Sports News
HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY TO THE FAMOUS RACING SAUSAGES ON FRIDAY
MILWAUKEE – On Friday, July 7, the Milwaukee Brewers will toast to 30 years of the Famous Racing Sausages, the first live-action mascot race in Major League Baseball, which debuted on June 27, 1993. What started with a dot-matrix digital display on the Milwaukee County Stadium scoreboard, grew into the most iconic mascot race, now integrated into pop culture, and most importantly, into Brewers lore.
Fans can celebrate the Famous Racing Sausages on Friday, July 7, when the Brewers take on the Cincinnati Reds at 7:10 p.m. A pregame ceremony will honor the Famous Racing Sausages with Michael Dillon throwing a ceremonial first pitch. Dillion is credited with presenting the idea of transforming the race from the scoreboard to live-action. The Johnsonville® Sausage Race itself will feature the “Original Three Sausages” – The Bratwurst, The Italian and The Polish – with The Hot Dog and The Chorizo holding the finish line.
Fans can further celebrate during the festivities on the plaza near the Home Plate Gate, where photo opportunities with all the sausages will be available, as well as games, giveaways and coloring sheets for kids. As a special treat, the winning Racing Sausage will be in the UScellular® Power Playground during the 7th inning for photos. All ticketed fans attending the game will also receive a coupon, courtesy of Johnsonville® for a buy one, get one free package of any flavor Johnsonville® smoked or cooked sausage. Fans will get an extra kick out of the slew of “Best of” video highlights and bloopers.
The Famous Racing Sausages are celebrities wherever they go. The icons have traveled to Major League Baseball All-Star Games, were featured in the popular ESPN “SportsCenter” commercials, have gone missing, and survived mischief which includes kidnappings.
Running the Race has become a bucket list item, with Stephen Colbert of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” racing during his Milwaukee Apology tour, and Jomboy media hosts having one of the most memorable races in recent memory. More than a dozen other MLB teams have been inspired by the Brewers Famous Racing Sausages and now have live races of their own.
A ‘Link’ to the Past
The Famous Sausage Race began as a scoreboard animation in the early 1990s with just three characters – The Bratwurst, The Polish and The Italian – running toward Milwaukee County Stadium against a backdrop of the city of Milwaukee.
In the fall of 1992, Milwaukee graphic designer Michael Dillon of McDill Design presented an idea to Gabe Paul who was the Vice President of Operations for the Brewers, to transform the race from the scoreboard to live action.
On June 27, 1993, as the Sausages approached Milwaukee County Stadium on the scoreboard video, the left field doors swung open and – much to the surprise of players and fans – out came the larger-than-life mascots. The three made their way to home plate with The Bratwurst (worn by Dillon) winning the first-ever live-race.
For the remainder of the 1993 season, the Sausages raced live only at those games with particularly high attendance. In 1994, the live Sausage race resumed on Sunday, May 29 – the day the Brewers retired Robin Yount’s number 19 jersey – and became a fixture at every home game since.
Later in the 90s, The Hot Dog joined the race. In 2007, after a one-race tryout the previous year, The Chorizo rounded out the group of five Sausages fans see today. So far in 2023, The Bratwurst leads the pack with 13 wins.