investors cared to help young inexshypeiicnccd out-of-town financiers dis(harge their pfgtrsonal debts Bnt thereafter the owners could daim that Milwaukef no longer wanted the Braves Bartholmnav later informed his Board of Directors that because of the faile-d offe1in~ tllfre is now no obligation whatever on the part of investors to sell to local residents and thev were free to seek a more hospitable vcgtnueu shy

Vhat must have prodded the Rover Boys to seek grePner passhytures was the $3 million short-term loan they obtained to huy the Bmves in 1962 Interest expense was considerable with a S2 mi1lion hallrxm payment due in 196H Rather than spend more money to reie attendance the Rover Boys sought a quick flx By the start of the 1964 season Bartholomay and his pabulltnprs had committed the Brave to play in Atlanta in 1965 Naturally the Rover Boys hoped to conceal their intentions and avoid a lamtbull dmk season in vhich heartbroken fans would shun a fleeing team The Braves ill he in Mihvaukee today tomorrow next year and as long as we are welcome team president ~~lcHale told tlw media vhen ntmors of a move first appeared e art positively not moving asserted Barshytholomay just days after secretly flnalizing the deal with Atlanta Were phi)ing in Milwaukee whether youre talking 1964 1965 or

n Periui rtuoted in lihctlkrbullt Joumal IT Nmmiddot 19fi2 Barthololllltl~middot quohd in Atlrlllta Con~titutirm li Jan HJ70 Britgtf Biofraphkal Sk1bulltcmiddoth of lnttrim Bmiu (roup Milwaushyket- Branmiddot~ Press R(bullleast- 16 1oY l9fi2 copy in SHHH Rt-lords (tC York Tillie 17 1mmiddot 1~62 19 Rill clek with EJ Linn Anothlr Gont With the ind Sports lllishy

tmltfl (7 Jnntbull 1963) Jt 3H u lilwanktf Brawmiddots Inc Preliminary Pro~opcctus l5fXIO SbartS Common Stock

11 Feb HXB 1middotop~ in SHHH Records Vcclt-k Anotlwr (ollt With the Wind 3410 Thoma~ (Hanlon Thtbull Business of Baseball D1m R11i1ttmiddot all( todcm l11d11stry s3 f lt_middot 19fHJ 45 ~7 Barthol01111ty in middotmiddotrvlinuttmiddot~ of Sprmiddotdal Mtding of tlw Board of Dineshytors of MilwaukPrmiddot BralS Inc 2l Oct 1964 (middotop~middot in Papers of Halph L Andnmiddotann 1963-1971 Stale Ilistorical Soeit-t) of Vbconsin 1adison [lltrtafttbullr AmlrfHno Paprbullrs]


Glen Get~dzel I 542

middotBut Your Honor I D(mt Vant a l)korce Milwauket-gt Sentinel cartoonist Al Hainmics comment on the Stairmiddot of ilmiddotrmlsitr t Mifuaukee Bmumiddot8 lnc et al trial in W66 A ittnry Or igtconsin rnipht well have revolutiouized ttt- rtmiddotlationship lwtween profmiddot~simMI sports team~ and their host eonununititS Jilted Bmvtgtland ~m the flr~middott round hnt loigtt on aprwal to the iseomin Snpnbullmf CourC ami tilt US Supremt-gt Court decli11tgtd to lttar tlw combull (Orighwl ((ft001 rcprodruwl rmiddotourlt-sy of filurmkee UrlHm

Anmiddothkbulls [1ri~enity of iscotuill ldtumkce)

197-5 Denials grew even murkier after July 1964 when The Sportshying Ncrcs and the NetL rork Times eonfinned that the Braves would indeed plav the next year in Atlanta This rumor has gone full circle wafHctl McHale How many times do we haw to keep answering A month later Bartholomay still dismis-ed the rumors as ildest of the wild 17

BraH~s Ems vho yeanted to believe the Rover Boys must have been startled in September 1964 when Rmtholomay turned down a three-year sponsorship offer from tlw Schlitz Brewing Company The deal represeuttgtd a 33 increase over the teams t-gtxisting broadshycast contract A few weeks later just ten days after telling the press that leaving Yilwaukee would be a personal disappointment

17 Loan gnbullemtmiddotnt betwtbulltbulln tlw hlwauket lkwes Immiddot and the Fir~t isltousin -ational Bauk of Hiwanktbullgt 20 Dec 1002 E-hibit 422 Wiswnshj L Brarls cop~ in SHHH R(bullcnnls rvtdble tele~nun to National L(apue owners 23 ~ept 1903 copy in SHRH Heeonh MCIIlle and Bartholomav quoted in Milrnmkrmiddote Sellfifu Hi Od 1964 middotmiddotBrtws Shift Nteds On~- OK hy 1L Tlubull Sporti cu- ~II Jul~- 964) Netc York Times 3 July I 004 15


Competitive Boosterism Hmv Miluaukee Lost the Braves I 543

Bartholomay made the official announcement (from Chicago) that the Braves would move to Atlanta in 1965 pending league approval Milwaukee boosters nmv lashed the mvners as much for their deceit as for their desertion If they had gone about it above board Milshywaukee would have been sore hut thats all complained a local businessman Speaking for many piqued fims was a third-grader who sent Bartholomay a crayoned note YOU ARE A LIAH More to the point Milwaukee County attorney George Rice informed the press Ve are prepared to file legal altion any time any day vmiddotithin an hour The county board anthorized counsel to incur any ex1Jensc nt-gtce-ssary to keep the Branbulls in tm-vn 1fi

Milwaukee still had a tmmp card to play Bartholomay knew that the Braves stadium lease ran through 1965 but apparently he assumed that the county would accept a cash sfttlenwnt The team paid about $200000 in rent in 1964 and Bartholomay alTered to buy out the contracts final year for $500000 But the county board voted 24-- to reject this offer-in effect forfeiting tapayers money by forcing the Braves to stay after they had already announced their departure Angered fans would surely disdain a team destined for some other city and since rent was baed on ticket and concession sales poor attendance would mean lost revenue for the county as well as for the team Indeed fan boycotts in 1965 pared attendance down to an all-time low of 555584 barely one-third of the teams 12-year average in Milwaukee Why should I give my money to some other city groust-d a typical ex-fan that year Stadium income did not even begin to cover costs-only Rl2 tickets werlt sold for one game-and the Rover Boys lost nearly $1 million playing out a seashyson that no one wanted Sports Illustrated sympathized that the Braves had hPcome enemies in the city that once loved them hut Arthur Dalev of the Nerc York Times rightlv blamed the owners who had bungled the operation in their gre~dy haste to leave tmm 19

McHale expressed astonishment that Milwaukee does not after

1 Oedsion Made Not to Sponsor Brans Broadcasts Schlitz BrM~ing Compauy pres~ relt-gtt~l 9 Dee 1004 Exhibit ffiL copy in SRRH He~onls BartholomltIY qnott-d in filufiUkee S1mtirwl 16 Oct 196-t Bisher _firucftbull i11 Atlanta 92 Edmuml Fitzgemld quottd in Astor Homt Anbull the Bran-s 65 lettt-r quoted in Hu~ton Hom BnllJra Hattltgt f(Jr the Hravts Svmi~ llltHtmtnl (2 No 196-1) 66 Hictgt quoted in Bishtgtr Mimshycle i11 Atlanfa 96--97 Pmtmiddotbullcdhtf~ ofthe Board of Su1wnmiddotisor~ Milum1kee Cmwl~f 21 Oet 1964) 1325

1 Proceedings of the Board of Sttpcni~ors filrumkft Cmmty (16 JliiH 1965) 111-1-shy1121 rbullumiddot )ork Time 17 JnnP 1965 JH Andtrsnn Audit Hcmiddotport fan 11tmted in V-all litrcll Jmmml 2i Au~ 1965 Buege The libumkee Brans 392 Milwaukee Bmws Sports llll~tmted 119 April 1965) 63 Dalpy in ienmiddot York Tiuw~ 10 Jnnc 1965 25


Glen Gerulzel I 541

all want us to leave on the nest train Indebulld the Rover Boys had not reckmwd ith their Wisconsin hosts Beligtre the lame-duck seashyson was over state Attorney General Bronson La Follette-grandson of the famous US Senator Robert M La Follttte-slapped an antishytrust suit on tht National Leagut The suit charged that by approvshying the Braves transfer vithout proiding a replacement ttbullam the National Leag11t conspinbulld to restrain trade and damage the states economy Baseball ownPrs addsed Milvauhmiddottgt to become recoushyciled to losing the Braves tSpPeially if the city desired a fitture expansion ttam But these boosters would not quit ~tilwaukee was in this fight for keeps vowed defiant Congressman Clement Zabshylocki The baseball bullies have picked on someone big enough and tough enough to fight back this time Rather than sue in federal court wlwre baseballs well-lmiddotstahlished antitniSt exemption would prevail La Follette brought the action in state court under Visconshysins antitrust lav If victorious the state could seek injunctions in other states forbidding teams to play Braves home game-s any~here but in Milwaukecw

Never before had major-bti(Ult baseball Ltced a state-lew antishytrust challenge Legal experts recognized that baseballs federal exemption dating back to 1922 might be undone hy an adverse rulshying that other states would have to respect umler the US Constitushytions full faith and credit clause Professional baseball has Hnally been f(lfced to come to hat hllmiddot itself the Wall Str-eet ]mmwl realshyized and against the pitcher ifs tried mightily to avoid for 44 years-the Ia If Visconsin won other states could bring similar suits hgtrcing major league baseball to grant franchises to their cities or else pay treble damages for concerted refusal to deal an antitrust violation It would have ended what legal scholars term the baseball anomaly the nations only federally-protected legal monopoly Aware of the threat the National League scrambled to defend itself retaining veteran antitrust attonwy and future baseball commisshysioner Boie Kuhn Privately Kuhn himself confessed opposition to mming the Braves because he felt it gave baseball an irresponsible gypsy look Indeed the ensuing trial in the Milwaukee courtroom

