Today is the 40th anniversary of one committed fan’s stand against bandwagon followers. With the Milwaukee Brewers stumbling to a 15-30 start through May of the 1970 season and continuing that horrid pace through the beginning part of June, Milt Mason decided to take a stand against his team’s lack of fan support in the ballpark. In an effort to get more people to the stadium, the 69 year old Mason locked himself away in a trailer atop the scoreboard at Milwaukee County Stadium and vowed not to come down until the team recorded a home attendance of at least 40,000 fans.
The team supported his protest and even gave him a few amenities for his troubles. Unfortunately, the protest took a little longer then Mason expected. After a month of his protest, the team’s attendance didn’t even break the 30,000 fan mark. The team’s meager attendance continued into August until August 16th when the Brewers had a home game against the Cleveland Indians. The August 16th game was a “Bat Day” promotion game, and on that day, the team surpassed 40,000 fans by recording a final attendance of 44,387. The Brewers won the game 4-3 and Mason swung down out of his trailer by rope.
Three years later, Milt Mason would pass away, but his memory would not be forgotten. That same year, Milwaukee Brewers created a mascot named Bernie Brewer in his honor. Even today Bernie Brewer does his cheering from a trailer in the rafters of Miller Park. Happy Anniversary to the Original Bernie Brewer.