Milwaukee Brewers History: Borchert Field

Before the Brewers played their games at Miller Park, they played their games at Milwaukee County Park, but even MCP was preceded by another baseball field in Milwaukee-Borchert Field, which replaced the original Wright Street Grounds. The Park was built in 1888 on the North Side of Milwaukee, in the block that included North, 7th, 8th, Chambers and Burleigh streets, with home plate being positioned at the south end of Chambers.  Below is a postcard that features both the Borchert Field and Milwaukee County Park.

It was originally known as Athletic Park and opened in May of 1888 operating as the home of the Milwaukee Creams of the Western League (later becoming the Milwaukee Brewers) until 1894 when they relocated to Lloyd State Grounds in 1895 and then transferred to St. Louis ending Major League Ball in Milwaukee in 1901. in 1902, the Milwaukee Brewers minor league club initially giving Borchert the name Brewer Field but it would stay named as Athletic Park instead. Athletic Park was renamed to Borchert Field in 1928 to honor the previous owner, Otto Borchert, who died on April 27, 1927.The Milwaukee Brewers would play for 51 seasons before they were replaced by the Milwaukee Braves, and to accommodate a growing MLB fanbase Milwaukee County Park was built and Borchert Field disbanded and then later torn down that year. I-43 now runs over where Borchert Field used to be.

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Borchert Field was also home to the Negro League Milwaukee Bears and the All-American Girls Professional League Milwaukee Chicks. As well it served as the home for the Milwaukee Badgers, an NFL team that was in existence from 1922-1926. Borchert Field was also the first place the Green Bay Packers played in Milwaukee, a 10-7 loss to the NY Giants on October 1, 1933, the Packers would play games in Milwaukee from 1933 – 1994, moving from Borchert Field to County Park in 1954.

Eventually, the Milwaukee Brewers would leave Milwaukee County Park (in 2000) and find their way to their current home, Miller Park.