2 John McHahmiddot ttgt-legram tn Forti Frick CommissionN of Hasltgtlull ltJ F(~h 1965

Elhibit Yltl cop~middot in SRRH Reeords Homes of the Rraves Tlw Emwmtif (12 March 1006) 1007 HoraltmiddotP Stoneham Sau Franc-isco Giants mnwr quote-cl in Mihumkec Jourshynal 2-5 Juh 1966 Zablocki in 119th Cung 1st Sltss Coug Henwd Appemlh 111 (5 Au~ 1905) A4363 Vtlt York Tiuws 4- Au~ 1963 27 Sc-thi (p A~ainsl tlw C01porattmiddot Wall 2f-275


Competitive Boosterism Hmr Milrcaukee Lost the Braues I 545

of Judge Elmer Roller cast a pall over the national pastime It also revealed llllHh ahont the Rover Bovs 21

III

hmiddot did Bartholomay and his associates claim they had to ltbullanbull Milshywaukee~ The sharp decline in the citv inkrest in baseball is obvious the owners asstrted pointing to flagginp atttmlance Tlwy told the Wall Street Journal that they lost 835 million in Milwaukee though at the trial they claimed more modest losses of $50000 to $250000 a vear They blamed the anti-baseball dimlttte of local press and politicians figtr driing them away 1kHale complained that the team and ownership wert eontinually heing knocked down besmirched and iii fled He assltbullJted that taking a crack at the Braves lwcame a political pastime in MihmiddotankPe which togethtmiddot-r with the unfriendly press set the stagtbull f(gtr killing baseball in that city Bartholomay agreed that lilwaukeemiddots antagonistic attitude made for a n1ost unwelcmnmiddotmiddot atmosplwn- Baseball attorneys introshyduced in evidtgtnce a thick sheaf of columns and speedws as proof of local antipathy At lealtt on~ National League 011lt1 explained his vote in fav~Jr of mming the Braves by referring to unsupportinmiddot press22

Had ilwaukee heconw a middotmiddothad baseball town Certainly hms had tumed out to cheer past inners But the sixth-place Braves of 1963 were a far cry from the orld Champions of 1957 Business Veek admiddotised hasehaJl owners at the time that youll never ~et rich digging in any leagues cellar and a Braves oflkial admitted on the

21 Ftbulldcnd Bagtdml Cl11b afimwl cagw 259 US 200 Hl22 Wail of Twu Citi1bulls TIAfE (-l Feh 1966l IH-~2 Skfn M Lonmiddotladv 13asehall at Bat Antitrust Suits -fa~ Pmfouudl~middot Chan~P Came Wall Stnff Jotmwl 22 Munmiddoth 1966 11 Bowie Kuhn Harrlhall The Ed11uttio11 of tl BaseJtll CommiHioun NPw York l9o7_1 21 011 tIC origin of hastballs antimiddottrust exemption ste Cary R Roherts middotmiddotpwflossiunal Sports ancl the Antishytmst Lmvs in Paul D Standohar and Jamfs Man~an eds Tlumiddot Blf-ille~lt of Pmfi~~ simwl Spot1lt (Crhana 111 1911L

~ Deffgtmlants opening statfment in Vilmiddotcmill c Brrne1 Transcmiddotript of PnKmiddote-edings 1 ~fanmiddoth 1966130 cop~- in SHHH Records Mihvauktl Brawmiddots Inc PrPWntation to ~ational LeafUl 22 Oc-t llfii Exhihit 110 1-4 eopy in Andreano Plt~pen Hranmiddots offi~ dais quottbulld in Wall Stn-ef Jounwl 22 1larch 1966 Minuh-~ of Special Meeting mp~shyin Andreano lapers Mdlalt quoted in ~-lemoramlmn from Joseph V Simpson Jr icp Prtsidtnt nf Fir~t isltOIISill Nltttinna1 Rank of Mihgtvmiddotaukff to William C Bnuuder Chair~ man of tilt Bolttrd 21 0ltt 1964 mpy in SRRH Rpoundgteonk Prpoundgtsentation to 1ational League 10 JudgP Roy Hotl1einz omwr of the Houston Astros quoted in lluegt Tlw Miluauku Bmres )93


Glen Gencbel I 546

stand If yon dont have a good hall club youre not going to get tlw attPndance Baseball ecltmonibts havtgt identified the middotmiddotJontbullvmoun

efTt-gtct which buoys a nfw teams attt mlanc( and thlt ped(-nuatKmiddote

efiPet which ties attendance to inning percentagemiddot Both t-~ITeds had nm out in Milwanklte Nor did it hdp that Bmnmiddots managPmrbullnt tralthl popular players shuffled the lineup eontinually aud madltbull scant pfforts at promotion or that the county in 1961 banned carry-in henmiddotrages from tlw starliuJII alifnating cltmsunwrs of Milshywomk(middotes signature heveragt- Eight years I huy tickt~ts grnmpPd an ex-f~m and th(n they want me to buy their ht-gter-at tlwir pricesl

As f(- Milwaukees alleged hostility to the Braves not until tlw owners confirmed that they would indeed momiddote the team did thf loeal press turn against tlwm Most of the ituperative dippings subshymittfd iu court were dated after thtbull hbullams departure becanw apparshyent Oliver Kuechles savage columns in the ~lilurwkce Jounwl ran only when lw came to helien rumors that the Braves were folding their tents On the other hand Lloyd Larsen of the Miltmukec Slnshylinel continued to praise the team He emiddotcn co-chaired the Fill Er Up campaign that sold out County Stadium for Opening Day iu 1964 Both Ilfspapers routinely covPred Braves gamtgts and pubshylished special baseball supplements Judge Roller reiewed the file of Braws dippings and pronounced the local press to be downright friendly Milwaukee joumalists may have ripped the Rover Boys with columns of calumny hut the Vorst came after the move was threatshyened24

The same was true of Visconsin politicians vho criticized the Rover Boys Aggrieved indignation seemed tlw proper official response after so many hvo-faced denials hy the Rover Boys Eugene Grohschmidt county board chairman wc-nt too far when he charged that the Braves were losing on purpose so that disgusted fans would

l-lBaschall Tries to Ktbull(p Its Bonne(bull Busines8 Wrmiddotrmiddotk (20 April 1963) 14~ Ltmiddotar k~timony quotfrl in Sfllfe rifFisnmsin t lilurmkel Bru~e lw 1966 Trade Cas (CCH) 7Li31S at H2391 fan llllltcd in Jack Mann Mean hilc Cousidtmiddotr Poor ~1ilwauktbull(bull Sport~ Illu~tmtnl (fi Sept 1005) 18 On attendance effects Ml Philip K Porter The Holtgt of the Fan in Professional Haseballmiddot in Paul M Sommers cd Diamond~middot Are Forshyeca- The Bu~ilwss 1 Baseludl (Washington DC IY92J Gfbullrlld V So11ly Tlw Busi11eH of lajor Ltmiddotag1u Brnel)(lll (Chicapo Ill 191i9l 101-116 Hal Hanson and Ro~cr Gauthier Factor~ Affeeting Atttndance at Prolt-ssional Sports Enbulluts Sociology of Slorl jounwl 3 (1989) 15---19 Ou the Pam per~omwl shifts see Bttqe Tlw Milumknbull Brave~ 340 ws On d(clininl attendance f(Jr all ttatm in tl1t- earh 1960lt Stt BasPhall Another Bmimmiddotss FaLmiddotin~ (~han~e-- CS1eus amp World Report i2 Aug 1963) 57

w Wi8cmtsill r Bratmiddot-tgtlt 1966 Trad( Ca~ (CCil) 71738 tlt i2390-----H2391


Competitiue Boosterism Hmc Miltcaukee Lost the Bra~es I 547

ish tlwm good riddance Other officials were more temperate in their pronoum cments amazingly so considering that the RO(f Boys bad misled them for over a year lore substantively local officials also hied accommodating tllC tfams needs A month before the move Vas announced county ofllcials offPrtgtd to renegotiate the Braves stadium lcLsc Thev SU((ested that the county charge only 81 annual rtmiddotnt np to the first million admissions and offer a new dtgtal on COJKtssions and maintenance that would san- the Braves an addishytional 8120(X)0 a vear The conntv board approved this proposal lw a vote of 22-1 hut thP Rmmiddotcr Bovs claimed to hl- fully satisflcd with the existing h-ase In hKt tlwy ~middotere already setTetl)- committed to Atlanta 2

Mort decishmiddote than fans prPss or politicians was the astly richer broadcast markPt that Atlanbl could offPr Tmbvs nudia lllilshylions had not nbullt matPriltlliztd fur baseball owners in (hl 1960s hut sP1ling tt-bulllt-vision and radio rights could still he lucrative btgtcaHse alonl among professional spmts baseball did not (and still dols not) pool local hroadeast income for league-wide distribution Each mvner was frCe to squeeze his domain dry without sharing a drop among his ttgtllows Proposals for pooling this n-bullnbullnuc which would havt removed much of the intmiddot(bullntin for franchise transflt-rs Wlre

dt-bullnoHnced as middotsocialistic tm~American Pnn communistic h~middot the 0lltrs New York and Los Angeles teams had broadcast coutracts worth $1 million a year in 1964 more than double whlt~t most otlubullr teams could command But even owners with modest contracts clwrshyished their broadcast revcmtcmiddot hich e-ntailed no additional operatshying expensP Philip Wri(ley ownPr of the Chicago Cuhs told Ncusucek in 1965 Ve would be out of business if we- didnt hanmiddot TV re-venue believe me26

