Milwaukee is set to party like it’s 1982 all over again. For the first time in 44 years, the Milwaukee Brewers are heading to the World Series. Back in 1982, the team clinched the American League pennant just 12 years after joining the league, but they lost the series to the St. Louis Cardinals. Since then, it’s been a long wait for another shot at the title. The Brewers have been a solid team in recent years, winning five of the last six NL Central titles and never falling below 85 wins since 2016. But they always came up short in the postseason—until this year. They powered through the playoffs, beating the San Diego Padres and sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning their spot with the best regular-season record in baseball. Now, World Series baseball is back in Wisconsin, and it’s a great time to look back at how things were in 1982. The 1982 Brewers were nicknamed Harvey’s Wallbangers, after manager Harvey Kuenn and their love for home runs. They hit 216 dingers that year, led by Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie, and Cecil Cooper, with Hall of Famers like Robin Yount, Ted Simmons, and Paul Molitor also contributing. Yount won the MVP award that season. On the pitching side, Pete Vuckovich won the AL Cy Young. The baseball landscape was different too—two divisions per league, with teams like the California Angels and Montreal Expos. Other sports saw the Washington Redskins win the Super Bowl, the New York Islanders take the Stanley Cup, and the Philadelphia 76ers claim the NBA title. It was a simpler time, but the excitement of the World Series was the same.
