The Brooklyn Nets visited the Milwaukee Bucks on October 19. I did not do a Trip Guide for that game, because it was the season opener, at home, for the defending NBA Champions, so tickets would have been next to impossible to get. The Bucks won, 127-104.
The Nets will visit again on February 26. The Knicks will visit this coming Friday, November 5, and again on January 8.
Before You Go. Milwaukee is on Lake Michigan. It's not Green Bay, but it is still Wisconsin. It gets chilly in the Autumn, let alone in the Winter. Since this will be early November, the weather could be an issue. Although the game will be indoors, you still have to get to it.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website is predicting high 40s for Friday afternoon, and mid-30s for the evening. You will need a Winter jacket at night.
Milwaukee is in the Central Time Zone, an hour behind New York. Adjust your various timepieces accordingly.
Tickets. The Bucks averaged 17,603 fans, a sellout, during 2019-20, before COVID shut everything down. And now, they are the defending World Champions. So tickets may be very difficult to get.
In the Lower Level, the 100 sections, they have seats for $165 between the baskets and $90 behind; and, in the Upper Level, the 200 sections, they're $67 between and $45 behind.
Getting There. Downtown Milwaukee is 892 land miles from Times Square. Knowing this, your first reaction is going to be to fly out there.
At first, unlike some other Midwestern cities, this seems like a good idea if you can afford it. Most airlines can fly you there for $519 round-trip. However, there is a catch: There are few non-stops between any of the New York area airports and General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. You will almost certainly have to change planes, most likely in Chicago, and you'll spend nearly as much time on the ground at O'Hare as you do in the air. The GRE bus will get you downtown in a little over half an hour. (Billy Mitchell was a Milwaukee-area native and an early advocate for air power.)
The Milwaukee Intermodal Station, which serves both Greyhound and Amtrak, is at 433 W. St. Paul Avenue, at 5th Street. There are 4 daily Greyhound runs that will get you from New York to Milwaukee. Most of these runs require 2 changeovers, in Indianapolis and Chicago. Round-trip fare is $612, but you can get it for $357 on advanced purchase.
Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited (formerly known as the Twentieth Century Limited when the old New York Central Railroad ran it from Grand Central Terminal to Chicago's LaSalle Street Station) leaves New York's Penn Station at 3:40 every afternoon, and arrives at Union Station at 225 South Canal Street in Chicago at 9:50 (Central Time) every morning. From there, you have to wait until 11:05 AM to get on "Hiawatha Service," which will bring you to Milwaukee at 12:34. That's 21 hours, 49 minutes. Round-trip fare is $306 -- this time, possibly, cheaper than Greyhound.
If you decide to drive, it's far enough that it will help to get someone to go with you and split the duties, and to trade off driving and sleeping. You'll need to get into New Jersey, and take Interstate 80 West. You'll be on I-80 for the vast majority of the trip, through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. In Ohio, in the western suburbs of Cleveland, I-80 will merge with Interstate 90.
From this point onward, you won't need to think about I-80 until you head home; I-90 is the key, until it merges with Interstate 94, which will merge with Interstate 43. Stay on I-43 after I-94 splits off south of downtown. Take Exit 73A onto Wisconsin Route 145, which will become N. 6th Street. Take that to State Street, and the Bradley Center will be on the left.
If you do it right, you should spend about an hour and a half in New Jersey, 5 hours and 15 minutes in Pennsylvania, 4 hours in Ohio, 2 hours and 30 minutes in Indiana, an hour and a half in Illinois, and just under an hour in Wisconsin. That's about 15 hours and 45 minutes. Counting rest stops, and accounting for traffic in both New York and Chicago, it should be no more than 20 hours, which would save you time on both Greyhound and Amtrak, if not on flying.
Once In the City. As Alice Cooper taught us in the film version of Wayne's World, Milwaukee gets its name from a Native American word meaning "the good land." But this may not be correct: Another version says the name comes a word meaning "Gathering place by the water."
Whichever version is true, both descriptions are accurate: The land of Wisconsin is good for farming, and Milwaukee is based on a confluence of 3 rivers that flow into Lake Michigan: The Milwaukee, the Menomonee, and the Kinnickinnic; so there's plenty of water. The Menomonee River separates the city's streets into North and South, and the other 2 rivers separate them into East and West.
Founded in 1846, the city has about 600,000 people, making it the 3rd-largest in the Great Lakes region behind Chicago and Detroit. But the metropolitan area has only about 2 million, making it 27th among the 30 NBA teams, ahead of only New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Memphis. (Throwing in Green Bay's metro area only boosts it by about 325,000, and doesn't raise their ranking at all.)
Milwaukee was about 72 percent white as recently as 1980, but is now about 42 percent black, 37 percent white, 17 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent Asian. The German presence that established the city as a major brewing center is still in place, about 21 percent, or more than half of the white population. Poles make up about 9 percent, Irish 6 percent, Italian 3 percent, with some of mixed heritage. Most of the Hispanics, as is the case with most Midwestern cities, are Mexican.
On July 30, 1967, right after it happened in Newark and Detroit, Milwaukee was struck with a race riot. They were lucky in that only 4 people died. In 2002, Jet magazine called Milwaukee "the most segregated city in the United States." In 2011, a University of Michigan study backed this up. North of the Menomonee River, but west of the Milwaukee River, the city is mostly black. North of the Menomonee, but east of the Milwaukee, and in the suburbs, it's mostly white. South of the Menomonee River, it's mostly Hispanic.