In 1964 the -lilwaukee Brans received $-100000 for thPir local broadcasts slightly helov leagnP average At SfltLionmiddots cmL as menshytioned ahove the Schlitz Brewing Company oflercd tlw Braves

2Crohschmidt quoh--d in filtnlllklt Jmtmal tO Jul~ 196--l Pro((ftlinl ofrlw HPrml 1 SJIIn-iwn lilumiddotmtkc Com1I1J 124 Stbullpt H-JfHl I 112-13 I Proposed FiriltUHilttl Bolwshyhall Packagtmiddot for fihlttnketmiddot Count~-middot mttHorandutll hom John L Do~wbull to JltlllltS E Held lO Jnne lYGi E_hibit 161 humsiu - Brrwn tmiddotop~ i11 SHHH Htbullconls HiMonshy~itl - Branbullmiddot 1006 TradP LL ICCIl 7173) at -i3HO

~~ TdrThi011 middot11 middot2 brch 196--l) 2-1----25 Bill tgtlck To Sunmiddotiv HltL~(hall fn~t Wm tbullw Fans PuJfislwrs iICS)(f)(1 S~Jmlicoflmiddot press rtgtleasP 7 ~tmmiddoth 1Hf1--L cop~ iu ~HHII R1bulleonl~ ri_glltbully rtnnted in The Bu-intbullss of BaslmL ltnUIk i2fi Ap1il 196)1 fl9 On hasdgttlh continuld oppositiott to nVlllti shtring Sll Zinrhali--t Hnwmiddotlm1 Rll-iiU ](3---shy

lfH- 173 and Harris CollillLood middotmiddotTht Sa tlrtbull Light rll Bastbullhal[Y Husi1wss Wlrk (II Jan l~lmiddotn )9


Glen Gendzel I 548

$535000 a year f(Jr three years above league average oVe feel its ita that the Braves continue in Milwaukee declared Schlitz chairshyman Robert Uihlein Jr No act of corporate boosterism however could compete with Atlantas broadcast appeal Milwaukees advershytising market of 25 million TV households halted at Chicago to the south Minneapolis to the west Canada to the north and Lake Michigan to the eagtt Around Atlanta sprawled a seven-state empire of six million baseball-deprived households between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River The nearest rival franchises were in Baltimore Cincinnati and Houston Baseball had long ignored the southeast Milwaukee paid the price of that neglect and the Rover Boys simply cashed in on it The Braves received 825 million for their first broadcast contract in Atlanta Milwaukee ofHcials surshymised that this was the main reason if not the only reason f(Jr the move Teleision money is clearly at the bottom of eveiJ1hing groused Kuechle concluding that his city had been Immolated on the Altar of the Antenna Indeed sports historians often cite the Braves relocation as a classic example of the attraction of television revenue 27

IV

If the Rover Boys felt compelled to disparage Milwaukees baseball climate Milwaukee boosters also felt compelled to refute their insults A local reporter feared that if the Braves left town the rest of the country might well conclude All those krauts want to do is sit around and drink bebullr Bartholomay had already eominced other owners that Milwaukee was no longer a viable venue One owner testified that whereas Chicago was a wonderful baseball tmm Milwaukee was not a good baseball town In fact the Milshy

F Joe Clark Analygth of Economic and Busiuess Factors Helating tn the Deeision to lowmiddot the Braves From Milwaukee to Athmtamiddot unpnhHshtd report prepared fOr the MiishyWltlllkee Braves and tlw Nationll LeaiUe by Arthur D_ Little Inc Consultinp Eeonomists H)f)() 37----3-J cop~middot in SRRII Heeords Baseballs Tab Up $2 Millionmiddotmiddot BmmlaJsting i20 FPh 196l lli Uibltbullin ltjUltd iu Mihtmiddotm1k1middote Sentinel 16 April 196) Doyne to He-ld uwmo Milrrmdnmiddot jounwl_ 1 Jul~middot196middot Donald E ParentP A History ofTeledsion awl Sports PhD diswrtation Uninmiddotr~it of Illinois 1974) 102 Other smmiddoth T(feremmiddotes to the Brangt ease indudltmiddot Ira Horowil7 Sports BroadctL~ting in Hogtgtr C Noll fd Conrtlshyment amllh1bull Sports Bwdmbullss (tL~hingtuu DC 19-0 29h Daid A Klatell and Norshymtn ~larcu~ Spm1s Jlw Sale Tdn isirm Money and tlw Fan~ (New Yurk 19) 124 Hand~middot RnhPrts and Joullt~ S Olson Witming ls tlumiddot 011ly Thiltt Spr11ts ill Amairmiddota Siun Jli (Halti111ore tel l9S-JL lJO


Competitive Boosterism lfotc Milwaukee Lost the Bm~es I 549

waukee Braves outdrew the Chicago Cubs ten out of twelve years despite a much smaller lim base The small-market Milwaukee Braves averaged a phenomenal 944 tickets sold per 100 residents each year in Milwaukee Over the same period the average was 222 for other National League cities and 207 f(Jr American League citshyies Milwaukee has done a marvelous job of supporting its team Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin afHrmed

To salvage its image Milwaukee launched a competitive booster counterattack Wisconsins lead counsel in the antitrust suit privately blamed the Milwaukee Brahmins for the flight of their beloved team because civic leaders had taken the Braves for granted Now fiwed with abandonment boosters organized a campaign to keep Milwaukee in the major leagues Lbulld by 29-year-old Allan H Bud Selig son of Wisconsins biggest Ford dealer and hy Edmund Fitzshygerald president of Cutler-Hammer Company prominent local businessmen formed Teams Inc a month after the Braves announced their intention to depart Tlwy bought out the stadium for Opening Day and resold tickets so that fans could attPnd gtithout paying the hated Rover Boys Proceeds went to a boostegtr fimd to keep Milwaukee in the major leagues Stand Up for MilwaukPe Day was the best-attended game of the entire lame-duck season It so embarrassed the Rover Boys that they did not allow TPams Inc to buy out any more games Selig appeared before other 0gt11Prs to reassure them that Milwaukee was still a Major League City in all respects but he found himself bucking a previously succpssful sales campaign in baseball cirdes29

Milwaukee howled in the team less wildemess for the rest of the 1960s Wisconsin had proved it could support major-league sports and the successful Green Bav Packers dominated the National Footshyball League at the time But baseball owners were immune to Milshywaukees appeals We were treated like we had leprosy Selig recalled is co-investors incorporated as the Milwaukee Brewers

2 Vtlls Tl1is i Milumiddotlmk(( 236 M Donald Grant digt-st of deposition 21 Jan l96fk 5 15 copy in SRRII RCcords Ja(()bson Analysis of Milwaukee- fLlrkft SO 1~ 19 Proxmire testimony in S9th Cong l~t SfsS US Senate Pn~fiwsimwl Sports A11ritmst Bil~1965 (Vashingtnn DC 1005) 104

2~ Villard Stafford unpublished manus(middotript in possession of Kathy Stafttml Sdmtgtytgtr 296 Tcams Inc Report press release 25 Jan 1966 mpy in ~RRH ReltOrds Hansshybun ~tirade in Mihvaukee 57--SS Allan H Selig Presentation to the tational Legue undated copy in SRRII Record 1ajor League Baseball in Wiseonsin speech by Allan H Bud Selig President of the Milwaukfgtt Rrtwers delivered at the State Hisshytorical Societv ofVisconsin Founders Day CtgtIPbmtion Marc Plan Hotel Milwaukfl 19 Feh l98i


Glm Gencbel I 550

Baseball Club ith financing in place to start up an expansion team at any time In view of our displeasure at the stealing of our own franchise demurnd Fitzgerald vere not in a good position to steal someone elses But his city ean1f up empty as baseball bestowed expansion teams on San Diego Montreal Seattle ami Kansas City in 1968-69 Only when the Seattle Pilots franchise went bankrupt leaving other teams to assume its liabilities did American League owners acctuiesce in a court-ordertd sale to Seligs group just days before the 19i0 season Tlw question remains why baseball 0VIHTS deprived fVJihvaukcbulle of a new franchise untiJ they had pracshytically no choice The answer lay in the public half of Milwaukees public-private booster offensive While Seligs private boosters drew up their slick brochures La Follettes state attorneys drew up their antitrust suit)()

Vhen state attorneys offfred in open court to drop the suit in exchange for a nevr franchise the owners protested that Visconsin was trying to force the National League to put an expansion team in Milwaukee and theyre trying to hold us hostage until they do it This unabashed strategy seemed to work when Judge Roller mled against the National League on 13 April 1966 He granted two remshyedies leave the Braves in place or give Milwaukee a new team But Visconsin lost the case on appeal hecaustgt of baseballs unique exemption from federal antitrust law When the US Supreme Court declined to review the decision Milwaukee was left with nothshying Rudolph Shoenecker executive director of the Greater Milwaushykee Committee had waniPd that a spiteful lawsuit would only serve to antagonize the very peOple who can give us a franchise in the first place Indeed baseball commissioner Ford Frick hinted that suing the owners has the- worlds worst Vay of going about getting majorshyleague representation in the future In 1968 Kansas City lost a team to Oakland and won an expansion team ahead of Milwaukee because as baseball executives solemnlv declared there must be no more Milwaukees It was their tum t~ be spiteful11

