Lew Krausse, who started Brewers’ inaugural game, dies at 77

By: The Associated Press Posted: 1:30 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 Last Modified: 9:04 PM CST Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021

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Lew Krausse, who pitched 12 years in the major leagues and started the first game in Milwaukee Brewers history, has died. He was 77.

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Lew Krausse, who pitched 12 years in the major leagues and started the first game in Milwaukee Brewers history, has died. He was 77.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/02/2021 (2013 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lew Krausse, who pitched 12 years in the major leagues and started the first game in Milwaukee Brewers history, has died. He was 77.

Chad Krausse, Lew’s youngest son, said his father died Tuesday of complications from cancer while in hospice care in Kansas City.

Krausse was 68-91 with 21 saves and a 4.00 ERA during a big league career that began in 1961 and ended in 1974. He pitched the first three innings and took the loss when the Brewers fell to the California Angels on April 7, 1970.

FILE - In this 1961 photo, Lew Krausse pitches for the Kansas City Athletics in 1961. Krausse, who pitched 12 years in the major leagues and started the first game in Milwaukee Brewers history, has died. He was 77. Chad Krausse, Lew’s youngest son, said his father died Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021, of complications from cancer while in hospice care. (The Kansas City Star via AP)

The expansion franchise originally known as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers the following year.

Krausse made his major league debut in 1961 at age 18 and went 2-5 with a 4.85 ERA for the Kansas City Athletics. He returned to the majors for good in 1964 with the A’s.

He pitched with the A’s through 1969, the final two seasons after the franchise moved to Oakland. He also pitched for Milwaukee (1970-71), the Boston Red Sox (1972), St. Louis Cardinals (1973) and Atlanta Braves (1974).

His best season came in 1966, when he went 14-9 with a 2.99 ERA.

Krausse’s father, also named Lew Krausse, pitched in the majors for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1931-32. The elder Krausse died in 1988 at the age of 76.