In 2015, the news site 24/7 Wall Street labeled Milwaukee "the worst place for African-Americans to live," despite the Sheriff of Milwaukee County being black. But that Sheriff was David Clarke, an arch-conservative and a Trump ally, who said that the Black Lives Matter group had to be "eradicated."
Wisconsin Electric Power Company runs the city's electricity. Wisconsin's sales tax is 5 percent, but inside Milwaukee County, it's 5.6 percent. Which is still lower than those of the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut even before local taxes are added on. The Milwaukee County Transit System has a fare of $2.25 for its buses. The city now has a light rail system, "The Hop," and it's free!
Getting There. Downtown Milwaukee is 892 land miles from Times Square. Knowing this, your first reaction is going to be to fly out there.
At first, unlike some other Midwestern cities, this seems like a good idea if you can afford it. Most airlines can fly you there for $519 round-trip. However, there is a catch: There are few non-stops between any of the New York area airports and General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. You will almost certainly have to change planes, most likely in Chicago, and you'll spend nearly as much time on the ground at O'Hare as you do in the air. The GRE bus will get you downtown in a little over half an hour. (Billy Mitchell was a Milwaukee-area native and an early advocate for air power.)
The Milwaukee Intermodal Station, which serves both Greyhound and Amtrak, is at 433 W. St. Paul Avenue, at 5th Street. There are 4 daily Greyhound runs that will get you from New York to Milwaukee. Most of these runs require 2 changeovers, in Indianapolis and Chicago. Round-trip fare is $612, but you can get it for $357 on advanced purchase.
Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited (formerly known as the Twentieth Century Limited when the old New York Central Railroad ran it from Grand Central Terminal to Chicago's LaSalle Street Station) leaves New York's Penn Station at 3:40 every afternoon, and arrives at Union Station at 225 South Canal Street in Chicago at 9:50 (Central Time) every morning. From there, you have to wait until 11:05 AM to get on "Hiawatha Service," which will bring you to Milwaukee at 12:34. That's 21 hours, 49 minutes. Round-trip fare is $306 -- this time, possibly, cheaper than Greyhound.
If you decide to drive, it's far enough that it will help to get someone to go with you and split the duties, and to trade off driving and sleeping. You'll need to get into New Jersey, and take Interstate 80 West. You'll be on I-80 for the vast majority of the trip, through New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. In Ohio, in the western suburbs of Cleveland, I-80 will merge with Interstate 90.
From this point onward, you won't need to think about I-80 until you head home; I-90 is the key, until it merges with Interstate 94, which will merge with Interstate 43. Stay on I-43 after I-94 splits off south of downtown. Take Exit 73A onto Wisconsin Route 145, which will become N. 6th Street. Take that to State Street, and the Bradley Center will be on the left.
If you do it right, you should spend about an hour and a half in New Jersey, 5 hours and 15 minutes in Pennsylvania, 4 hours in Ohio, 2 hours and 30 minutes in Indiana, an hour and a half in Illinois, and just under an hour in Wisconsin. That's about 15 hours and 45 minutes. Counting rest stops, and accounting for traffic in both New York and Chicago, it should be no more than 20 hours, which would save you time on both Greyhound and Amtrak, if not on flying.
Once In the City. As Alice Cooper taught us in the film version of Wayne's World, Milwaukee gets its name from a Native American word meaning "the good land." But this may not be correct: Another version says the name comes a word meaning "Gathering place by the water."
Whichever version is true, both descriptions are accurate: The land of Wisconsin is good for farming, and Milwaukee is based on a confluence of 3 rivers that flow into Lake Michigan: The Milwaukee, the Menomonee, and the Kinnickinnic; so there's plenty of water. The Menomonee River separates the city's streets into North and South, and the other 2 rivers separate them into East and West.
Milwaukee's historic City Hall
Founded in 1846, the city has about 600,000 people, making it the 3rd-largest in the Great Lakes region behind Chicago and Detroit. But the metropolitan area has only about 2 million, making it 27th among the 30 NBA teams, ahead of only New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Memphis. (Throwing in Green Bay's metro area only boosts it by about 325,000, and doesn't raise their ranking at all.)
Milwaukee was about 72 percent white as recently as 1980, but is now about 42 percent black, 37 percent white, 17 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent Asian. The German presence that established the city as a major brewing center is still in place, about 21 percent, or more than half of the white population. Poles make up about 9 percent, Irish 6 percent, Italian 3 percent, with some of mixed heritage. Most of the Hispanics, as is the case with most Midwestern cities, are Mexican.
On July 30, 1967, right after it happened in Newark and Detroit, Milwaukee was struck with a race riot. They were lucky in that only 4 people died. In 2002, Jet magazine called Milwaukee "the most segregated city in the United States." In 2011, a University of Michigan study backed this up. North of the Menomonee River, but west of the Milwaukee River, the city is mostly black. North of the Menomonee, but east of the Milwaukee, and in the suburbs, it's mostly white. South of the Menomonee River, it's mostly Hispanic.
In 2015, the news site 24/7 Wall Street labeled Milwaukee "the worst place for African-Americans to live," despite the Sheriff of Milwaukee County being black. But that Sheriff was David Clarke, an arch-conservative and a Trump ally, who said that the Black Lives Matter group had to be "eradicated."