10 St-lig middotMajor Lcagnt Bastball in Vislonsin Veumiddot lork Tiuws 8 Mareh 3 Dtl

19fi5 Fitzgtgtrald (jllokd in Wall Sfn-11 jottmal 27 Aug 1905 Nru_middot rork Tinumiddots 7 rov 1007 Milurmkce Jotmlfll 22 Mareh 1970 Pat Jordan Buddyltgt Boys and Their $100 Milshylion Toysmiddotmiddot XlIL York 1i111e~ MagaiiU (l8 Stgtpt 1994) 4U-50 Pekr Carl) Milwaukee is Fallin~ in Lovtbull Quitgttly This Time SJorts Illustrated (27 April l9i0)middot 50--52

11 Thomas Htgtpmlds kstimony in Ui~cm1sin tmiddot BmH8 Transcript 24 March 1966 -1650 State oJWiwmiddotomint liunukle Brmnmiddot 31 Vis (2d) 699 cert denif-d 385 LS 990 ( 1906) ptgtt for rehearing deuitd 385 US 1044 (1967) Rudolph A Shoene-eker to Edmund Fit7gltgtrald e-t al If) Marth 1965 Exhibit 497 Vi~COIsiu r Brares copy iu


Competitive Boosterism Hotc Miu_middotaukee Lost the Braves I 551

v

~1ilwaukees reluctance to give up the Braves is understandable observed the Vall Street Joumal and so is Atlantas eagerness to grab them The enthusiasm of Atlantas competitive boosters was already legtgtndary at the time Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver sounded like a coach at halfiime when lw told a roomful of Atlanta businessnwn in 1961 that we are in the middle of a spirited bidding for industrial plants and we are going to be f(mnd pushing eve honorable and efff_gtetive te(hnique to attract business However honorable Atlantas tedmilttues did prove quite effective There is no adequate word to describe Atlantas physical and economic growth during the sixties crowed Mayor Ivan Allen Jr who preshysided over the boom years Boosterism lifted Atlanta to regional supremacy the New Souths urban shopiece in the 1960s when magnolia trees along Peachtree Street gave way to gleaming skyshyscrapers and snarled freeways Atlanta had been the home of Henry Grady the original New South booster Tlw citys igorous tradition of competitive hoosterism even had a name the Atlanta Spirit Scarlett OHara had sniffed that Atlanta was full of mi~hty pushy people Many historians have con finned her impression of Atlantas growth syndrome grmvth mania all-out drive and intense civic patriotism IndeCd the citys relentless boosterism eventushyally garnered the 1996 Olympiad-12

Atlantans enshrined boosterism in office in 1861 when they elected millionaire businessman and chambCr of commerce prPsishydent Ivan Allen Jr as their mayor Allens Forward Atlanta platshyform was borrowed from his father a leading New South booster who had publicized Atlantas commercial advantages to meet the competition from Floridas land hoom back in 1923 Mayor Allen

SRRII Rcgtcords Frick CJUOted iu Ed Rumill orld~ Worst Waymiddot Christian SdefiCI

lonitor )Au~ l5l 12 Scbulllig 1ajor lkagmmiddot Htseball iu Wisconsin 1~ Vall Stnmiddotct Jmmwl 27 Aug 1965 Addwss of HonorableS Eme~t mdhmiddoter (ovshy

ernnr of Ceorpia limdes 1 the Gmcn1or C1mf(rencc on Trade am Cmwncrcc (Atlanta 19611 2 Ivan Allen Jr dth Paul Hemphill MAYOR otes 011 the Sities (New York 1911) 145 Charles Garofalo The Atlanta Spirit A Stud~middot in Urban Ideolo~middot- Soutl1 Atlmdic Quartedlj 74 (1915) 34--44 Scarlftt OlLmt 11uoted in Ctgtltstint SihlP~ Peachtnl Street USA (CanlPn Citv NY 1963) 10 Truman A Hartshom PI aL Mefropolh ill Georgia Atlantas Rire ~a Mtljor Tran~rutiou Clmiddotuter (Camlnidgtgt -lass 19i6) 5 10 Rlctine A BroNllcil The Urban Ethos i11 the Soutl1 1920-1930 (Raton Rouge La 1975) 137 Earl ZwinglP Atlanta Eutgtrr and Optimism in tlw N(W South latimwl Geo1mpl1ic 174 (l9RR) i Ptbulltlf Appl~gthomtbull Hoosterism Isnt Gone lith tilt Wind leu York Thw~s 27 Jan J9J4 M


Glen Gerulzel I 552

flfver doubttd that tlw secret to Atlantas success was competitivP boosterisrn lie lauded his fellow businessmen who were totallv dedicated-albeit pragmatically benevolently and paternalistically -to the welfare of their city Allen recruikd a phalanx of businessmen to sPrve as chPPrleaders for Atlanta Private boostshyers spent Slfi million of their own money advertising tlw city in national trade magazinPs during Allens administration Greater love hath no man than he ghmiddote his gold to his community approved the Atlanta Coustitution-1

Urban historian Carl Abbott has likened Ncw South businessmen-boosters to Old South plantCr aristocrats who preshysumed that their stake in the economv entitled them to control public decisions More eharitably All~nmiddots longtime predecessor William Hartsfield believed that Atlanta has alwavs been fortunate in having its leading and influential citizens pmiddot~1rticipate in the govrmiddotrnnwnt Jimmy Carter as Governor of Georgia appreciated businessmen who were willing to take part in politics without anv selfish motive Boosterism is never whollv selfless but as lityor Allen explained Atlanta boosters simply b~lieved that whatshyevpr was good for Atlanta was good for them Of course not all Atlantans shared equally in what was good for Atlanta-espltgtciallv not the black half of the population By decades end the Voting Rights Act and racial discontent stirred by urhan renewal would plact- African-Americans in charge of their city Acquiring the Braves according to Atlanta historians Norman Shavin and Bruce Galphin was thltgt last time such a major decision could be made by the he11evolent oligarchs of the business leadership ithout broader community input lJ

Major-leagne basfball was the booster trophy Mayor Allen

11 Jaeoh C Baao Tht Snuthet~krn Fair and tlw middotchamber of Connntflt Movtbullmtbullnt in Atla11ta 1915 tu 1929 llflnla flhlorical Brtllltill 21 (1177) 1H Aitbulln MAlOR 239 tlrmfri Con~titulioll lS Jan 1970 Atlanta Creat farket ia tilt Heart of tlw Southlandmiddotmiddot Priutcrs Ink 30 middotlarch 19621 25-JS Promoting a Citys Spirit Vith Facts Printer Ink (17 Jt~ly 1004) 3-3) On All(bulltls homkr reginw we Clarenct N Stone Rcgimc Politicgtmiddot Gonbulln1i11g tltmtn lJ-16-1988 (Llnbullnee Kans 19H9) 5S-i6

14 Carl Abbott Tlw nt-middot Frhan Amcrica Crorctl1 ami Politics i11 Suubdf CititS

(Chapel Hill ~C lJSJ ) 24i William 13 Hartstlehl The End of An Era~l9fiL in Ceor~e J Lankemiddotkh ed Atlrmta A Chnmolokal find lJonwwntmy History lfl3-lY76 (Oobhs Ftbullrry NY 18l)l 127 Jimm~middot Carttbullr hy Sol tlw Be~t _ (asllmiddotille Hl75l II) Alleu fA rOll 14i Yir~-orinia II Htgtin Thf Imugtgt of A City Tcxl Busy to Hatemiddot Atlantol in tlw 1960s Phylon )3 (l972l 205-221 Stq1i1e11 Burman Tiw Illusion nf lrogr(ss Ha~e uul Politie~ in Atlanta Georgia Ethnic nnd Racial Sturlie~ 2 ( 1979) 441-454 Xorshymau Shmin and Rrultmiddote Galphin Atlm1trl Triwll]lh 4 r1 Peoplr (Athmta 19k2 2d lt tbulld 19SS) 2~2


Competitice Boosterism Hotc Miluaukee Lost the Braves I 553

wanted desperately for Atlantas mantelpiece His campaign platform in 1961 promised a team even if he had to lure one from elsewhere His inaugural address in 1962 called for an auditorium-coliseum complex that will meet the competition of other progressive cities After all the same strategy had worked for Milwaukee For years Allen boasted that he built Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on ground we didnt own with money we didnt have for dubs we had not yet signed First he persuaded Charles 0 Finley owner of the stmggling Kansas City Athletics to transfer his team if Atlanta built a dmvntown stadium Then Allen put his most trusted booster allies in charge of the stadium authority For treasurer he picked Mills Lane his own principal campaign donor who personally lent the city 8400000 for plans and estimates Soon politicians joined the game and hacked Allens project People say we need a sports stadium said one alderman and I guess they know what theyre talkng about Allens booster allies considered the stadium a personal monument to the mayor while he portrayed it as the greatest investment Atlanta ever made Certainly it was one of the largest Athmta-Fulton County Stadium cost $424 million compared (in constant l9i7 dollars) to Milwaukee County Stadiums $152 million price tagls

