Image via Marc Ponto
Frederick C. Miller (age 48 and President of Miller Brewing), his son Fred Jr. (age 20) and Miller Company pilots, brothers Joseph and Paul Laird, died in a plane crash in Milwaukee on Dec 17, 1954, after taking off from General Mitchell Field.
Image via Paul Bischoff
The nine-passenger twin-engine company aircraft was a converted Lockheed Ventura. It was bound for Winnipeg for a December hunting trip at Portage la Prairie. Due to problems with both engines, the plane went down just slightly northeast of the intersection of Whitnall and Pine Avenue. Miller, the father of two sons and six daughters, was able to escape from the wreck but died late that evening at Johnston Emergency Hospital. Fred Jr. and the Laird brothers did not escape the crash. The funeral for the Millers, at Gesu Church, was attended by thousands from all walks of life.
Of note, one section of the plane was salvaged and is currently in storage at the Molson Coors History Center in Milwaukee.
Photo Credit: Adam Levin
Photo Credit: Adam Levin
He Brought the Braves
Image via Tim John
For those who are not familiar with Frederick C. Miller, he was an All American under Knute Rockne at Notre Dame and posthumously elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He was instrumental in building County Stadium and bringing the Boston Braves to Milwaukee in 1953. Additionally, Miller volunteered as a coach for the Green Bay Packers and, during a difficult financial period, helped fund the team.
With Fred C. Miller’s death, the fate of the Milwaukee Braves, following the 1962 baseball season, was sealed. Conjecture is that had he lived, Miller would have bought the Braves and kept them in Milwaukee. Although, his widow was queried about her husband buying the Braves, when asked, her reply was, “I’m not sure about that!”
Miller had a gentleman's agreement with Lou Perini to buy the Braves if Perini ever wanted to sell. That agreement became null and void upon Miller’s death. At the completion of the 1962 season, Perini sold the franchise for $5.5 million to a Chicago group led by an insurance executive. Everyone knew it was matter of time before the new owners would flee to the big TV market in Atlanta in 1966, and thus the end came for the Braves and a great void in Milwaukee.
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Adam Levin is administrator of the Old Milwaukee Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldmilwaukee/ ,and author of Fading Ads of Milwaukee.