Going In. The new Fiserv Forum, named for a "provider of financial services technology," has an address of 1111 Vel R. Phillips Avenue. This is a stretch of N. 4th Street, renamed in 2018, upon the death of Velvalea "Vel" Phillips. She was a local judge and the only black person ever elected to Statewide office in Wisconsin (Secretary of State in 1978). It's a short walk from downtown. If you drive in, parking is $11.
The new arena is bounded by 4th and 6th Streets, and Juneau and Highland Avenues. Across Highland, to the south of the new arena, is the old arena, the Bradley Center, officially at 1001 N. 4th Street. To the south of that, across State Street, at 400 W. Kilbourn Avenue, is the previous home of the Bucks, minor-league hockey's Milwaukee Admirals, and Marquette University basketball (back then, they were known as the Warriors, not the Golden Eagles). Built in 1950 as the Milwaukee Arena, it became part of a complex known as the Milwaukee Exposition Convention Center & Arena, or MECCA.
The old Arena, then using the name U.S. Cellular Arena.
Behind it to the left, the Milwaukee Auditorium.
Behind it to the right, the Bradley Center.
The Bucks had to move out, as it seated only 10,783 and had no luxury boxes at all. Now known as the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, it holds 12,700 fans, and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee plays its home basketball games there. Before the Bucks played there from 1968 to 1988, it was home to the Milwaukee Hawks from 1951 to 1955, when they moved to St. Louis, and then in 1968 to Atlanta.
Overhead shot. Top: Bradley Center.
Bottom: Milwaukee Theatre and MECCA.
Elvis Presley sang at the old arena on June 28, 1974 and April 27, 1977. The Beatles played there on September 4, 1964. The inductees to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame are honored there in a Wisconsin Athletic Walk of Fame, which includes stars from the Bucks, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Green Bay Packers, the University of Wisconsin Badgers, and State natives who made it big elsewhere.
Ironically, Harry Bradley was a big donor to conservative causes, but, for most of the arena's existence, its main tenant, the Bucks, were owned by Herb Kohl, a very liberal U.S. Senator. BMO Harris Bank bought naming rights in 2012.
Milwaukee might be able to support an NHL team, as its metropolitan area population, even without adding Green Bay and Madison to its "market," would rank 26th in the NHL. So it's unlikely that it can support an NBA team and an NHL team.
It's also hosted arena football's Milwaukee Mustangs and indoor soccer's Milwaukee Wave. Although Milwaukee has never had a major league hockey team (not in the NHL or in the WHA), the NCAA has used it as the site of its National Championships, the Frozen Four, in 1993, 1997 and 2006. It's also hosted NCAA Tournament basketball games in the rounds of 64 & 32, and 16 & 8, including the 2013-14 season.
The new arena's exterior is meant to suggest a beer barrel.
But only the Bucks and Marquette have moved into the Fiserv Forum. The Admirals have moved back to the MECCA, and the Bradley Center will likely be demolished. The Forum's court is laid out north-to-south, and it has all the modern amenities that both fans and team owners demand.
The Forum opened on August 26, 2018. Among the musical performers who have already appeared in concert there are The Killers, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Metallica, Foo Fighters, the Glenn Frey-less Eagles and the Lindsay Buckingham-less Fleetwood Mac.
Food. In Big Ten Country, where tailgate parties are practically a sacrament, you would expect the Milwaukee arena to have lots of good options. It certainly does. According to the team website:
Fiserv Forum has an exclusive concessionaire agreement with Levy Restaurants. Levy Restaurants, founded in Chicago in 1978, is recognized as one of America’s fastest growing and most critically acclaimed restaurant companies, and is the leader in premium sports and entertainment dining. Levy was recently named one of the 10 most innovative companies in sports in the world by Fast Company magazine. The company’s diverse portfolio includes award-winning restaurants such as James Beard Award-winning Spiaggia in Chicago, Fulton’s Crab House, Portobello and Wolfgang Puck Grand Café at Walt Disney World Resort, renowned sports and entertainment venues like Churchill Downs in Louisville, STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, and American Airlines Arena in Miami, and events including the Super Bowl, World Series, U. S. Open, Kentucky Derby, NHL and NBA All-Star Games and the GRAMMY® Awards.
Levy Restaurants is proud to present MKE Eats, a program that features food offerings from 10 local restaurants, including Sobelman’s, The Laughing Taco, Iron Grate BBQ, FreshFin Poke, and Collectivo. MKE Eats also includes nationally renowned brands such as Chick-Fil-A, Jack Daniel’s, and Casamigos.
And you thought the TV show set in Milwaukee was called Happy Days because it was set during the 1950s? Nope: It was because of the food! Why do you think they all hung out at Arnold's? Why do you think the Fonz was always telling "Mrs. C" how wonderful her cooking was? Because it was.
Team History Displays. The Bucks have consolidated their banners. They have separate banners for their 1971 and now the 2021 World Championship banners; separate banners for the 1971 and 1974 Western Conference titles, and the 2021 Eastern Conference titles; and one single banner for the Division titles of 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2001, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
They have 9 retired numbers:
* From the 1971 title team: 1, guard Oscar Robertson; 10, forward Bob Dandridge; 14, guard Jon McGlocklin; and 33, center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who changed his name in 1972, so he was still using his birth name of Lew Alcindor during the title season.