The journalist Calvin Trillin has noted the tendency in sun belt glamor cities to focus civic pride on a single project of pharaonic scale and Allen envisioned a Cheops of the New South Our stashydium is a Southern project built on Southern soil by Southern architects and contractors he proclaimed Allen often linked Atlanshytas aspirations to regional identity a booster tactic pioneered by Htgtnry Grady Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium symbolized more than the ~lew Souths rebirth however it also trumpeted the arrival of a Sunhclt metropolis demanding admission to the major-league club Local boosters appreciated that Allens ambitious project brought the nations attention to what was going on here rot ever)one approved of course Pat Watters grumbled that Allen middots stadium

n Bradltgtv H Hict middotIf Diiit tre tlanta in Richard lmiddotL Remanl and BracHtbullmiddot H Hict tgtds S~mhdt Citic~ Puliic und Gro1Uft Simmiddotc orld lar II (Au~Un Tex H)J 3~ h-au Allen Jr middotmiddotA Kl ~middotlayor f(r Atlantamiddot in Ceor~e J Lunkcmiddotkh td Atlanta - Chrmwlofintl ami Doctmt(lllfmJ 1iMory 1813-19() (Dohhs Flmiddotrr Y Ufihl ]33 1t-n di])CJSition in hromilt r Bmcl-middot Transcript 14 larch HJ6fi 23Hi Atlanta Pitdws fi1t tlw Big lltmiddotagmmiddots Atlrmfrl fugrtiiU 1 (0 l9fB )-511 Aldtbullnnan John Whittbull qnohmiddotd in Bislllr finumiddothmiddot ill Atlrmf(J 53 ltLwson llmtmiddotrt~middot- TIH Atlanta Still- -tlrmta ftOilfllllh Rt-rhmiddotumiddot 17 ljmw lf-Kl7) 1-5 Allen dcpoition isrOJSiiJ r Hmumiddots TranseripL It March 19fifi 2)-j7 Baim Spot1 -ltnditWI r lrmid1Jrd ltrrnfiiUIIf 20-l-206

Reproduced with pennission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without pennission

Glen Ceml~el 554

Rooftbullr Trimnph bull Atlantagt -lagtrJr hmiddotan AII(JL Jr puts tlw finishing tommiddoth on tlw rnslwd (Oilslrndion of tlanta-Fultou Cnnnh Sttdinm in ]lt)fi) n rmiddotxuhnant tlanta hooshbullr unlmillioutiw hu~int~-~nwrL -ltbulln cnrsidbullbullrtbulld his ptt projtbulld til( gnmiddotah~t ittngt~fshynwut tlanta rTvr urtdrmiddot ami --thtnta- gnbullth~t aclt-~nnplislm)rl of thi~ (tbullntrumiddot-middotmiddot Tlhmiddot tulium hL~ wtmiddotn slated for dtmiddotnmlition f(loiug tlw lt)16 Olnnpil Clllll- 1JgtlwlnlmJIIt iIWri(Wnl IOIII1rmiddotsy ~f lonl llhfPilf Ctbull~rfrT 1

plaeed the fnn of tlw well-off ahead of tlw plight of the poor and tlw education of tlw children It was built at pnblic espense tlw hi~torian Daid GoldfiPld ohspnmiddoted middotmiddotwhilt tlw citys abundaut poor rt-Cjuired sptcial appeals to secure what was l(ft mmiddoter Costs vvere inflated by completiou i_gtormses awarded to contractors so that tlw stadium would he rPady for tlw I 865 Sf-ason But wlwn American Lfague owners nmiddottoed Finleys transfer Atlantans had no team for tl1tgtir crash-IHlilt slJm1Jicmiddotctgtmiddotgtt

Atlanta and thlt BrafS connnkntly came to each otlwrs JTSlHe

in Jnlv J)63 when Allen led a boostltbullr expfdition to CJtbullmiddotelaml fltlr

1Trillin q11Jttbulltl in AhhotL Tfw 1C (r)(111 11fd((l 1--l-3 lltmiddotn q11ottbulld i11 Atlmilu

Cmllliluiolt 12 Oct Wfi-1 Furman Bi~lubullr in aula Cotlllilllliolt I l Jail 1J0 Pat atttmiddotr~ Tlw s IIUl tlw XfltioJI 11 Ytll-k 196-11 l~JJ ))aYid H ltoldll(ld Cololl Fwd owl S~middotysnfiJlt1 So11lwn1 Cilf muf Rqimt 160-JYWJ 1Balo11 Houg( Lotls Hlklt JH(-l Bishmiddotr im1k ill itm(1 )]


Competitive Boosterism Hou MilutJUkee Lost the Bratoes I 555

the All-Star Game His group of local officials and Chamber of Comshymerce businessmen met with American League officials about Finshyleys stalled transfer hut they also had lunch with some of the Rover Boys who were in town for the game Even though Allens deal with Finlev was technically still in effect the mayor followed his booster

~ instincts and pitched Atlanta to the Braves owners as he would have to any potential investors Later he testified at the Braves trial that he gave the Rover Boys what he considered the usual I would say Chamher of Commerce approach to try to ohtain a franchise for this city 1egotiations between Atlanta desperate for a stadium tenant and the Braves eager frgtr a new home began at that fateful luncheon in Cleveland

In addition to the siren call of broadcasting revenue a generous stadium contract drew the Braves marching to Georgia Arthur ~lontgomery chainnan of Allens stadium authority may have entershytained doubts about the low-rent deal hut at a critical juncture in the negotiations he received an urgent call Forget the pocket change Allen shouted at him over the phone Sign the contract The terms were less than favorable to Atlanta granting the Braves generous prerogatives and even requiring the dty to indemni(y the 1ational League for legal costs in the antitrust suit This costly comshypetitive booster ictory foreshadowed the sort of profitless stadium deals many cities now actept under pain of losing a franchise Dean Baitns 1990 study concluded that Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium lost nearly $20 million in its first 25 years and it is unlikely this facility will earn a positive return Considered the worst playin( surface in professional sports by many atheletcs Allens prized stashydium was slated for demolition in 1996~H

Vhen the Braves finally reached Atlanta in 1966 Mayor Alltgtll declared Opening Day a holiday and 150000 peopltgt thronged Magshynolia Strtgttt for a welcome parade Ch-il Var allusions ran rampant The mayor pointed out that the Braves had announced their move one hundred years after Atlanta was left an ash-strewn niin and he predicted that the teams arrival would be the happiest ltgteeasion

1 Alle-n dtgtposition Fimmin ~- Hmrn Transcript l-1 March 196fi 2169-237-1 quote

from 2-169 cop~middot in SHRH Reconls Rr~nolltls rlfgtpmitinn Whumsimmiddot Bmr(middot Tnmsltmiddotript U lardr 1966 2391-1 eopy in SRRJI Htbullltmiddotords Bisher finwle iu Atlmrfll H 67

1 ~ fillnlllkermiddot Jormwl 12 April 1006 Uihmukee jountlll 15 April l9fi(i err York Jinuw 11 Nmmiddot 1964 3i Allfn qnotfd in Astor Horne Anbull thtgt Brans 67 Dean Baim Sports Stadinrns as isc lmestnwnts n Entluation Hn11tlmuf Policy Studyo 32 (16 -middotmmiddot I~JOI 20 9 Kirnherh Hh~s Frorn Cm~w Fitgtld to CILs Dome- Pictoshyrial llbtory of AtLmta Sports Arcnmiddota~ Atlanta Iitory i5 d9911 --1----1 bull


Glen Gendzel I 556

simmiddote we got General Shennan to head south back in 1864 As the sold-out crowd filed into their sparkling new ballpark the electronic scortgtboard asked them What Happened on April 12 1861 They Firtgtd on Ft Sumter -1Jat Happened on April 12 1966 The South Rose Again 1ot all of Atlantas rejoicing invoked the past Mayor Allen considered procuring the Braves to be Atlantas greatest accomplishment of this century He expected that Nith baseball Georgia would become a symbol of Southern zest and drive a major league state in a major league region Meanwhile sullen 1ilwaukee boosters considered erecting a statue honoring General Sherman=31

Winning the Braves also marked a victory for the Sunbelt over tlw Frostbelt The journalist Kirkpatrick Sale who drew attention to this inter-regional power shift recognized that sport was integral to the gnmth culture of the Sunbelt During the period that proshyfessional sports have changed from a happy pastime to a bountiful business major-league franchises moved steadily into the nether reaches of the country Expansion to the booming cowboy cities helped reitalize professional sport while transferring these coveted signifiers of regional success Urban historian Gene Burd concurred that in the Sunbelt the winning team symbolizes the big league status for tgtmerging cities which use sports imagery as a vehicle for civic rivall) and in the competition for tourists new industry and the piracy of old industry Given Atlantas acknowledged status as archetype of the Sunbelt South media coverage of the Braves epishysode htgtIped accentuate the seeond war between the states in the l960s 41

Conversely losing the Braves awakened Milwaukee boosters to the threat of Sunbelt competition Presumably if we cant support a hasehall team and our economy is going downhill worrifd Lester

l-lmiddotmiddotcold Vind from Wis(onsin TIME 22 April Hlfl6) 66 Like (one With thtgt iml Braws Take Atlanta UfE 22 April 1966) 77 Allen quoted in Atlanta Cmt~tishyfllfiml 22 Oct Hl64 Allen 1pmted in William Leggett Atlanta )on Can Hanbull the Rest leaP U~ Edrlitbull fnttrPss Sporl~ lfhn1mfld i26 April 1865) 141 Ali~H quoted in SeK )ork Thw 13 1m 1964 Allfn ljllOttrl in Atlanta Coustitufiou 22 Oct 1964 Miftumkee joun111l 13 April 1966 SPcbull alsn Williltllll A Schaffer Ctgturgt D l-lmtstgtr ami Hobert A Yeinherg Tinmiddot Ecouomitmiddotfqwct ltlw Bmns 1111 Atlanta 19()) IAtlanhl 1967)

