1982 Milwaukee Brewers team coming to Waukesha SportsCards

Published on: 1/25/2012

Members of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers team is cherished and remembered like none other in franchise history.

This weekend, many of those players will be back together for a Brewers Reunion at the Waukesha SportsCards and Sports Memorabilia shop, located at 821 Meadowbrook Road #9.

From Robin Yount, to Paul Molitor, to Rollie Fingers, the former stars will be there to sign autographs and greet fans looking to reminisce about the only team in franchise history to advance to the World Series.

The fabulous infield duo of Yount, a two-time AL MVP who served as the team’s shortstop until the 1985 season, and Jim Gantner, the team’s longtime second baseman, will be first to sign autographs from 4:45 to 6:45 p.m. Friday.

Yount and Gantner are also rare breeds as they both played their entire careers with the Brewers. Yount, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, was on the team from 1974–1993, while Gantner, a lifelong Wisconsin resident, played for the Brewers from 1976-1992.

Cecil Cooper, who played with the team from 1977 to 1987, will be next from 5:45 to 7 p.m. Friday. Cooper, the team’s first baseman in 1982, hit .313 with 32 home runs and 121 runs batted in during that season.

None were more impressive and remembered than his game-winning seventh-inning bases-loaded RBIs in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the California Angels.

Others on Friday night include Dwight Bernard (5 to 7 p.m.), Mike Caldwell (5:15 to 7:15 p.m.), Doc Medich (5:30 to 7:30 p.m.), Jerry Augustine (5:45 to 7:45 p.m.) and Charlie Moore, the team’s starting rightfielder in 1982, (6 to 8 p.m.).

Saturday’s schedule: The next day, Molitor, who played with the Brewers from 1978–92 and was the team’s third baseman in 1982, will be there from 9 to 11 a.m.

Molitor’s No. 4 is retired by the Brewers and the “Ignitor” was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 on his first year of eligibility just like Yount. Molitor led the American League with 136 runs scored during the 1982 season and batted .355 during the World Series.

Leftfielder Ben Oglivie, who played with the team from 1978-1986, will sign autographs from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m. Oglivie was the 1980 American League home run champion and he hit 34 long balls in that 1982 season helping the team earn the nickname, “Harvey’s Wallbangers.”

Fingers, who won the AL MVP and Cy Young during the 1981 season as the team’s shutdown closer, will greet fans and sign autographs from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Fingers missed the playoffs and that 1982 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a torn arm muscle.

Fingers, who had his No. 34 retired by the Brewers and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992, only spent five years with Milwaukee from 1981-1985, but he’s still as popular as ever with current fans thanks to his colorful personality and famous mustache.

Ted Simmons, the team’s catcher on that 1982 team, will also be there from noon to 2 p.m. Simmons, who led American League catchers with a .995 fielding percentage, played with the Brewers from 1981-1985 and was part of the blockbuster trade that jumpstarted the Brewers’ rise to the top of the standings.

Simmons, along with pitcher Pete Vukovich and Fingers were traded from St. Louis to Milwaukee before the 1981 season for outfielder Sixto Lescano and three minor league pitchers in general manager Harry Dalton’s effort to get better relief pitching.

Speaking of Vukovich, he will be on hand from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Vuckovich, who was as instrumental as anyone in the team getting to the World Series that year, won the AL Cy Young with an 18-6 record and a 3.34 ERA in 1982 before injuries forced him to retire in 1986.

Pitcher Don Sutton, who was acquired in a trade with the Houston Astros on Aug. 30 1982 to give the team one last push toward the postseason, is scheduled to appear from 12:15 to 2:15 p.m.

The trade proved to be an important one as the Brewers still needed a win on the final game of the regular season to win the American League East and a postseason berth. Against the Baltimore Orioles, Sutton quieted their hitting attack and out-dueled fellow future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer to help Milwaukee win 10–2.

The Brewers finished the season 95–67, the best record in baseball that year, one game ahead of the Orioles in the AL East standings.

Gorman Thomas, nicknamed “Stormin’ Gorman” and the team’s centerfielder in 1982, will be in Waukesha from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Thomas epitomized the Harvey’s Wallbangers’ mantra as he hit an AL-high 39 home runs and drove in 112 runs that year. He played with the Brewers from 1973-76, 1978-83 and again in 1986.

Others scheduled to appear as part so the Brewers Reunion on Saturday are Jim Slaton (9 to 11 a.m.), Bob Skube (9:15 to 11:15 a.m.), Moose Haas (9:30 to 11:30 a.m.), Kevin Baas (9:45 to 11:45 a.m.), Jamie Easterly (9:45 to 11:45 a.m.), Larry Hisle (10:30 a.m. to noon), Don Money (11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.), Ed Romero (noon to 2 p.m.), Pete Ladd (12:15 to 2:15 p.m.) and Roy Howell, the team’s starting DH, (12:30 to 2:30 p.m.).

Yount will also be there from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

A day later, Yount, Fingers, Thomas, Gantner, Augustine and Hisle will head to Milwaukee for the annual Brewers On Deck at the Frontier Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee.

For the signings in Waukesha, ticket prices vary depending on the player and the memorabilia being requested to sign, but can range from $10 to $169. A complete look at how much each individual costs can be found at the shop's website: www.waukeshasportscards.com.

For more information, you can contact the shop at (262) 544-0959 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Friday.