As the Brewers and their fans take on the Chicago Cubs this afternoon, they'll also be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Klement's Famous Racing Sausages.
Originally the sausages - then only Bratwurst, Polish and Italian - were mere animations featured each game day on the then-County Stadium scoreboard, racing around an illustrated Milwaukee.
But then Milwaukee graphic designer Michael Dillon of McDill Design had an idea - make them live mascots. Dillon got the ear of Brewers' VP of Operations Gabe Paul, and a plan for an "Incredible Edible Sausage Race" was hatched.
On this date in 1993, as the animated sausages made their way to the stadium on screen, suddenly the left field doors opened and a trio of real live racing sausages charged toward home, to the surprise and delight of fans and even players.
Klement's Bratwurst won this first ever live sausage race. Klement's Hot Dog would join the ranks later in the 90s, followed by Chorizo in 2007. To date, Italian has the most wins.
A special ceremony was held before today's game to honor the sausages, and the race will feature the original three.
You can find fun facts about the sausages and footage of the first live race here.
(Audio courtesy of the Milwaukee Brewers)
