PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — As the Milwaukee Brewers celebrated their franchise's first championship with a downtown parade, one man watching from his Port Washington home knows the moment better than most.
John DeMerit won the 1957 World Series with the Milwaukee Braves—and until this week, he was on the last Milwaukee baseball team to parade a World Series title through downtown.
DeMerit tuned in to the Brewers' championship parade alongside his son, Steve, watching a celebration that had been decades in the making. DeMerit is one of a select group of people who have been on the field in the World Series, and he has the ring to prove it.
"I was a pinch runner in one of the games," DeMerit said. "I was pretty nervous. Ran down to second and over to third."
DeMerit played in 33 games for the Milwaukee Braves in 1957. Watching the city erupt again, 69 years later, brought the memories back.
"It was quite a reminder, because they had quite a lot of people back then," DeMerit said. "It was daytime (for our parade), late in the afternoon, and there were people all over the place. It was amazing."
After his six-year pro baseball career ended, DeMerit returned to his hometown of Port Washington. He earned a college degree, became parks director and built the house where he still watches baseball games today.
For his son, Steve DeMerit, moments like these are a chance to reflect on his father's life.
"For me, it's always been about when these things kind of happen is the opportunity about what my dad's experience was," Steve DeMerit said.
And even as the game itself evolves in the modern era, with better training, new rules, and video reviews, John says the emotions behind the game transcend generations.
"You still gotta catch it. You still gotta throw it. You still gotta hit it," John DeMerit said.
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