~ Kirkpltttriek Sal( Pornr Shift The Riw of the So11them Him rmd Its Clwlleuge to the Ea~ten1 Establiluncnt Nt-w York HJ5) 47 Gtne Bun middotTILtgt Stgtlliu) of tlw Sunheltmiddot Chit BoosteLism ill the tgtltbulltliLmiddot in Daid C Ptrry aml Alfred J Vttkins (bullds Tlw Rist ~~f tlw Sunhdt Cititw Btwrh It ills Calif 197) l45 Houald H Bayor middotThe TwtmiddotntilbullthshyCenhLry Urhau SmLth ltUld tlabull Atlanta E(ptgtrieucp Glnrgio Hi~tnrkul Qum1crly 75 ( twnmiddot jfi5 middotmiddotTJw Stgt(ltlJHI ar Between thE ~tltLtes B1tsilw~s tbulltbullk (17 ~ht~middot 1976) 92~11-1


Competitiue Boosterism How Milwaukee Lost the Braces I 557

No Joy in Suds-villemiddot AI Rainmmiddotks sorroful rlepi(1ion of alant 1ilwaukeP County Stadium on hagtPhalls Optning Day onl year aftfr thf Branmiddots btgan pla~ing in Atlanta MliwJukPe Sentinfl 10 April 1967 (OiiJinal t-lll1oon rcmiddotproduced Clllll1nlj of Mil1crmke1middot lrlmn -rehiremiddot [ 11icenify middot1middot Hiwwuin Milrnmkcl

Brann of the Association of Commerce in 1964 no one would ant to expand or locate an industrial facility in this area He hoped that the Braves departure would remove the last of any complacent attitude because more was at stake than just baseball In fi1ture months and years it may not be Atlanta seeking a baseball team he prophesied It might he some other city seeki1-1g one of our maufacshyturing facilities University of Visconsin e-conomists reported a growing ltonsensus among local businessmen that Milwaukees busishyness climate left much to he desired in the 1960s Investment dolshylars flowed out of state eroding a once-strong manufacturing base and enriching low-wage low-tax low-regulation Southern states such as Georgia Meanwhile booster organizations like the Greater Milshywaukee Committee suffered from negled-u

Milwaukee had a reputation for cumplacltbullnt shabbiness when

41 LWB [LRstPr W Brann Jr] The Laughing Jndiau Miltmuke Comnumiddotnmiddote Nmmiddot 100-1) 7 Jon G Ldt-11 Wisomsin Economic lJn-dofmltuf An Amtlysi~ oftlw Grout1 Prllblnm mul Poteutial$ of the State of li~nmsiu Visconsin CommercP Studils Vol Ill o 2 (MaJisun Wis( 1965) Peter E Marchetti middotmiddotRumtvavs m1d Taktbullovers Their Effect on Mihvaukce Emnomv Urlm11i~111 Pa~t amp Pnmiddotsent Nr 10 5 L9)0) 1-11 Dishon Silent Parlners 15-18


Glen Gendzel I 558

Henrv Maier was elected mavor in 1960 He created the Division of Economic Development to make his eity more competitivP in the booster game Every largtgt city in the country is crowding us he admonished and the fl(ht is gtgtttin( tougher than ever Ahead of other Milwaukeearts Maier realiztgtltl that we had to lind ways and means of attracting and stimulating more private investment As president of the National LeaguP of Cititgts and the US ConferencP of f1ayors Maier called for reordering our national priorities drawing attention to urban blight In 1964 he wanrtbulllL The hi(hshygeared race t(-r industry compels us to run very very fast just to keep even-ltgtt alone to surge ahead Maier exhorted Milwaukee boostshyers to go on a var f(gtoting in the nation-wide hattie f(gtr plants adding ~e must step up our defensts to stop or at least reduee thtgt pi1laging of our existing industries Maier understood tlu~ imporshytance of the Braves battle The ltyes of the nation ill he upon Milshywaukttgt to (~xamintgt our credentials as a major leagne city not only in the matter of hasehall hut in all phct-es of community life-12

During the MilwaukeP Braves final season the city council approved an aggressive campaign to hoost economic development adopting the slogan Milwaukee great f(H business glttgtat for liing and groAmiddoting greater This message appeand on lmmperstickers billboards and crates of goods headed out of town A local reporter predicted that future historians would identify 1965 as the year when vlilwaukees businessmen once reluctant to participate in eity affairs became more highly organized than ever to push fiJr progrtbullss Nine davs after the Braves played their llrst game in Atlanta leading Milwaukee boosters conducted a Forum for Progress sponsored by the Mil1caukee Seutiuel The first panel disshycussion raised the competitive booster alarm Visconsin s Industrial Future Does It Have One Governor Warren Knowlogts used the occasion to tout his Ve Like It Here economie development camshypaign It seemed that losing the Braves had finally stirred Milwaushykeeans out of their complacencyn

ll Hichanl S Dais ~ltfiwmhmiddotl Old Lady Thrift in RobertS Allen 011r air City (New York IHtl) 1~9 Hc-111) W tvlaier Clmller11fl to th1 Citie~ All Approarlt to a Theshyory of Urhm1 Uadershil itw York 1966 10 Henry V ~bier_ The Mnyor Wlw fndf Miltmuka Famm~middot tn Autohiomply (Lanhun -ld 1991l x Htgtnry W Maier Mayor Henry Maier Preaehrgts the Milwanktt Ideamiddot 1964 in George J Laukeich tgtd Afilshyfnmknmiddot A Chnmological mu Documentary Histonj (Dohbs Ftrmiddotmiddot NY 197l 114 Maifr quot((l in Mihumkte Se11fi11el 12 April 1965

ll Miifnmkec Sentim-f 8 July 22 July 1 S(pt 1965 LavvTtnce C lohlllltU1ll in Mifshylulllk~middote Joumaf 26 July 1005 Knowles quoted in 1966 MiluaukHmiddot Se11timmiddotl Third Annual


Competitive Boosterism Hou Miltumkee Lost the Braves I 559

Boosrer PrO[Jhet bull -lilwaukees ttayor HlHf) W Maier in 19fH Maier presdentl) warned his (Onstitutgtnts that tlwir cit- faePd ri~ing compPtition for johs and inve~tment in tlu~ 1960s He nuderstood tlw Branmiddots fight as part of the 1rger struggle beteen Frostshybtlt and Sunhelt dties Otr jobs and illtgt~tnwnt MaiN v-L~ nutspnkfn in d(bullfimiddotme of older LS cities plagmbulld hy riots dt-middotca~ aflll ft-dPral neglect I PllfJtograph rfprodrunl nmrtny of MihniUkll Urllfln Arrhiumiddots UiiriIXif~JI~( Hisomsin Mihcaukn I

VI

The irony of tvlihvaukee losing the very team it had lured a dozen years earlier was not lost on Boston baseball fans of long memory Many of them had never touched a drop of Milwaukee beer after 1953 The Braves are going to leave Burptown in the lurch snickshyered John Gilloly of the Boston Record and he suggested that now Milwaukee would realize how Boston felt at the time Also ironishycally Atlanta appropriated Milwaukees own hmster game plan hy building a team less stadium to attract a willing franchise If ever a city liled its skirts and crooked its finger and winked its ltye at a susshyceptible fan-rejected unloved baseball franchise lt]nipped Furman Bisher of the Atlanta Constitution sonHwhat defensively ~ilwaushykee is the guilty party Milwaukee boosters had to admit that Allanshy

Fommfir Prognmiddot~middotbull Milwaukee 1966) Miltumkee Se11tiuel_ 22 Aprill966 011 MilwltHImiddot kees ))(Joster rfiva1 see Doug Moe Putting the Brak(S on Corpomte Flight lliltmushykee j (Od 1980) 1R---42


Glen Gendel I 560

~-shyBooster Cmmtlbullmttack bull Just days after the Braves played their last haltfhall gmne in Milwaukff local businessme-n ltlnd pulitidam erected priakly-funded hillhoarcb promotshying their ltit~middotmiddots tl(lliUilli(middot compditino-ness Loss of major-leagutgt status goaded 1ihvaukel boostPrs into aetiou shPdding their nmiddotputation fur middotmiddoteomplalent shabhinlss middotmiddot middotlilwauktbulle SPntinel 1 October 1965 (Photograph repmduced cuurlfSJ of Startmiddot Hisforiml Socidy r~ H-i~COIISill 1

tas vul)ar seduction of their team had a familiar ring But they could not have predicted the g)psy era of leapfrogging franehises that would ensue once they showed rival boosters how to lure teams-tJ

1or could Milwaukeeans have guessed the consequences of demonstrating to haseball owners that moving was profitablP In 1953 1ational League president Warren Giles advised owners that Perinis success in Milwaukee proved that there are new fields of operation which are fertile Four years later the Wall Street Jourshynal advised tapping new markltts like the West Coast and repeating the Milwaukee Miracle Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter OMallev promptly moved his team to Los Angeles citing the need

middotII Milumiddotnuket Jounwl 20 larch 1953 Gilloly quuttd in Miltumkee jounwl 15 Jul) 1964 Bishltr Mimde ill 4tlantrl 111 Shirley Poitch in Miluaukee Jmmml 9 July 1964 Lbulle Elihu Lowfnfish A Tale of Mmy Cities Th( Vestward Expansion of Major League Baseball in thtbull 1950s jounwll thl lest 17 (l9i8) 71-~2


Competitive Boosterism How Miluaukee Lost the Braves I 561

to compete with Perini In the nineteen years after the Braves left Boston nine cities lost major-league teams it happened twice to Washington DC Sportswriters sympathized with Milwaukees loss of the Braves because it underscored the rising greed of professional sport at the time Baseball subscribed to the hit and nm tactics of the medicine show complained Red Smith about the 1960s and Roger Angell lambasted owners f(gtr purveying fly-by-night tentshyshow entertainment treating their customers like dimitted louts who would root f(r anybody in a home uniform Marauding teams raished the land wrote Dick Young then moved on to other parts where money is fresher and the suckers riper 4 middotgt

