As the official mascot of the Brewers, I entertain fans young and old from my Dugout located in the left field bleachers.
The concept of a team mascot first emerged back in 1970 when the expansion team needed to draw more fans to the park. An elderly gentleman named Milt Mason decided to sit atop the old County Stadium scoreboard for 40 days until the Brewers filled the stadium for a game. On August 16, a bat day crowd of 44,387 showed up to bring their adopted hero down from his perch.
In recognition of Mason's 40 day endeavor, I became the official mascot in 1973 when I began cheering on the home team from a beer-barreled chalet. I would slide down from a perch into a beer stein following each Brewers home run and victory. Apparently I became a fixture at Brewers home games through the club's powerful years when home runs came with regularity for club's known as Bambi's Bombers and Harvey's Wallbangers.
In 1984, the Brewers re-built the bleachers, replacing Bernie's Chalet with a sound tower, sending me into temporary retirement.
However in 1993, I made a triumphant return. Brewers fans generously voted for my reinstatement (thanks guys!). The housewarming party was a smash and I have been a permanent fixture at every game since then.
These days I hang out in my Dugout, cheering on the team during home games. There is a yellow slide that I go down after every Brewers home run. While it is fun, it's getting to be quite a workout with Billy Hall and Prince Fielder on the squad. Hopefully I'll be getting a lot of excercise in 2007!
Aside from appearances at Brewers home games, I am also available for public functions, and enjoy working very closely with the Brewers Corporate Affairs Department.Bernie's Clubhouse is a special kid's interactive playground, Kids Zone store, and concession stand. Bernie's Clubhouse is located on the Terrace Level behind home plate. Stop in and say hi!
