More than 750,000 fans packed downtown Milwaukee on Friday to celebrate the Brewers’ first World Series championship with a parade and rally that brought together generations of fans and franchise icons alike.
Milwaukee police estimated the turnout for the festivities exceeded 750,000 and said preliminary research indicated it could have been the largest crowd for a single-day event in Wisconsin history.
The celebration came two days after the Brewers completed a five-game World Series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, clinching the title with a 4-1 win Wednesday.
Players, coaches and team personnel traveled through downtown with the Commissioner’s Trophy before the parade finished at Henry Maier Festival Park, where thousands more gathered for a championship rally.
“It’s awesome, man,” team captain Christian Yelich said. “Everybody’s waited a really long time for this. We’re just really excited that we could bring that trophy home in Milwaukee and share it with everybody that’s out here today.”
The Brewers had reached the World Series only once previously, losing Game 7 to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982. Milwaukee held a parade for that team despite the defeat, and several members of the 1982 club returned Friday to help celebrate the championship their successors finally delivered.
Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers and Ted Simmons were among the former Brewers who participated.
One of the day’s biggest ovations came when Yount rode onto the rally stage aboard a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that belonged to longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker, who died in January 2025 at age 90. The parade route also passed a downtown mural honoring Uecker, who called Milwaukee games for 54 seasons.
World Series MVP William Contreras joined fans chanting “MVP” before thanking the crowd.
“We win the trophy for you guys, for the city,” Contreras said.
Manager Pat Murphy marveled at the size of the turnout after riding near the back of the procession with his family.
“That was an incredible experience. The amount of people — I kept thinking I saw the same people over and over,” Murphy said. “There’s no way there’s that many people who live here.”
Milwaukee Public Schools canceled classes for the day as fans began arriving along the parade route before dawn.
The celebration continued a statewide victory tour that had included several Brewers appearing Thursday night at the Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau Field with the Commissioner’s Trophy.
