Farewell to Spahnie - Braves’ Departure Still Hurts Milwaukee Fans

• Editor’s Note: Patch contributor Tom Andrews has published a book about growing up with the Milwaukee Braves team of the 50s and 60s. This is the second  of three excerpts from the book. Andrews' book is available at Next Chapter Bookshop in Mequon, Barnes & Noble,  in Menomonee Falls, Burghardt's Sporting Goods , Fan Appreciation at Brookfield Square, Sportsworld in Wauwatosa and online at www.bravesfansonly.com.

It’s pretty amazing when you stop to think about it.  The Braves only played 13 seasons in Milwaukee, from 1953-1965, before carpet bagging to Atlanta in 1966. But as we caught up with Milwaukee Braves fans for our book, the level of enthusiasm for those Milwaukee teams was truly amazing. There are diehard Milwaukee Braves fans all over the country to this very day! They refuse to let go of a team that brought our city a World Series championship in 1957 and gave us 13 straight winning seasons.

The following are a few of my recollections from the Braves’ last season in Milwaukee:

In several ways, 1965 was a pretty miserable year for me. First, my grandmother passed away and I had always enjoyed being around her whenever our family traveled from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to visit her and my grandfather.

Second, I found out that I needed glasses, something that can be pretty traumatic for a 12 year-old who was also beginning to wage war with acne.

And third, we heard the official announcement that our Milwaukee Braves were going to move to Atlanta at the end of the season. LEAVING MILWAUKEE? YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!

But it was true and I can remember attending what would be my last Braves game at County Stadium. Dad came home from work one September evening and said, “My friend gave me a couple of box seats for tonight’s Braves game with the New York Mets. Let’s go!”

It was a damp, chilly evening but this was the first time I ever had an opportunity to sit in the box seats.  Dad and I sat right behind the Braves dugout along the first base line. Warren Spahn was pitching that night—for the Mets. I’ll never forget how odd he looked standing there on the mound in that strange uniform. Don’t get me wrong. I wanted my Braves to win but I sure didn’t want to see Spahnie lose, either. He was such a winner!

But Spahn didn’t last long in this game, thanks to Eddie Mathews. The Braves loaded up the bases and the silence was deafening as Eddie put on his batting helmet and walked up to the plate.

By this time in his career, Spahn just wasn’t the same and he served up a nice fat one right down the middle. Mathews connected for a towering grand slam home run into the right field bleachers but, as he trotted around the bases, the fan reaction was the strangest I had ever seen. No great cheering. Just a buzz, almost a respectful whisper. Though we were happy about the homer, it was tough to see Spahn standing there on the mound, hanging his head and staring at the mound.

Though that was the last time I ever saw him pitch, it will by no means define my memories of Warren Spahn. He was one of the greatest ever and several years before he passed away, I finally had a brief opportunity to meet him at a baseball card show in Milwaukee.

“Thanks for all the great memories, Spahnie!” I told him.

“No, thank you,” Spahn replied. “Nobody ever had more fun than we Braves players in Milwaukee.”

When the Braves packed up and left, I stopped collecting baseball cards, right then and there. I pouted. I was absolutely miserable.

I can also recall a drive to downtown Milwaukee one afternoon in 1966 that was memorable for two reasons. First, my mother was driving and that was highly unusual. She hated driving downtown because driving in heavy traffic bothered her. Rural Menomonee Falls was O.K. But trying to find a parking space on Wisconsin Avenue? Forget it.

As we traveled east on Highway 94, we passed County Stadium. Looking out the window, I was struck by the sight of weeds and grass breaking their way through the asphalt in the stadium parking lot. The stadium was barren. No cars, no people, no nothing. I will have that vision for the rest of my life because it symbolized the emptiness I felt inside.

My Milwaukee Braves were gone and a big part of me went right with them.

Upcoming book signing appearances by Tom Andrews with “For Milwaukee Braves Fans Only!”

April 9: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Barnes & Noble, Mayfair Shopping Center, 2500 North Mayfair Rd., Wauwatosa. 

April 11: 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Old Time Ballplayers Association Spring Jamboree, Serb Hall, 5101 West Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee.