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1989 ~ "THE REBEL UPRISING"
As the 1989 season began the Brewers were the 2-time defending regular season champions in the DVFL, yet the team had not been able to win a league championship since 1985. That obstacle would finally be overcome in one of the most eventful seasons in team history.
There were many challenges during the 1989 season, with the DVFL in it's prime and with a number of strong teams. There were the Bad Loads, our traditional arch-rivals, who had won the 1987 & 88 championships. The Indians had won the 1986 title and were a very strong team. The Warriors had added a couple of fireballing pitchers who would cause much controversy, yet who would also help them to edge out the Brew Crew for 1st place in the regular season. The Snakes had made it to the DVFL finals 3 straight seasons from 1985-87, and were using 1989 as their swan song. The A's were becoming a dangerous opponent after years as a doormat.
Yet despite the tremendous competition during the 1989 regular season, the Brewers lost only 3 games, two of those to the controversial pitching of the Warriors, the other on a typically terrible offensive night against the Wild Bunch's Fran O'Connell.
As if the competition weren't already keen enough, there was a new and psychologically difficult challenge that faced the Brewers in that 1989 season, literally overcoming themselves and their history.
Brewers legendary founder Ed Markowski, who had been with the team's predecessor at Pennamco and oversaw the birth of the Brewers since 1983, decided to leave and start a new venture. Ed recruited former Brewers star and manager Ken Grolsko to help him put together a new team that would become known as the Rebels, and to stock his roster Ed turned to the Brewers past. He was able to get 4 starters from the Brewers 1985 championship team to play for him: shortstop John Kelly, 1st baseman Lou Gentilucci, and outfielders Tom Loiacono and Greg Nigro. He also brought along George Torres, Bob Vanderziel, Mark Brunken and Joe Ready to play for the team during the season. The Rebels roster was supplemented with a handful of DVFL regulars like Fran & Jim Mehaffey, Frank Avato and Herbie Szentjobi. Counting himself, Ed had 9 former Brewers on the active roster, and that comraderie would help the Rebels get to the DVFL playoffs in their very first season.
The Brewers and Rebels didn't have to wait long for the much anticipated reunion games. On April 27th, the two teams met at Ryan with both having 3-0 records. With a world of pride and with the early DVFL lead at stake, the Brewers scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to break a 3-3 tie, and went on to an 11-3 victory. The biggest keys were the old vs. new matchups in pitching, and at the top of the batting order. Ed went with the same 1-2-3 hitters that had brought the team 1985 glory: Loiacono, Nigro and Kelly. On this night though, they only combined to go 2-9. Meanwhile the new blood Brewers top of Pat Guido, George Sweeney and Tom Nejman went a combined 6-10, scored 6 runs and knocked in 3. On the mound, Ray Emery shut the Rebels down on 4 hits and 3 walks in a complete game victory, while the Brewers got to Rebels starting pitcher Ray Lister for 8 earned runs on 13 hits.
The two teams met again just a couple weeks later on May 15th, again at Ryan. The Brewers were still unbeaten, now at 6-0, while the Rebels had played just once since the previous meeting and lost, now standing at 3-2. This game would prove to be just as exciting as the last. The Brewers used a shaky Rebel defense to score 5 times in the top of the 2nd. The Rebels answered with a single run in their 2nd, then took advantage of the Brewers own sloppiness to score 4 more in the bottom of the 4th and tie the game at 5-5. The score remained tied into the top of the 6th when Frank Gleason and Tom O'Connell led off with singles. An error on Tommy O's single allowed Frankie to score, and sent Tom to 3rd where he then scored on Ron Stein's sac fly. The 7-5 Brewers lead held into the bottom of the 7th. After a leadoff single the Brewers turned a nifty 5-4-3 doubleplay to apparently clinch the win, but the Rebels weren't done yet. Two more singles brought the winning run to the plate, but Adrian Kosteleski got John Loftus to groundout to shortstop Chris Novak, and the Brewers had won Round II, raising our record to 7-0 on the season.
Those two gut-wrenching regular season games were just a preview for the real good stuff. When the Warriors dumped the Brewers in the season finale, the Brewers slipped down to 2nd place, and who would be waiting in the DVFL playoff semi-finals but the Rebels! In game #1 on July 24th at Ryan, the two teams picked up right where they left off. The Brewers scored twice in the 1st and once in the 3rd, while the Rebels scored a single run off Adrian in the 2nd. The teams went to the bottom of the 6th with the Brewers clinging to a slim 3-1 lead. But in that 6th the Brew Crew broke it open, batting around and scoring 6 times to take a 9-1 lead. The final was 9-2, and the Brewers had won the 3rd straight meeting between the teams, and more importantly had moved within a game of getting to the DVFL finals.