~ot unlike the players strike of the 1990s the Braves battle of 1960s reminded fans that the national pastime was after all a busishyness The trial made basehall look less like a game and more like a money machine editorialized the Vall Street Joumal The Braves have proved that baseball is motivated by one thing only wrote a disillusioned ex-fan to the Milwaukee Joumal The almighty buck Baseball writer Leonard Koppett knew this realization would hurt the game because its pretty hard to root for a business---especially a business that may move away when a better offer comes along Then as later sportswriters fretted over games waning popularity By 1971 Forbes announced that baseball no longer seems to fit the national mood In another parallel to the 1990s Congress in the 1960s was sufficiently roused by the Braves episode to reconsider basehalls antitrust exemption Congressman Henry Reuss of Milshywaukee complained that monopoly power allowed baseball owners to enter a nev community catch all the fish cut dOvn all the trees mine all the minerals and then leave it high and dry Congressman Zablocki censured owners for claiming an exemption from antitrust laws as a sport and then using that pridlege for strictly business purshyposes which flaunt the public interest Wisconsin legislators introshyduced bills to regulate baseball and to require pooling of local broadcast revenues-1-r

-i arrPn Ci](bulls National Letguf Presidents Heport 11 Ma~ 1953 cop~- iu SHRII Records Wall Strcd Jounwl ) April H~Ji N(bullil J Sullhom The Jodgrr lore -est INtgtw York 19S7) -3--44 Smith in Mihmukfc jmmwf 12 Juntbull 19f14 Hoger An~tmiddotll Two StrikPs 011 the lrnagtgt Vrtt Yorker (24 Oct 19G4J 15-22J-i Yo11ng quoted in t~ll Strc1f

journal n fmh 1966 11

Editorial in fill Stnmiddotfl jollflllll I Ap1il 1966 Ldter to Miftnmkll jowwd 21 Jul) 19fi5 Lc-gtimanl Kop1wtt Tiw El-atioua Sport Look~ at Jts l1nagPmiddot X1t lm-k Times Magflillc (20 Dec HKYk -11 l10 Sa~middots Bastbullha1 is L1ke Ballet Forhls (1 pri19711 2-l Hfnf)middot S Reuss telegmm to Wtrrtll C Cilf~ 10 Jul~- 196- Fiscongtill r Bn1nbulls Exhibit St-


Glen Gendzel I 562

Baseball survived hearings hills and lawsuits in the 1960s But the comic opera war between Milwaukee and Atlanta over the Braves franchise posed baseballs gravest challenge until the Curt Flood case and the onset of player free agency revolutionized the business a decade later Had Wisconsins antitrust suit succeeded the owners might have lost their power to restrict the nations supshyply of franchises and to blackmail cities into LOmpeting for the privshyilege of hosting them The sport has got itself into a frightful mess through its greed and arrogance scolded Arthur Daley of the Netc York Times after the 1ational League lost the first round of the suit The Braves trial temporarily lilted the veil of sport from the national pastime laying bare its ugly visage of monopoly The business of baseball has thrived according to sports analyst David Whitford hy draing on a vast reservoir of goolthvill toward the game of baseball Controversial franchise transfers drained that goodill resshyervoir fCJrcing 0-11ers to restock it lest they lose their antitrust exemption In the three decades after the Braves left Milwaukee baseball owners agreed to add ten expansion teams no franchise relocations occurred after 19i2 oleanwhile baseball 0-1Jers execushytives and their families contributed over $600000 to political camshypaigns hetween 19811 and 1993 and there is some evidence that expansion teams were doled out selectively to placate key federal legislators47

Business nreek reminded 0llltfS in 1991 that moving teams is a risky step fOr an image-eonscious sport because relocation fosters controversy and revives discussions of baseballs antitrust exemption Base hall commissioners laid down strict franchise-

copy in SRRJI RPcords Clement J ahlolt-ki Should Profpssional BasehaH Be Put Under Antitmst Lotwsmiddotmiddot Amerinm Iqfion Magaine 80 (Yianmiddoth 1-Jf)(ll 22 On haspballs dedine in the 19fOs Ste Ralph Andr(alo So joy in fuddlltbull Tlw DiltbullIIJIIW ~~f Mtljor flbulltiJIU Httwmiddotlmll (Camhridge It~S 15)

I Wall Sfrtef Jmmwl 2i Aug 1965 Ffood 1middot Kldm 407 US 25-i Hf2) laJYin Miller llmll Diffnrllt Raft Game The Sprnt fllltl BrJbullrimmiddotss of Br~seb1df (New York HJUJl n~J~~y in eu lork Tinws 15 pri 1960 24 Dadd hitfnrd PlayiltJ Hardball Tit~ HiIJ-Strikf Hattie fr Bo1middotdwfl~ tmiddotrc Fnmchisn 1ew York 1993) 74 A1tlmr T Johnson Cnngrtgt~ ami Profl~sional Sports 1951-197o) Atuwls tiftlw Amcrinm Anuf IIIIJ of Politilol ami Social Slitbullnnbulls 445 (lH79) 102-115 middotmiddot- Lfltt)llt of ThPir Owu Conuotl Call~l Maaiwmiddot HI119-J3 10 On tJw politic~ of 1middotxpamion see Steltll Bohshyerts Rasrmiddothall~ Free Pts CS trcs Lmiddot World Rrmiddotpo11 24 Jumbull 1991 2middotgt htth( CooshypN StpJ(IZt PlaY How Crm~ress Got Blttehttll to Cough Up THJ Monmiddot T~middotam~ asltiulo1 lonlhly 25 tjnmbull HJ~Bl 50---53 lm-ra~ ChtL~s IIails uf Cougnmiddots Fill itl1 1t Lohhists Xtmiddotumiddot rurl Timn H fan l~N5 24 Eric Lipton and 1ark Maskt -id( Say am~-middotr Cut Deal fm Httsebal T~am lasltillfOII Po~t 23 ~tmiddoth 19J5 Bl


Competitie Boosterism Hmc Mihcaukee Lost the Braves I 563

transfer guidelines in tlw 1980s to preclude any emulation of the Rover Boys hut mmpetition among cities aspiring to major-league status continued Baseball lteumnnist Gerald Scullv theorized that franchise shifts abated in the 19i0s onlv bullcause national television surpassed local television as a souwe of revenue In the 19JOs that balance shifted hack and the possibility loomed that baseball ownshyers might bestmv their prfdous trophies on new inners in future rounds of eompetitie boosterism-espeda1ly as pn~ssure increased on them from unstable labor costs and low TV ratings Rather than relent to sharing local broadcast incon1e baehall owners demanded a team cap on player salaries bettPr lease terms from their home cities and exorbitant franchise fPes frorn new mmers By threatPnshying to move-usually to St Petersburg where desperate hoostPrs profferPd the tenantless Suncoast DumP-several owners forced citshyies to contemplate the loss of major-league status resurrecting the Milwaukee specter

The Braves episode offers some final ironies After leaving -lilshywaukee in 1965 the Atlanta Braves compiled the worst 25-year record in the history of US professional sports In 19i5 the Hover Boys sold out to media entrepreneur Ted Turner who began to broadcast games nation-ide on his cable television nehvork Hence the team that movtgtd for the sake of TV revenue threatened the revshyenues of all teams by undercutting their home markets ~lost ironishycally of all Bud Selig-the only hero of the Braves tra~edy in the l960s-attained national illainy in the 1990s as tlw hard-line acting commissioner of baseball who precipitated the players strike by imposing a salary cap in the name of protecting small-market franshychises Despite the leagues lowest player payroll the Milwaukee Brewers still had to cope With the same small-market pressures that had troubled thtgt -lilwaukee Braves Theres just no way for teams in markets like ours to compete financially vith the teams in the big markets Selig regularly emphasized By 1995 his team was $35 to $50 million in debt according to tlnancial experts

-tgt middotmiddotHave T(bullmu ~lay TmYeL BmiwH nmiddotk (1 Jnl~ l99l) 36 Senlly Businns of Major- lpoundclgue Ba~ehall l9J Richard Sandomir_ Networks Back Out of lY Dfal ith Baseballmiddot Xcumiddot lork Times 21 JunP l195 H1 Bob Nighten~ltJe Pugt rvlilions for a Chanct to Go Broke Yeah Rillt The swrtillf Nern (20 March 9951 1-1 Andrew Osttgtrland middotField of Nightnlllres Financial norld 16-l ~H Feb HJ9Smiddot 105-107 ltrothe~ Tht ShakedoHl

lY Bob Hope We Coulrlte Fillisltd Lll~t itlw1d Yo11 An Irrnennf Look flt the ttlrwta Bmctmiddots (Atlanta 1991) L Scully Bu~iw~~ of Basdmll 108-109 Zimhalist Bastmiddot l)lll ami Billion~ 50 Selig quoted in John Feinstein PWy Ball The Lifi and TrouiJled


