The All-Time Brewers Project

I got back into collecting cards about 10 years ago, trying to build a sort-of master set of Topps flagship Brewers. I ended up expanding that quest to try to build a COMPLETE set of Brewers cards – as in one of everything ever – but I got lost in the 2000s, when a zillion different companies were making a zillion different sets that I really couldn’t care less about. Now that I am trying to refocus my collecting goals create some collecting goals, I’ve gotten away from the completist tendencies that had previously taken a lot of fun of the hobby. I want to rebuild my Topps flagship sets (decimated by my TTM habit) and built some Topps complete sets.

But I’ve still got that ‘collect ’em all’ bug. So, in a compromise with myself, I’ve decided to embark on what I’m calling the “All-Time Brewers Project,” in short, one card of every players who has ever appeared in a game as a Brewer.

I already had a good head start on this project, thanks to a 1994 Miller Beer promotion in which they issued stadium give-away sets of every Brewers player from 1970-1993. And, with a couple of late nights with a few cans of the sponsor’s ice-cold product and a stream of Simpsons eps on the TV, I manged to cobble together a set of about 640 of the roughly 820 players on the Crew’s all-time roster (these are rough estimates).





I also made some cute little year dividers. I’ve arranged them by the year of their debut, according to the all-time roster I found on brewers.com. As you can see, the Miller cards are, to put it mildly, a bit hard on the eyes. I’m in the process of swapping them out with more standard-issues when I come across them. But they are excellent for providing cardboard of obscure or short-term Brewers, like Dick Schofield, who spent about ten minutes of his 18-year career in Milwaukee and appears on no other card as a Brewer.



I’d also like to upgrade the binders I’ve got these beauties in. I stole was given these from an office job that was eventually laid off from.

Aside from the collector’s pride I feel in putting this thing together, it has already proven to be a pretty valuable research tool in getting me to more closely examine in the all-time roster. For example, I’ve learned that in their entire history, the Brewers have only had ONE African-American start a game at catcher. That would be Marcus Jensen, who had two tours with the team, in 1998 and 2002. Sadly, he does not have a Brewers card.



I’ve also transfer my Brewers autograph collection in the all-time binders. Of the 600-some different player I’ve got, maybe 100 are signed. I’d like to work on increasing that number as well.

I have a list of the Brewers I still need on my want lists page. A big chunk of the remainders never had a Brewers card issued, and another big chunk only have team-issue cards with them in Brewers dress. Oddly enough, Pacific – the one card company that I truly loathed as a kid – is a pretty good source of Brewers cards that no one else bothered with in the 1990s and 2000s, including the only card of Julio Franco in a Brewers uniform.



Mark Hoyle, who does not have a blog (at least I don’t think he does), but is on twitter as @markhoyle4, sent me a PWE of vintage Brewers that can in handy for upgrading the Miller cards. Thanks Mark!

There is a card show in the Milwaukee area on the 23rd, where I can hopefully find some more updates and autos and maybe knock a few names off my need list. But, as always, I’m accepting any unsolicited help.