Lew Krausse, who threw first pitch in Brewers history, dies at 77

Lew Krausse, who threw the first pitch in Milwaukee Brewers history, died Tuesday at age 77 of cancer, according to the Kansas City Star.

Krausse made his major-league debut at 18 in 1961, a week after graduating from Chester High School in Pennsylvania. He was nearly 27 when he was traded with Phil Roof and Ken Sanders to the Brewers before the 1970 season, the year the franchise relocated from Seattle to Milwaukee and brought baseball back to the city five years after the Milwaukee Braves departed.

Krausse went 13-18 in that first season with a 4.75 ERA, but he was part of history when the Brewers played their first game April 7, 1970 in a 12-0 loss to the California Angels at County Stadium. Krausse lasted only three innings and allowed four runs, but the outcome was secondary for the sellout crowd at County Stadium.