Prosthetic leg of ’82 Brewers manager hangs in Milwaukee bar
By Nick Bohr
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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — A wooden prosthetic leg once used by Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn has hung from the ceiling of the 4th Base Sports Bar in West Milwaukee for decades, becoming a unique relic tied to the team’s 1982 World Series run.
The Brewers’ pennant in 1982 was largely credited to Kuenn, who took over as manager in May of that year and turned the team around. Kuenn, a West Allis native, famously used a prosthetic leg, which improbably now hangs in the 4th Base bar and restaurant on 51st Street and National Avenue.
“We’ve got a couple of different stories. I don’t know which one sounds better,” said 4th Base manager CJ Papara, who noted the leg has been part of the bar’s decor since the early 1990s. One version of the story suggests Kuenn forgot the leg at the bar, while another claims it came from a funeral director.
“I’m definitely going to hope it’s lucky. I don’t think it’s brought us any bad luck. That’s very representative of that ’82 year. Harvey and the Wallbangers, and now we need something for Murph,” Papara said, referring to current Brewers manager Pat Murphy.
At the time of the Brewers’ last World Series appearance, Kuenn and his wife, Audrey, ran Cesar’s Inn, a tavern just down National Avenue from the 4th Base. The bar was the scene of many happy gatherings during the team’s successful season. Kuenn was let go after a disappointing end to the 1983 season and passed away five years later.
Reminiscing years later, Audrey Kuenn said of the 1982 team, “We were like a family. It was just the neatest group of people you ever wanted to meet. I don’t think we’ll ever see it again, not like it was then.”
However, the Brewers’ current team squad seems to have captured that family spirit, and with an odd artifact from a bygone era of Brewers baseball hanging just a few blocks away from American Family Field, fans are hopeful this time the team can finish the job.
Papara said he’s looking forward to the extra business the World Series games will bring but added he’d prefer the Brewers win it in six games to save some frazzled nerves.
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