The sausages originally appeared as characters onthe massive black-and-white electronic scoreboard in Milwaukee County Stadium.Three animated sausagesa bratwurst, a Polish sausage and an Italiansausagewould race through Milwaukee on theirway to County Stadium as the theme song from Chariots of Fire played.
When the Brewers retired Robin Yount’s number onSunday, May 29, 1994, the race began as it normally did, but ended like itnever had before. Just before the electronic version of the three wieners wereto cross the finish line on the scoreboard, the sausages appeared in physicalform from the left-field fencethe bratwurst donning green Austro-Bavarianlederhosen, the Polish sausage sporting a blue-and-red rugby shirt and darksunglasses, and the Italian sausage wearing a chef's outfitand ran Milwaukee’sinaugural sausage race. Soon after, Klement’s bolstered the roster with afourth sausage named Frankie Furter, a baseball-uniform-wearing hot dog. Whatbegan as a way to entertain kids during Sunday afternoon games became a hugehit among Brewers fans.
During the 2000 seasonthe final year the Brewersplayed at County Stadiumthe virtual sausage race wassent to the big scoreboard in the sky and the sausages in physical form beganto race before the bottom of the sixth inning at every Brewers home game.
From the stands, the hustling wieners don’t lookparticularly large, but up close their stature is a sight to behold. Theoversized foam costumes measure 7 feet 3 inches high from the tip of the headto the knees of the runner wearing the costume. Employees of the MilwaukeeBrewers or Miller Park are typically thechosen few allowed to participate in the race, but sometimes a ballplayer orspecial guest is allowed the opportunity for glory.
The sausage hit the fan in 2003 when the firstbaseman of the Pittsburgh Pirates smacked the Italian sausage in the head witha baseball bat as she was running past the visitors’ dugout. Though the swingdidn’t make contact with the runner’s actual head, it did push the top-heavycostume past the tipping point and the sausage hit the ground, taking the hotdog down with her. The Polish sausage helped the Italian sausage to her feetand all four sausages finished the race. The player, who was arrested and paida fine, was suspended by Major League Baseball for three games.
To celebrate Hispanic contributions to baseball andthe Brewers’ growing Latino fan base, Klement’s expanded its roster to fivewith the signing of Cinco the chorizo sausage on Cerveceros (Spanish for“Brewers”) Day on July 29, 2006. But because of a Major League Baseball rulestating that a team cannot introduce a new mascot in the middle of the season,the chorizo and his big brown sombrero didn’t see regular playing time untilthe 2007 season.
What is it about these sausage mascots we find soappealing? Do they draw on our city’s ethnic pride? Is it, as perhaps Freudwould say, simply an unconscious fascination with the phallus? Or is it thosetiny human legs propelling that enormous sausage body? Whatever the reason, thesausages are loved. These five anthropomorphic wieners have transcended therealm of mere promotional ploy and have taken on an identity as one of Milwaukee’s favoritebaseball rituals.