* From the Division title teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s: 2, forward Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman; 4, guard Sidney Moncrief; 8, forward Marques Johnson; 16, center Bob Lanier; and 32, guard Brian Winters.
So far, the only player elected to the Hall of Fame with significant contributions as a Buck from after 1984 is the newly-elected Ray Allen. His Number 34 has not been retired, and it may not be for some time, as it's currently being worn by Giannis, and will likely be retired for him, and he's only 26 years old.
It's almost the exact opposite of what you would expect from an expansion team: After a weak 1st season, 1968-69, they won the coin flip with the Phoenix Suns for the 1st pick in the Draft, selected Alcindor, and got a title out of it in just 2 seasons. Then, they were a very good team for the next 20 years, but not so much in the last 25. In contrast, the Suns, who also started play in the fall of 1968, have been a respectable team for most of their history, but have never won a title, the difference between their zero and the Bucks' one being a lot bigger than the Bucks' one and, say, the Philadelphia 76ers' two.
Robertson, Bridgman, McGlocklin, Moncrief, Herb Kohl, previous owner Jim Fitzgerald, and Jane Bradley Pettit have been honored in the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. As I said, it's across the street at the MECCA. Also honored are Marquette basketball figures Al McGuire, George Thompson and Johnny Sisk. So is Shirley Martin, one of the earliest stars of women's basketball.
Marquette also hangs banners at the Fiserv Forum: Their 1977 National Championship; their Final Four berths of 1974, 1977 and 2003; their regular-season conference titles of 1994, 2003 and 2013; and their 1997 conference tournament win. The 1974 and 1977 achievements were won while their home court was the MECCA; from 1988 onward, the Bradley Center.
Marquette has retired the numbers of 9 players: 3, Dwyane Wade; 14, former Knick Dean Meminger; 15, former Knick Butch Lee; 20, Maurice Lucas; 24, George Thompson; 31, for both former Knick Doc Rivers and Bo Ellis; 43, Earl Tatum; and 44, Don Kojis.
They've also retired 11 in honor of the Apollo 11 crew (even though Milwaukee native Jim Lovell flew on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13, and has a street renamed for him), 38 for trainer Bob Weingart, and 77 for coach Al McGuire for the 1977 title. Al grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, as did his brother Dick, and both played for the Knicks in the 1950s. Dick is in the Hall as a Knick player, Al as Marquette coach.
The University of Wisconsin, in Madison, is the only other Wisconsin school to reach the Final Four, and that was all the way back in 1941, although they've reached hockey's version, the Frozen Four, many times, including 6 National Championships: 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990 and 2006.
The Admirals took their banners back to the MECCA. They hang them for their 1976 U.S. Hockey League title; their International Hockey League regular season titles of 1983, 1993, 1995 and 1996; their 2004 and 2006 AHL Conference Championships; and their 2004 AHL regular season and Calder Cup titles.
They also hang 7 retired number banners, including 2 retired for 2 players each: 9, 1970s center Phil Wittliff; 14, 1980s center Fred Berry and 1990s center Mike McNeill; 26, 1990s-2000s center Tony Hrkac; 27, 1970s-80s left wing Danny Lecours; and 44, 1980s defenseman Kevin Willison and 1990s center Gino Cavallini. Aside from Cavallini, none of them made much of an impact in the NHL.
Unlike the Brewers-Cubs and Packers-Bears rivalry, the Wisconsin-Illinois rivalry doesn't really make Bucks-Bulls all that intense. and the Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry, formerly seen in Brewers-Twins and still seen in Packers-Vikings and Badgers-Gophers, hasn't yet made Bucks-Timberwolves a big deal. The Bucks trail the Bulls 132-123, and the T-Wolves 32-31.
Stuff. The Bucks Pro Shop is located in the Fiserv Forum's atrium. And there are several portable kiosks, with locations varying by event.
The Bucks have been around for 50 years now, but because Milwaukee, as a city, gets lost in the shadows not only of Chicago, with the far more noteworthy Bulls 90 miles to the south, but the smaller yet higher-profile city of Green Bay, with the legendary Packers 115 miles to the north, the Bucks tend to get forgotten. They trail not only the Packers, but also the football team at the University of Wisconsin in popularity among Badger State teams. (They may even trail that school's very successful hockey program, even though Milwaukee doesn't have an NHL team.)
As part of the NBA's A History of Hoops series, Nate Leboutillier wrote The Story of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2006; Jim Whiting wrote an update that was published in 2017. Back in 1978, Marv Fishman and Tracy Dodds wrote Bucking the Odds: The Birth of the Milwaukee Bucks, chronicling their rather successful early years. The sports staff of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put together a commemorative book for the 2021 title, History Makers.
Robertson, Bridgman, McGlocklin, Moncrief, Herb Kohl, previous owner Jim Fitzgerald, and Jane Bradley Pettit have been honored in the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. As I said, it's across the street at the MECCA. Also honored are Marquette basketball figures Al McGuire, George Thompson and Johnny Sisk. So is Shirley Martin, one of the earliest stars of women's basketball.
Marquette also hangs banners at the Fiserv Forum: Their 1977 National Championship; their Final Four berths of 1974, 1977 and 2003; their regular-season conference titles of 1994, 2003 and 2013; and their 1997 conference tournament win. The 1974 and 1977 achievements were won while their home court was the MECCA; from 1988 onward, the Bradley Center.
