A generation has gone by since young Milwaukee Brewers fans routinely chased down the city’s police officers looking for special Brewers trading cards.
But the cards are back.
The concept designed to connect officers with kids over a shared love of baseball has been relaunched, and Milwaukee Police Department personnel will now be handing out cards portraying current Brewers players.
“Our officers look forward to handing out Brewers baseball cards and interacting with kids in the city,” said Milwaukee Police Department Chief Jeffrey B. Norman in a press release. “It’s a great way to be able to reach Milwaukee youth and connect with the kids through baseball.”
The Milwaukee police/baseball card concept launched first in 1982, with uniformed personnel distributing the 30 different cards throughout the community. Each week, officers would work daily patrols with two different cards to give out and reset with two new cards for a period of 15 weeks. The initial print of 40,000 sets was gone in no time, prompting the Brewers to print another 30,000 to satisfy demand.
On the front of the card: The player and some simple details. On the back: A safety tip.
The idea flourished throughout Wisconsin through the 1990s, with different sponsors and variations throughout the state. Immediately in 1983, surely sparked by the team’s 1982 run to the World Series, municipalities throughout the state began adopting the program. Green Bay Packers cards also popped up in 1983 — and by 1996, Packers cards became a more popular giveaway.
Full sets of the cards were also offered as giveaways at Brewers games, a tradition that continued into the 2000s, even after the traditional police distribution faded in popularity.
