BASEBALL FOR BREAKFAST

Forget bacon and eggs—Milwaukee mornings during World War II began with Brewers baseball.

Before the United States entered the war, a young Black boy named Jimmy loved walking to the stadium with his Ma and Pop to watch the Milwaukee Brewers play. But in 1941, Pop joins the Navy and Ma starts to work nights at the factory as women across the country become part of the workforce. Jimmy misses going to baseball games. One evening, he’s surprised by an offer of free tickets from the Brewers owner himself, Mr. Bill Veeck. Jimmy declines because his Ma is at work, giving Veeck an idea. Soon the news breaks that the Brewers will play morning games and offer free admission for night-shift workers. At the first game, fans are delighted when Brewers coach Red Smith pops out of a four-poster bed right in the center field, clad in his pajamas, just before the first pitch. Vendors even sell coffee and cornflakes instead of frankfurters and popcorn. Though Jimmy and his family are fictionalized, a detailed author’s note explains the history of the Brewers’ morning games and addresses the choice to center the story on a Black protagonist, drawing attention to the often-overlooked Black women who joined the wartime workforce. Energetic scenes are described in upbeat prose and sketched with digitally rendered permanent marker outlines and a vintage colorway that evokes the period.

A playful baseball story with a helping of history.