Marquette has retired the numbers of 9 players: 3, Dwyane Wade; 14, former Knick Dean Meminger; 15, former Knick Butch Lee; 20, Maurice Lucas; 24, George Thompson; 31, for both former Knick Doc Rivers and Bo Ellis; 43, Earl Tatum; and 44, Don Kojis.
They've also retired 11 in honor of the Apollo 11 crew (even though Milwaukee native Jim Lovell flew on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13, and has a street renamed for him), 38 for trainer Bob Weingart, and 77 for coach Al McGuire for the 1977 title. Al grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, as did his brother Dick, and both played for the Knicks in the 1950s. Dick is in the Hall as a Knick player, Al as Marquette coach.
The University of Wisconsin, in Madison, is the only other Wisconsin school to reach the Final Four, and that was all the way back in 1941, although they've reached hockey's version, the Frozen Four, many times, including 6 National Championships: 1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990 and 2006.
The Admirals took their banners back to the MECCA. They hang them for their 1976 U.S. Hockey League title; their International Hockey League regular season titles of 1983, 1993, 1995 and 1996; their 2004 and 2006 AHL Conference Championships; and their 2004 AHL regular season and Calder Cup titles.
They also hang 7 retired number banners, including 2 retired for 2 players each: 9, 1970s center Phil Wittliff; 14, 1980s center Fred Berry and 1990s center Mike McNeill; 26, 1990s-2000s center Tony Hrkac; 27, 1970s-80s left wing Danny Lecours; and 44, 1980s defenseman Kevin Willison and 1990s center Gino Cavallini. Aside from Cavallini, none of them made much of an impact in the NHL.
Unlike the Brewers-Cubs and Packers-Bears rivalry, the Wisconsin-Illinois rivalry doesn't really make Bucks-Bulls all that intense. and the Wisconsin-Minnesota rivalry, formerly seen in Brewers-Twins and still seen in Packers-Vikings and Badgers-Gophers, hasn't yet made Bucks-Timberwolves a big deal. The Bucks trail the Bulls 132-123, and the T-Wolves 32-31.
Stuff. The Bucks Pro Shop is located in the Fiserv Forum's atrium. And there are several portable kiosks, with locations varying by event.
The Bucks have been around for 50 years now, but because Milwaukee, as a city, gets lost in the shadows not only of Chicago, with the far more noteworthy Bulls 90 miles to the south, but the smaller yet higher-profile city of Green Bay, with the legendary Packers 115 miles to the north, the Bucks tend to get forgotten. They trail not only the Packers, but also the football team at the University of Wisconsin in popularity among Badger State teams. (They may even trail that school's very successful hockey program, even though Milwaukee doesn't have an NHL team.)
As part of the NBA's A History of Hoops series, Nate Leboutillier wrote The Story of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2006; Jim Whiting wrote an update that was published in 2017. Back in 1978, Marv Fishman and Tracy Dodds wrote Bucking the Odds: The Birth of the Milwaukee Bucks, chronicling their rather successful early years. The sports staff of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put together a commemorative book for the 2021 title, History Makers.
Forget about DVDs: There is no collection showing the 1971 Finals or a "Greatest Games" series.
During the Game. A November 13, 2014 article on DailyRotoHelp ranked the NBA teams' fan bases, and listed the Bucks' fans in 20th place. This is meant to suggest not that they are unpleasant, but that they are disengaged, that not enough show up, and that not enough of those who do show up generate much of an atmosphere.
Bucks fans, as you might expect in America's foremost brewing city, like to drink. If this were a Packer game and you were wearing Chicago Bears or Minnesota Vikings gear, you might be in trouble. If this were a UW game and you were wearing University of Minnesota gear, you might be in trouble. If this were a Brewers-Cubs game, and you were wearing Cubs gear, you might be in trouble. But this is a Bucks game, and even if you were wearing Chicago Bulls or Minnesota Timberwolves gear, you'd probably be safe. Despite their slogan, you won't need to "Fear the Deer."
None of the Bucks' home games against either of the New York Tri-State Area teams will feature a promotion. The Bucks' mascot is Bango the Buck, presently performed by Kevin Vanderkolk. The word "Bango" was originally coined by Eddie Doucette, the the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Bucks. Doucette used the word whenever a Bucks player connected on a long-range basket, much like old-time Knicks announcer Marty Glickman used "Swish" for a shot that was nothing but net. It was often used for sharpshooter Jon McGlocklin. When it came time for the Bucks to choose a name for their new mascot, the name "Bango" won the contest.
He wears Number 68 in honor of the team's 1968 debut.
Bango has been the Bucks' official mascot for more than 36 years. He made his official debut on October 18, 1977, which was Milwaukee's home opener of the 1977-78 season. (Those of you who are Yankee Fans will recognize the date as the night that Reggie Jackson hit 3 home runs in Game 6 to clinch the World Series.) In addition to the date being Bango's home debut, the game itself pitted Milwaukee against former Bucks center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his Los Angeles Lakers at the MECCA. The Bucks won, 117-112.
Bango has worked hard to become popular with Bucks fans all throughout the State of Wisconsin over the years, appearing at schools, parades, and festivals as a goodwill ambassador for the team. His high-flying acrobatic layups, daring rebounds, and other entertaining antics still play an important role in energizing Bucks fans at the Bradley Center.
Since 2001, Bango has also made perennial appearances at the NBA All-Star Game, although he tore an ACL during a stunt at the 2009 All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, and missed the rest of the season. He bounced back, and in 2010 was named NBA Mascot of the Year.