Game #2 was back at Ryan on July 27th, and this time the Brewers were playing for a chance to return to the DVFL finals for the first time since that 1985 season. We decided to leave no doubt in this one. Frank Gleason's 3-run homerun in the 1st inning capped a 4-run rally, and after the Rebels answered with one of their own in the bottom of the 1st, the Brew Crew scored 4 more in the 2nd. When the team batted around for 6 runs in the top of the 3rd to take a 14-1 lead, it was all pretty much over. The team finally buried the Rebel uprising of 1989 with a 6-run 7th. Tom O'Connell's tremendous play on a hot-shot grounder by Lou Gentilucci in the bottom of the 7th was one of the team's best infield plays of all-time, and put the capper on the "old vs. new" Brewers angle as the Brew Crew clinched a berth in the finals with a huge 21-4 win. Five different players had at least 3 hits in the game. The ex-Brewers playing for the Rebels did their share, going 7-14, but the rest of their lineup was just 5-17.
The Brewers would go on to win the DVFL Championship in 1989, the first of 4 straight titles for the team. But it was, perhaps fittingly, not able to get that opportunity without overcoming the ghost of it's own 1985 Championship club. The Rebels were not able to maintain the ex-Brewer connection after that 1989 season. Most of the former Brewer players did not return to the team in 1990, and though Ed Markowski worked to keep that team on the field, the club folded a couple seasons later. Yet what they did in 1989, and it's contribution to Brewers history, will always be remembered.
Players who appeared in matchups between the two clubs in 1989:
(*) ~ signifies former Brewer
APRIL 27TH: REG SEASON
BREWERS
Pat Guido (rf), George Sweeney (2b), Tom Nejman (rc), Ray Emery (p), Frank Gleason (lc), Tom O'Connell (3b), Ron Stein (lf), Vince Menello (ep), Jim Adams (ep), Kevin Curran (c), Matt Veasey (c), Chris Novak (ss), Joe Gessner (1b), Anthony Sciulli (pr)
REBELS
Tom Loiacono* (rc), Greg Nigro* (lf), John Kelly* (ss), Herbie Szentjobie (p), Jim Mehaffey (3b/ss), Fran Mehaffey (lc), Tom Crossett (2b), Frank Avato (1b/3b), Ray Lister (p/1b), Mark Brunken* (rf), Ed Markowski* (c)
MAY 15TH: REG SEASON
BREWERS
Pat Guido (rf), George Sweeney (2b), Tom Nejman (rc), Ray Emery (1b), Frank Gleason (lc), Tom O'Connell (3b), Ron Stein (lf), Vince Menello (ep), Kevin Curran (c), Chris Novak (ss), Adrian Kosteleski (p), Jim Adams (ph)
REBELS
Greg Nigro* (lf), Bob Vanderziel* (rf), John Kelly* (ss), Jim Mehaffey (3b), Fran Mehaffey (lc), Ray Lister (1b), Frank Avato (c), Tom Crossett (2b), Joe Ready* (2b), Bill Stires (p), George Torres* (rc), Lou Gentilucci* (rc), John Loftus (ep)
JULY 24TH: GAME #1 - DVFL SEMI-FINAL PLAYOFF
BREWERS
Pat Guido (rf), Chris Novak (ss), Tom Nejman (rc), Ray Emery (1b), Matt Veasey (pr), Frank Gleason (lc), Tom O'Connell (3b), Ron Stein (lf), George Sweeney (2b), Vince Menello (dh), Joe Gessner (dh), Adrian Kosteleski (p), Jim Adams (ep), Kevin Curran (c)
REBELS
Tom Loiacono* (rc), Bob Vanderziel* (rf), Jim Mehaffey (3b), John Kelly* (ss), Bill Stires (dh), Herbie Szentjobi (p), Lou Gentilucci* (1b), Ray Lister (ep/p), Frank Avato (c), Ed Markowski* (c), Fran Mehaffey (lc), Greg Nigro* (lf), Mark Brunken* (lf), John Loftus (2b), George Torres* (ph)
JULY 27TH: GAME #2 - DVFL SEMI-FINAL PLAYOFF
BREWERS
Pat Guido (rf), Jim Adams (rf), Chris Novak (ss), Tom Nejman (rc), Ray Emery (1b), Mike Kneisc (ph), Frank Gleason (lc), Tom O'Connell (3b), Ron Stein (lf), Kevin Curran (c), Matt Veasey (c), Joe Gessner (dh), Adrian Kosteleski (p), Vince Menello (2b)
REBELS
Tom Loiacono* (rc/ep), Greg Nigro* (lf), Bob Vanderziel* (lf), Jim Mehaffey (3b), John Kelly* (ss/lc), Bill Stires (p/1b), Lou Gentilucci* (rf/rc), Ray Lister (1b/p/2b), Frank Avato (c), Ed Markowski* (c), Fran Mehaffey (lc/ss), John Loftus (2b), George Torres* (dh), Herbie Szentjobi (p), Mark Brunken* (ep/rf)
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