Sausage Race facts for kids
The Sausage Race is a fun and exciting race of sausage mascots that happens at every home game of the Milwaukee Brewers. It takes place just before the bottom of the sixth inning. This race started as a special event for Klement's Sausage Company, whose sausages were sold at the Brewers' stadium, American Family Field. Today, Johnsonville sausages are served at the stadium, and the racing sausages are officially known as the Famous Racing Sausages.
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Meet the Famous Racing Sausages
The race began in the early 1990s with only three characters: the bratwurst, the Polish sausage (also called kielbasa), and the Italian sausage. Over time, two more sausages joined the team. The hot dog was added in the mid-1990s, and the chorizo joined the race in the mid-2000s.
Today, the five racing sausages have nicknames: "Brat," "Polish," "Italian," "Hot Dog," and "Chorizo."
People who work for the Milwaukee Brewers or American Family Field usually run the race. They wear big foam sausage costumes that are about 7 feet 3 inches (2.2 meters) tall! The race starts between the dugout and the third base line. The runners sprint along the warning track, go around home plate, and continue toward first base. On Sunday afternoon games, the main sausages tag miniature versions of themselves, called the "Little Weenies," who then finish the race.
The sausages are very popular and often appear at local charity events. They even have an annual 5K run/walk in their honor, which helps raise money for the Brewers Community Foundation. They also have a special relay race twice a year against the Pittsburgh Pirates' mascots, the Racing Pierogies.
The racing sausages have even been featured on ESPN's SportsCenter in funny commercials. One commercial showed them in a parody of the famous "Running of the Bulls."
How the Sausage Race Started
From Screen to Stadium
The Famous Sausage Race first appeared as an animation on the scoreboard in the early 1990s. It showed three characters – The Bratwurst, The Polish, and The Italian – running toward Milwaukee County Stadium with the city of Milwaukee in the background.
In 1992, a graphic designer named Michael Dillon had a cool idea. He suggested making the race come to life from the scoreboard.
So, on June 27, 1993, something amazing happened! As the animated sausages ran toward the stadium on the scoreboard, the left field doors suddenly opened. To everyone's surprise, the giant sausage mascots ran out! The three mascots raced to home plate, and The Bratwurst, worn by Michael Dillon himself, won the very first live race.
For the rest of the 1993 season, the live Sausage Race only happened at games with lots of fans. In 1994, the live race became a regular part of every home game, starting on May 29.
At first, only the bratwurst, Polish sausage, and Italian sausage raced. The Hot Dog joined in the mid-1990s. In 2007, after a test run the year before, The Chorizo became the fifth racing sausage.
A Memorable Moment
On July 9, 2003, something unusual happened during a race. Randall Simon, a player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, playfully tapped the Italian sausage costume with a baseball bat. The tap didn't hurt the person inside, but it did cause the Italian sausage to fall over, and the Hot Dog fell too. The Polish sausage quickly helped the Italian sausage up, and all the sausages finished the race.
Simon later apologized for the incident. The person inside the Italian sausage costume, Mandy Block, thought it was funny. She only asked for the bat to be autographed and given to her, and Simon agreed.
Funny Parodies
Because the Sausage Race is so famous, other teams have made fun of it in a friendly way!
In 2008, when the Brewers played the Philadelphia Phillies, three "fake" sausages appeared at the Phillies' stadium. The Phillie Phanatic, the Phillies' mascot, then playfully messed with them. Randall Simon, the player from the earlier incident, was even invited back to playfully tap the fake sausages with a plastic bat, which fans found very funny.
In Washington, DC, the Washington Nationals have also joked about the Brewers' sausages. During Brewers visits, the Nationals' "Presidents Race" (featuring mascots of four US Presidents) sometimes includes cardboard cutouts of the Brewers' sausages, calling them "Un-talian sausage," "No-Lish Sausage,” and so on.
Even a school in Northbrook, Illinois, Wescott Elementary, has five students every year wear their own sausage costumes, inspired by the Brewers' race!
The Chorizo Joins the Fun
The Chorizo was added to the race in 2006. This was to celebrate the contributions of Latino players to baseball and to recognize the Brewers' growing Latino fanbase. The Chorizo ran its first race on July 29, 2006, during "Cerveceros Day" (cervecero means brewer in Spanish). However, the Chorizo didn't become a regular racer until the 2007 season.
The Case of the Missing Italian Sausage
In February 2013, news spread that the Italian sausage costume had gone missing! Police said that people saw someone wearing the costume leaving a curling club and visiting several bars, posing for photos, before it disappeared. Rewards were offered for its return, but the costume was quickly dropped off at a bar by two unknown men the next day. It was a funny mystery that ended happily!
20th Anniversary Party
On June 27, 2013, the Brewers and Klements sausage celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Sausage Race. During a game against the Chicago Cubs, there were special ceremonies honoring the Racing Sausages. Michael Dillon, who won the very first live race, even threw out the first pitch! The regular race that day featured only the original three sausages: the bratwurst, Polish sausage, and Italian sausage, while the hot dog and chorizo held the finish line tape.
Famous People Who Have Raced
Many famous people have joined the Sausage Race! Baseball players like Mark Grace, Pat Meares, Geoff Jenkins, and Hideo Nomo have all raced as sausages. Sports journalists and even former Green Bay Packers player Javon Walker have also taken part. Casey McGehee's son, Mack, even raced as a Little Weenie!
On February 24, 2014, a small stray dog wandered into the Brewers' spring training camp. The team adopted him and named him Hank after the famous baseball player Hank Aaron. Hank even ran his first sausage race with the team a few days later! He quickly became very popular.
On August 20, 2021, TV host Stephen Colbert made a special guest appearance as the Hot Dog sausage. He finished last, but it was all in good fun!
See also
- Presidents Race
- Great Pierogi Race
- Mascot race