Glen Gendcl I 564

In the 1990s the filwaukee Brewers joined the poor-mouth

chorus of baseball teams demandini a new public-funded ballpark

though Selig also offered to contribute substantially A local reporter of long memory observed that Selig was making Bill Bartholomayshylike statements about his teams flnances Yet ironically given his pivotal role in the Braves-Brewers saga Selig was in a weaker posishytion to make a credible threat to leave ~tilwaukee Brevers viceshypresident Laurel Prieb explained the need for a subsidized stadium to attract more fans Its not a matter of just wanting to stay Its a matter of economic survival In case local politicians missed the point David Hackett another Brewers middotice-president underscored it Nobody wants to lose a balldub on their watch Selig himself abstained from threats admitting that you dont threaten unless you want to go but he added plaintively Are we supposed to pay a price for that As in the mid-19fi0s Milwaukee struggled in the mid-1990s to retain its major-league status Ve got stung once when the Braves left sighed a local legislator and a lot of us just dont want to Ste that happen to our eity again After isconsin voters in 1995 rejected a sports lottery to fund Seligs stadium Govshyernor Tommy Thompson proposed new tases to fund the $250 milshylion project Without the stadium the Brewers leave he cautionPd stining up Braves memories Thats the bottom linemiddot0

Ironies aside lilwaukees loss of the Braves has relevance heyond the realm of sport Ex-baseball commissioner Ford Frick once observed that Americans react iolently to any questionable actions affecting sports hut they overlook equally questionable maneuvering on the part of politicians and big business The Braves tragedy was an object lesson in competitive boosterism-a painfUl warning of the fate that befalls cities when they fall behind in the economic development race The political scientist Paul Kantor pershyceived that the eompetitive urban economic environment of recent decades has reversed the historical relationship between business and cities Competition is waged by cities against each other much

Tillfs of Mtjor Lmgmmiddot 13(sdmll Ntgtw York l993L 177 Milurmkee Jounw-Suti~tel 21 Aug 1995 fiA Set also Selig remark lwfmogt tl1e Natioual Prfss Cluh in VashinR(on D( on 11 July 1994 and~~~ ARCs This Week with Daid Brinklt-gty on 31 Jul~ 1994 deffndin~ thtgt salary cap as tlw only my to presllt Slllltlll-marktt franchiscbulls

Brewers Prpss Plans for Jiw Stadium S1wrts lndmtry Ntgtn-~middot 21 Au~ 1992) 261 Bruce Murphy Tmdf Seuet Uilumtketgt Maai1w (April 1994 21 Pritgth quoted in Bosrou Globe 16 JunP Hl95 Hac-kett quoted in Miltnmkee Jmtnwl 3 ~ov 1991 Selig quoted in Chicago Trilmnc 4 Nm 1991 Assemhl~middotmm Peter Brock quoted in iurphy Tradtgt S(erets 26 Thompson quoted in Vhcomin Staft Jounwl 20 Au~ 199S lA


Competitice Boosterism Hmc LYliluaukee l-ltJst the Braes I 565

lliluaukees Bmwbalf Booster Allan H middotmiddotBlHI Selig co-fottn(ler of Teams ltlc presshyideiJt of the Milwaukle Brtwers an~ I the acting ((lllllllis~iommiddotr of haspha1 An ardent Brltt~ fan iu hi~ ~nutk ~eli) lthored for finmiddot ~eLirS to lniug major-IPagut hasdmll hack to Milwauketbull he-fonmiddot flually SlltltEPdin) in 1970 ln 1995 he COJlittcerl iscomin legislators that a 1ww S250 million stadium wa~ lltlPSSary to mOid a nbullpetition of th( Brangts tragetly i Po(llrrlfJh nprodrtcld rlllltesy of Miltnmkce Brernn J

as among finns in a free marketplact hut without any gains in proshyductivity or national income Iligl middotisibility and lack of regulation have made sport only the most blatant form of this destructive phe-


Glen Gendel I 566

nmnenon which should concern others besides sports fans In 1993 the rational Governors Association called fJr a ceasefire in the business incentive wari 1

Meanwhile though economists have f(Hmd that tax money is better spent elsewhere cities still blted themselves white to build ever-more glorious stadiums for footloose franchises States cities and local boosters spent freely in the 1990s to bring major league baseball to Denver Miami Tampa Bay and Phoenix and to keep it in many other placPs seemingly at any east Sports today is deals always deals lamented Howard Cosell when he lefi the broadcast booth in disgust Tax abatements luxury boxes a bigger slice of the concessions pie Cross an owner deny him these gooditgts and hell skip town Baseballs competitive boosterism produced inshyners and losers such as Atlanta and Milwaukee in the 1960s but the game goes on Indeed Business Week reported in 1992 that theres no shortage of cities desperate lor a major league team Cosell wanted sports fgtms to realize that the real action was in the boardshyrooms not the playing fields For admirers of tough competition perhaps the franchise rac-e has surpassed the pennant race it is the real sport behind the baseball business 52

51 Ford C Frick Games 1tvn~k and Ptll)ltmiddot Mn11oin of a L1wky Fan l Ntgtw York Hl7l) 123 Paul Kantor_ The Pnlitkal Ecnnom~- of Business Politic~ in US Citie~ A D(nmiddotlopmtntal Perspectinbull Studie~ in Amnican Politicall)ncflgtpmenl ol [ (-Jew llanmiddotn 199() 261 Watson Neumiddot Citmiddoti[ Far 59 For J summo1ry critique see Rogtor Vilshy-~on State Brz-~ilw~s lnrellfire8 awl Etmiddotmwmic Gnmthmiddot Anmiddot They FJfixtireY A Rrdeltmiddot of the itemtunmiddot (Lexington Kent 19119

i Hohert A Baadtgt middotmiddotsrulintns Profl-~sional Sporh and Economic Dcmiddotmiddotelopmtgtnt -sscssiug the Retlit) Heartland Policy Stldf Vo 62 (21) Mar 1994) Is Bu)ing a Ball Club a Fools Came Bu~itle~middots Week tli Aug 1992 106~ Lambull Breul and Circmes 62~64 Howard CoStll vith Peter Uonnbullntrf I Xerer Plmjimiddotd the Gtmw (Npw York 19S5) i9-60 Bottom of tl( Ninth in the City by the Ba~T Bt~silt~S Wtbullek bull24 Aug 1992) 69



Recommended Citation

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Competitive boosterism How Milwaukee lost the Braves Gendzel Glen Business History Review Winter 1995 69 4 ProQuest Research Library pg530

Glen Gende[


By any measunmiddot major-leagmmiddot baseball in ~orth Amelica surPiy qwtlifltgts as big business The national pastime is a middotita compontgtnt of todays urhan political Pconomy aiiCI hasphall tltbullan1s nmiddotsemhltmiddot other high-prestigP husiJHmiddotmiddotssps in that cititi lllllSf COill[Wfe for tJubull priyjlt_bullgp of hostill) thtbullJJIshy

WhatelT thtgtir tnw worth This artidtgt analyltS tlw transft-gtr of the Milwat1kee Branbulls has(hall franchise to Atlanta in 19(i5 as tlw oukonw of middotcompCtitinbull hoosteJism or the actiHmiddot pltutiCipation of lmmiddotal tbulllitfS in lurin) trade indnstry and innmiddotstni(nt fr01ll otlwr dties fi1r tiH pui)OSt of PcoshynltJnlic dltbull-tgtIltJpnHbullnf

Baseball sfasons of the mid-990s with a fulllioeup of stJiking players rapacious owners and disaffeeted fans surely set

records for most rPpetitions of the f~uniliar refrain Baseball is a business not a sport The conhmporary sports page came to rtgtsemhltgt tlw finandcll page lavishing attention once nbullsenmiddotecl for pitching and p(miUlts onto the minutiae of labor rPiations and antishytnrst law Each yt-gtar sportsw1iters and fms SPemed to rediscover that big money had tunubulld all big-league sports into hig business Vhat still went unnoticed by baseball writers howver middotas that while the national pastimf mub1ted hom sport into husint-bullss ltl much larger sPctor of the US political t-gtconomy shifted in the oppositt direction Vhat used to be the lmsincss of urban ecmtomir dedopment

CLE CEDZEL i~ t doetoral calldidate ill LS llistor tt tlw luinmiddotr~it~ of is~ comiu ladi~on For their lubulllpfid (OttlllHnt~ the autlmr mmld iktmiddot to tlwnk Prof Stanshyk~ Schult ProL Jolm liltoll Cnoplr Jr Prof Stanlcmiddot_ 1utlcbullr and Prof Halph Andnmiddotano of tilt Uttinmiddotrltih of iscousill I htrr tilltbullJ of tlw Staftbull Historical Sotiet- of i~tmiddoton in tlw lditor of himiddot_ journal awl an mctl rllOH rdlmiddotnbulltbull Au ltrlitbullr trsiun of thi~ artidtbull wL~ prtmiddot~tmiddotuhmiddotd to ihtbull lorth rnwrican So~middotid lilf Sport lliMory mtbullding at Ctliimtia Statt UniN~ity-Lon~ lkaeh 2~J Ia~ HJJJ

B1nimmiddotss lifurrf UTinlmiddot (-)9 (itlter Hl~J)J 530-)h(i middot0 1WJ5 h_ Tlw Pre~ideut aucl

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Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566









Glen Gerulzel I 552













Glen Ceml~el 554

















Glen Gendzel I 556













Glen Gendzel I 558








VI




Glen Gendel I 560













Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566














Glen Ceml~el 554

















Glen Gendzel I 556













Glen Gendzel I 558








VI




Glen Gendel I 560













Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566


















Glen Gendzel I 556













Glen Gendzel I 558








VI




Glen Gendel I 560













Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566















Glen Gendzel I 558








VI




Glen Gendel I 560













Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566











VI




Glen Gendel I 560













Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566









Glen Gendel I 560













Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566
















Glen Gendzel I 562












Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566















Glen Gendcl I 564












Glen Gendel I 566













Glen Gendel I 566









Competitive Boosterism: How Milwaukee Lost the Braves

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Transcript of Competitive Boosterism: How Milwaukee Lost the Braves