Lew Krausse, who threw first pitch in Brewers history, dies at 77

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Lew Krausse played for the Brewers in their first two years of operation.

Lew Krausse, who threw the first pitch in Milwaukee Brewers history, died Tuesday at age 77 of cancer, according to the Kansas City Star.

Krausse made his major-league debut at 18 in 1961, a week after graduating from Chester High School in Pennsylvania. He was nearly 27 when he was traded with Phil Roof and Ken Sanders to the Brewers before the 1970 season, the year the franchise relocated from Seattle to Milwaukee and brought baseball back to the city five years after the Milwaukee Braves departed.

Krausse went 13-18 in that first season with a 4.75 ERA, but he was part of history when the Brewers played their first game April 7, 1970 in a 12-0 loss to the California Angels at County Stadium. Krausse lasted only three innings and allowed four runs, but the outcome was secondary for the sellout crowd at County Stadium.

Brewers starter Lew Krausse throws a pitch in the first game of the 1970 season.

"We lost the first, so we'll win the second," Krausse said. "I'm just glad we got the first one over with. Everybody was edgy, tense. I hope the people don't get down on us. We have a better ballclub than we showed today."

The Milwaukee fan base was nowhere ready to give up on its new team, even though the Brewers didn't win the second game, nor the third. But Milwaukee did win its next three games, and Krausse won his second start, allowing two earned runs in 5⅓ innings in a 5-2 victory over Tommy John and the White Sox in Chicago.

Milwaukee played 20 of its first 24 games away from County Stadium and actually didn't win its first home game for nearly a month, getting that first win May 6 against Boston.

Krausse was much better in his second year with the Brewers, posting an 8-12 record and 2.94 ERA in 180 innings, but his short tenure in Milwaukee ended there. He was traded before the 1972 season with Tommy Harper and Marty Pattin in a deal that brought in George "Boomer" Scott, Jim Lonborg and others from the Boston Red Sox. It was the first blockbuster deal in Brewers history.

Krausse finished his career with 12 MLB seasons, spending time with five teams.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

Jerry McNertney (left) hands former pitcher Lew Krausse the ball after Krausse threw out the first pitch at Miller Park on Monday, April 5, 2010. as the club celebrated the start of its 40th anniversary season. McNertney was the catcher who received Krausse's pitch on Opening Day in 1970.