Ben Tajnai is the Bucks' National Anthem singer. They've replaced their 1977 theme song "Green and Growing (The Bucks Don't Stop Here)" with a 2013 theme, "King of the Court." As far as I can tell, there are no traditional chants at Bucks games. Nor does there appear to be a postgame victory song.
Ben Tajnai
After the Game. Milwaukee has some rough neighborhoods, but downtown is safe. Although Milwaukeeans like to drink, this is not a Packers or Badgers game, so you should be fine on your way out.
Unfortunately, I can find no reference to any Milwaukee bar or restaurant that caters to New York expatriates. However, downtown has plenty of places to get a postgame meal, or just a pint. Major Goolsby's, at 340 W. Kilbourn, across 4th from the MECCA, is one of the most famous sports bars in the country. The Mecca Sports Bar, named for the former arena, is across from the Fiserv Forum, at 1134 Phillips Avenue.
If you visit Milwaukee during the European soccer season (which we are now in), the best place to watch your favorite club is the Highbury Pub, at 2322 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue at Lincoln Avenue, about 3 miles south of downtown. Bus 15. Named for the former stadium of Arsenal Football Club, which was named for the North London neighborhood it was in, there is also a bar by that name in Brooklyn.
Sidelights. Milwaukee's sports history is long, but not especially successful, especially when you consider the distance between the city and the State's most successful sports team, the Green Bay Packers.
* American Family Field and site of Milwaukee County Stadium. The old ballpark was located behind the home plate entrance to the new one, which was built across center field from its predecessor. The Braves played at County Stadium from 1953 to 1965, the Brewers from 1970 to 2000, and the Packers played several home games there from 1953 to 1994, first 2 out of their 6 (when the NFL had a 12-game schedule), then 2 of their 7 (14), and finally 3 of their 8 (16), plus a preseason game (an another preseason game at the University of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium).
The Packers played a Playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams at County Stadium in 1967, before winning the NFL Championship against the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field on New Year's Eve, the famed Ice Bowl.
County Stadium hosted the only game, to date, played by the U.S. national soccer team in Wisconsin. It was on July 28, 1990, against East Germany, in one of that foul country's last games before being reunited with their Federal Republic (West German) brothers. We lost.
American Family Field, known as Miller Park from its 2001 opening until 2020, has an official address of 1 Brewers Way. The Number 10 bus goes down Wisconsin Avenue, but its closest point is a little over a mile from the stadium. You'd need to get off at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and 44th Street, under I-94, to Selig Drive. You'd make a right on Selig, and on your left will be Miller Park, and on your right is a baseball field on the site of its predecessor, Milwaukee County Stadium. Make a left on Brewers Way and proceed to the home plate gate.
Lambeau Field in Green Bay is 116 miles from downtown Milwaukee. But the Packers' arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, are actually closer: Soldier Field is 96 miles away. The Chicago Blackhawks are the closest NHL team, 91 miles. The University of Wisconsin is in the State capital of Madison, 80 miles away.
The closest Major League Soccer team is the Chicago Fire, 101 miles away. Wisconsin's highest-ranking soccer team is Milwaukee Bavarians, which is only at the 5th level of the U.S. soccer pyramid, although they have been in business since 1929. They play at the 2,000-seat Heartland Value Fund Stadium. 700 W. Lexington Blvd. in Glendale, 6 miles north of downtown. Bus 15.
* Borchert Field. The minor-league Milwaukee Brewers played here from 1888 to 1952, at a wooden park originally named Athletic Park and renamed for former owner Otto Borchert. These Brewers were the first pro baseball team owned by Bill Veeck, from 1941 to 1945, before he moved on to the major leagues.
It was at "Borchert's Orchard" that he first tried his promotional stunts, and it made Milwaukee one of the most successful minor-league markets, not just on the field but at the box office. The Brewers won 8 Pennants there, including 3 straight under Veeck, and in their last 2 seasons of existence before the Braves came in.
The Milwaukee Bears of the Negro Leagues also played here, as did the Milwaukee Badgers of the NFL from 1922 to 1926, and the Packers played the occasional Milwaukee game here from 1933 to 1952. Actually, the place was better for football than for baseball: Like the Polo Grounds, it had a distant center field but foul poles that were much too close, 267 feet. An overhanging roof that covered the infield stands didn't help matters.
As Veeck himself put it, "Borchert Field, an architectural monstrosity, was so constructed that the fans on the first-base side of the grandstand couldn't see the right fielder, which seemed perfectly fair in that the fans on the third-base side couldn't see the left fielder. 'Listen,' I told them. 'This way you'll have to come back twice to see the whole team.'"
Borchert stood between North 7th & 8th Streets, and Burleigh & Chambers Streets. The entire land area is now occupied by Interstate 43, the North-South Freeway, and entrance-and-exit ramps. It's in a bit of a rough neighborhood, so unless you're just that into baseball history, if you have to cross one item off your list, this is the one. Number 50 bus to Holton & Burleigh, then Number 60 bus, or walk 12 blocks west.
* Milwaukee Mile. This racetrack, on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair in suburban West Allis, is the oldest continuously-operating auto racetrack in the world. "But Mike," you say, "auto racing is not a sport. Why are you talking about it?" Because the track's infield was used as the Packers' main Milwaukee-area home from 1934 to 1951.
