Bob Koehler’s World Series walk began the same way thousands of Brewers home dates have begun for him: out the door from Story Hill, down the familiar route and into a seat beside Milwaukee’s dugout. The difference on Friday was the stage. After decades of waiting, Koehler was headed to Game 1 of a World Series in his own neighborhood.
Key takeaways
- Koehler has attended every Brewers home game since 1981 and has held season tickets since late 1982.
- He has walked to every home game since moving near County Stadium in 1986, a trip that now takes about 12 minutes to American Family Field.
- Milwaukee is back in the World Series 44 years after the franchise’s first appearance in 1982.
- A broken leg last December did not keep Koehler from reaching Opening Day; he used a cane and received help from ushers.
- He has already renewed for the 2027 season and plans to keep coming as long as his health allows.
A routine built around Brewers baseball
Koehler was a Brewers supporter from the club’s first season in 1970. When Milwaukee reached its first World Series in 1982, he was already in the stands, and he soon became a season-ticket holder. Since 1981, he has not missed a home game.
His move to the Story Hill neighborhood in 1986 made the ritual even simpler. County Stadium was nearby then, and the Brewers’ current ballpark is still close enough that Koehler can leave home at 6:25 p.m. for a 7 p.m. first pitch and arrive at his regular spot after a short walk.
He pays for paper tickets, brings a bottle of soda from home and avoids buying another drink so he can remain in his seat rather than make a trip to the restroom. The route has become so familiar that neighbors, police officers and ballpark ushers recognize him and greet him along the way.
Former Brewers including Carlos Gomez, Geoff Jenkins and Ben Sheets came to know him over the years. Jackson Chourio is among the current players who acknowledges the dependable fan making his way to the park.
Koehler said the choice to live near the stadium was practical as much as sentimental. He wanted no part of traffic or parking, calling the arrangement a two-for-one benefit: easy access to baseball and no parking expense. Wisconsin weather has never altered the plan, either. With a raincoat and rain hat, he said, he is prepared for whatever arrives.
From 1982 memories to a new October chapter
Even physical setbacks have not broken the streak. Koehler badly fractured his leg in December and had not gone down a step until two days before Opening Day. Still, with a cane and assistance from an usher, he made it down the 22 steps leading to his seat next to the Brewers’ dugout.
Now the old routine has carried him into a moment he once could only imagine. Koehler said a Brewers championship would be “awesome,” something he thinks about every day. For him, this World Series is also a chance to move the conversation beyond the 1982 club without diminishing what that team meant to Milwaukee.
He believes this postseason can give younger fans their own lasting connection to the Brewers, the kind he has carried from 1982 through the decades. In his view, a series against Tampa Bay offers the sort of baseball that can win over a new generation: bunts, stolen bases and hit-and-runs, even if complete games from starting pitchers have become rare.
Game 3 is scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. ET. Koehler will keep following the same path when the Brewers return home, carrying the same ticket, the same soda and the same lifelong attachment to the club.
Asked where the walk to World Series Game 1 stood among his favorite days, Koehler put it at the very top — with only his birth as a possible exception.
