It’s a time of high anticipation for Milwaukee sports fans. The Brewers will open Spring Training in a few weeks, the Bucks are competing for a playoff spot, and work is progressing as scheduled on the brand-new arena. But local fans should also be excited for Back Yard to Big Leagues: Milwaukee’s Sports and Recreation History, the just-opened exhibit at the Milwaukee County Historical Society (910 N. Old World Third St).
A 1928 Marquette University football uniform.
The exhibit offers a look back at the history of sports in the city, covering everything from the world-class pro athletes who called the city home to the weekend bar league bowlers that you can find in nearly every area family. The exhibit takes up both levels of the historical society’s public space and features interactive displays, photographs and rare artifacts.
Bucks legend Oscar Robertson.
Displays on sports like bowling, biking and track cover some of the city’s lesser-known sporting stand-outs, while larger exhibits on football, basketball and baseball recount some of the most famous moments in local athletic lore.
A life-size bobblehead of Paul Molitor stands by as a screen shows highlights of the 1982 Brewers.
Back Yards to Big Leagues is certainly a memory-jog for local sports nuts. A monitor on the ground floor runs highlights from the pennant-clinching game five of the 1982 ALCS while a screen upstairs runs a loop of 1990s-era Bucks television ads featuring Blue Edwards and Frank Brickowski. A must-see in the hockey display is a storyboard of a series of Milwaukee Admirals ads featuring Bob Uecker hamming it up with team owners Jane and Lloyd Pettit. And certainly apropos to the present day is the large display on Milwaukee sporting venues, featuring everything from long-gone Borchert Field to the mock-ups of the new arena.
A storyboard of a Milwaukee Admirals ad starring Bob Uecker.
A series of lectures and other events will coincide with the exhibit. The first of which will be a took talk and signing for Going for Wisconsin Gold by Jessie Garcia, scheduled for the vening of February 1 at the historical society. More details on that event can be found on its facebook page.
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The exhibit is open to the public from Monday to Saturday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. It will remain on display until April 27. Admission for adults is $7, children 12 and under are free.