Seating 45,000, the stadium was nicknamed the Dairy Bowl for Packer games, including the 1939 NFL Championship Game, in which the Packers beat the Giants, 27-0. The Milwaukee Chiefs of the 1940-41 version of the American Football League also played here.
I don't know if this is the earliest remaining stadium to have hosted an NFL game (1933), but it's not quite the oldest site: Racing began there in to 1903, while the Philadelphia Eagles once played at Franklin Field, where football has been played at 2 separate stadiums since 1895. 7722 W. Greenfield Avenue at 77th Street. Number 60 bus to 60th & Vliet Streets, then transfer to Number 76 bus.
Horlick Field opened in 1907, and hosted the Racine Legion from 1919 to 1924 (including 1922 to '24 in the NFL), the NFL's Racine Tornadoes in 1926, and the Racine Belles of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1943 to 1950. The current 8,500-seat stadium on the site hosts high school sports. 1648 N. Memorial Drive in Racine, Wisconsin, 29 miles south of downtown Milwaukee, and 70 miles north of Chicago's Loop. Amtrak from either to Sturtevant, then Bus 8.
The Kenosha Maroons played in the NFL in 1924, at Nash Field. The 5,000-seat stadium also hosts high school sports. 5909 56th Street in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Even though it's closer to Milwaukee (34 miles as opposed to 60), it can only be reached by public transportation from Chicago, riding the train from the Ogilvie Transportation Center (the former Northwestern Station) to Kenosha, then Bus 2.
The Sheboygan Red Skins played pro basketball from 1933 to 1952, winning the National Basketball League title in 1943 (making them, technically, if not officially recognized by the NBA, World Champions in the sport), and were merged into the NBA for the 1949-50 season.
Due to Sheboygan's small size (about 50,000 people, smaller even than since-abandoned NBA cities Syracuse, Rochester and Fort Wayne), the rest of the league wanted them out, and got their wish. They lasted only 2 years in their new league, and folded. But they are still winners of a World Championship. They played at the 3,974-seat Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory, 58 miles north of Milwaukee (Bus 916) and 67 miles south of Green Bay.
The Oshkosh All-Stars began in 1929, entered the NBL in 1937, and won 2 NBL titles, in 1941 and 1942. But they folded in 1949. Unlike the Red Skins, they weren't even welcomed into the merged NBA, despite coming from a larger city (66,000). At least the Red Skins had a decent venue by the standards of the time. The All-Stars played at the Recreation Gym. 425 Division Street, 88 miles northwest of Milwaukee, and 51 miles southwest of Green Bay.
Wisconsin had 2 teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, founded in 1943 as a way to offset the manpower drain of World War II, but it lasted until 1954. The Milwaukee Chicks played at Borchert Field, and won the Pennant in 1944. The Racine Belles played at Horlick Field, and won the Pennant in 1943 and 1946.
Wisconsin, let alone Milwaukee, has never produced a President -- although, in 2012, Congressman Paul Ryan, now the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was the Republican nominee for Vice President, and he's pretty young by political standards, so he could run for President in the future.
The Milwaukee Theatre, formerly, the Milwaukee Auditorium, built in 1909 at 500 W. Kilbourn Avenue downtown (across from the MECCA), has been one of the city's most historic sites. It's where Theodore Roosevelt, running to return to the Presidency on the Progressive Party ticket in 1912, gave a speech on October 14. For an hour and a half. After having been shot. The shooting happened a block away, at the Hotel Gilpatrick, now the Hyatt, at 333 W. Kilbourn. He recovered, and finished 2nd to Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson, but ahead of incumbent Republican William Howard Taft.
Other Presidents, and men who tried to be, spoke at the 4,000-seat building now named the Milwaukee Theatre: Taft in 1911, Wilson in 1916, Wendell Willkie in 1944, John F. Kennedy in 1960, Michael Dukakis in 1988, and the George Bushes, the father in 1991 and the son in 2000. Martin Luther King gave a noted speech there in 1964.
Elvis sang there on June 14, and 15, 1972, even though the MECCA was already an established arena. Other Wisconsin arenas to have been played by Elvis were the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium in La Crosse on May 14, 1956; the Dane County Coliseum in Madison on October 19, 1976 and June 24, 1977; and the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena in Green Bay on April 28, 1977.
* Happy Days. Airing from 1974 to 1984 but taking place in Milwaukee from 1955 to 1965, this ABC sitcom did as much to make Milwaukee famous as beer and the Braves did. A statue of Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli -- a.k.a. The Bronze Fonz -- is at 117 E. Wells Street, on the Riverwalk, across from the 1895-built, 353-foot-high City Hall, which will be recognized by fans of Happy Days' spinoff series, Laverne & Shirley, although the sign saying, "WELCOME MILWAUKEE VISITORS" is long-gone.
The Cunningham house was said to be at 565 North Clinton Drive, an address which does not actually exist in the Milwaukee area. The exterior was shot in Los Angeles, near the Paramount Pictures studios. Both the original building used as the exterior for Arnold's, in the Milwaukee suburbs, and its replacement, in Los Angeles, have been demolished. The exterior shot for Richie and Joanie's alma mater, Jefferson High School, was filmed at Milwaukee's Washington High at 2525 N. Sherman Blvd.
