Note: This post is not paywalled. Enjoy! — Paul
Hello! I was re-reading yesterday’s post about the Brewers’ first uniforms when I spotted something in the header photo that I hadn’t noticed before. As you can see highlighted above, there’s something on the ground next to one of the Milwaukee coaches. Hmmmm.
Let’s zoom in for a closer look:
It’s a book of matches! I’ve been writing about athletics aesthetics for nearly 30 years now, and I think this may be the first time I’ve seen a matchbook on the field. I suppose it could have been left there by a member of the grounds crew, but it seems more likely that it fell out of the coach’s pocket. I’m about 99% certain that the coach in question is Roy McMillan (he wore glasses and was the team’s first base coach that year). Anyone know if he was a smoker?
The matchbook got me thinking about the rich photographic record of MLBers smoking cigarettes while in uniform, including Dick Allen (who did it in a White Sox uni and a Phillies uni), Bo Belinsky, Keith Hernandez, Jim Leyland, Minnie Minoso, and Dave Parker. And of course there’s Earl Weaver’s cigarette pocket, which is actually depicted on his bronze statue!
Obviously, lots of other ballplayers smoked but were never photographed in the act. Do you know of any who I missed? Let’s stick to cigarettes — no celebratory cigars, no chewing tobacco. If you want to include print ads that show players smoking, feel free — that's a whole sub-niche that’s worth documenting.
Meanwhile, if you’re into matchbooks (or phillumeny, as the hobby is called), that’s a topic I’ve written about several times over at Inconspicuous Consumption.
Update: Just to bring things full-circle, reader/commenter Tom Krish points out that this year’s Brewers reportedly smoked cigarettes during batting practice before World Series games, as a superstitious ritual. No photos, but still — a crazy coincidence!
Uni Watch, created by Paul Lukas, has been covering the world of athletics aesthetics since 1999. Lukas also writes Inconspicuous Consumption, which is sort of like Uni Watch for everything other than sports.
In about 1983, when I was 14, I was watching a Brewers/A’s game on TV. Brewers catcher Ted Simmons had just thrown out Rickey Henderson for the second time in the game. After the commercial break, the Brewers announcers were talking about what a great feat it was for Simmons to be able to throw out Henderson twice. The camera was focused on Simmons as he was smoking a cigarette in his catcher’s gear on the bench. It just seemed odd to see an athlete smoking, even back then.
No photos, but coincidentally guys on the 2026 Brewers smoked cigs before taking batting cage. It was a superstitious thing, "if they smoke heaters in the cage, they'll smoke heaters in the game."
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-milwaukee-brewers-smoked-cigarettes-190452353.html