Wisconsin was the location of 2 other famous nostalgia-based TV shows: The Happy Days spinoff Laverne & Shirley, running from 1976 to 1983, and set in Milwaukee from 1957 to 1964, before moving to Los Angeles for 1965 to 1967; and That '70s Show, airing 1998 to 2006, but set from 1976 to 1979, in fictional Point Place, a name that may have been based on the real town of Stevens Point, but said to be a suburb of Green Bay.
The Dairy State/Badger State was also the location of the 1990s CBS drama Picket Fences, set in the small town of Rome, which is the name of a real town in Wisconsin; the 1990s ABC sitcom Step By Step, set in a fictionalized version of a real Wisconsin town, Port Washington; and the longtime CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, set in Genoa City, which is the name of a small town on the Wisconsin-Illinois State Line, but, on the show, we are led to believe it is a much larger city.
Milwaukee doesn't have museums on the level of New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, but of note is the Milwaukee Public Museum, at 800 W. Wells Street, at 8th Street downtown.
The tallest building in Wisconsin is the U.S. Bank Center, formerly the First Wisconsin Center, at E. Wisconsin Avenue & N. Van Buren Street. Opening in 1973, it is 601 feet high. It's not much to look at, unlike the building it replaced as the tallest in town, City Hall.
If you want to go on a brewery tour, be my guest -- or, rather, put your money down and be their
guest. But I have no interest in it, so you'll have to look up your own info.
*
Wisconsin, let alone Milwaukee, has never produced a President -- although, in 2012, Congressman Paul Ryan, now the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was the Republican nominee for Vice President, and he's pretty young by political standards, so he could run for President in the future.
The Milwaukee Theatre, formerly, the Milwaukee Auditorium, built in 1909 at 500 W. Kilbourn Avenue downtown (across from the MECCA), has been one of the city's most historic sites. It's where Theodore Roosevelt, running to return to the Presidency on the Progressive Party ticket in 1912, gave a speech on October 14. For an hour and a half. After having been shot. The shooting happened a block away, at the Hotel Gilpatrick, now the Hyatt, at 333 W. Kilbourn. He recovered, and finished 2nd to Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson, but ahead of incumbent Republican William Howard Taft.
Other Presidents, and men who tried to be, spoke at the 4,000-seat building now named the Milwaukee Theatre: Taft in 1911, Wilson in 1916, Wendell Willkie in 1944, John F. Kennedy in 1960, Michael Dukakis in 1988, and the George Bushes, the father in 1991 and the son in 2000. Martin Luther King gave a noted speech there in 1964.
Elvis sang there on June 14, and 15, 1972, even though the MECCA was already an established arena. Other Wisconsin arenas to have been played by Elvis were the Mary E. Sawyer Auditorium in La Crosse on May 14, 1956; the Dane County Coliseum in Madison on October 19, 1976 and June 24, 1977; and the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena in Green Bay on April 28, 1977.
* Happy Days. Airing from 1974 to 1984 but taking place in Milwaukee from 1955 to 1965, this ABC sitcom did as much to make Milwaukee famous as beer and the Braves did. A statue of Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli -- a.k.a. The Bronze Fonz -- is at 117 E. Wells Street, on the Riverwalk, across from the 1895-built, 353-foot-high City Hall, which will be recognized by fans of Happy Days' spinoff series, Laverne & Shirley, although the sign saying, "WELCOME MILWAUKEE VISITORS" is long-gone.
The Cunningham house was said to be at 565 North Clinton Drive, an address which does not actually exist in the Milwaukee area. The exterior was shot in Los Angeles, near the Paramount Pictures studios. Both the original building used as the exterior for Arnold's, in the Milwaukee suburbs, and its replacement, in Los Angeles, have been demolished. The exterior shot for Richie and Joanie's alma mater, Jefferson High School, was filmed at Milwaukee's Washington High at 2525 N. Sherman Blvd.
Wisconsin was the location of 2 other famous nostalgia-based TV shows: The Happy Days spinoff Laverne & Shirley, running from 1976 to 1983, and set in Milwaukee from 1957 to 1964, before moving to Los Angeles for 1965 to 1967; and That '70s Show, airing 1998 to 2006, but set from 1976 to 1979, in fictional Point Place, a name that may have been based on the real town of Stevens Point, but said to be a suburb of Green Bay.
The Dairy State/Badger State was also the location of the 1990s CBS drama Picket Fences, set in the small town of Rome, which is the name of a real town in Wisconsin; the 1990s ABC sitcom Step By Step, set in a fictionalized version of a real Wisconsin town, Port Washington; and the longtime CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, set in Genoa City, which is the name of a small town on the Wisconsin-Illinois State Line, but, on the show, we are led to believe it is a much larger city.
Milwaukee doesn't have museums on the level of New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, but of note is the Milwaukee Public Museum, at 800 W. Wells Street, at 8th Street downtown.
The tallest building in Wisconsin is the U.S. Bank Center, formerly the First Wisconsin Center, at E. Wisconsin Avenue & N. Van Buren Street. Opening in 1973, it is 601 feet high. It's not much to look at, unlike the building it replaced as the tallest in town, City Hall.
If you want to go on a brewery tour, be my guest -- or, rather, put your money down and be their
guest. But I have no interest in it, so you'll have to look up your own info.
*
Milwaukee may not be one of America's biggest cities, but it's one of the most fun. And sports, including basketball, is a big part of it. A Bucks game is a good time, and a tasty time, whether the team is good or not.
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