"If we pull it off I want one of those burgers," says Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff, who stands to play a role in a big giveway.
For the third time in the summer of 2025, George Webb has been the talk of the town for the promise of free hamburgers if the Milwaukee Brewers win 12 games in a row.
Everywhere in town, perhaps, except the Brewers clubhouse at American Family Field.
“Is it like that grill that you squish the sides together?” asked Jacob Misiorowski, the 23-year-old pitcher who has been drinking from a firehose with all things Milwaukee since being called up in June.
Not quite. That’s George Foreman, the late boxer and appliance pitchman, not the Milwaukee-based chain of diners with the cartoon hamburger mascot.
“Is that Spud Webb’s brother?” manager Pat Murphy quipped.
Well … the restaurants do have potatoes, if not former NBA point guards for siblings.
Founded in 1948 as a single lunch counter on Milwaukee’s lower east side, George Webb grew into a chain of 24-hour diners and then contracted to a point now 20 exist in the metro area. Beginning in the 1940s, George Webb “predicted” the local team would win a specific number of games consecutively, initially 17 for the minor-league Brewers and then 12 for the Braves and current iteration of the Brewers.
The 1987 “Team Streak” won 13 straight, the 2018 team won 12, and Webb delivered hundreds of thousands of free burgers each time. The Brewers had an 11-game streak in July after winning eight straight in late May and early June.
After a 14-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 12, the Brewers (75-44) will try to win their 12th straight in the series finale at 1:10 p.m. Aug. 13 at American Family Field.
“I knew about the promotion but I didn’t know what the restaurant was,” reliever Grant Anderson conceded.
Of a handful of Brewers who tried gamely to answer the least serious question they’d face, typical answers ranged from zero knowledge of the restaurants to some familiarity of the promotion, such as Anderson.
And then there was infield coach Matt Erickson, who grew up in the state and managed his hometown Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
“There used to be one in Appleton, what, three blocks up from my house,” Erickson said. “I’d go there all the time. I can’t even tell you. Multiple times. Then they closed down in Appleton and it became a little diner.
“When I used to go in Appleton it was usually late at night … a couple sloppy cheeseburgers and some French fries and call it a night.”
Erickson, 50, isn’t much of a night owl nowadays, he said, and he imagines players are considerably more conscious of what goes into their bodies than previous generations were.
Or at least a little.
“You might be surprised,” second baseman Brice Turang said as he tossed the bottle from an empty protein drink in the trash.
Right-hander Brandon Woodruff drives past a George Webb restaurant on his way to American Family Field but has yet to stop in. Woodruff, the scheduled starter for the series finale Aug. 13 that would be the 12th in the streak, is as curious now as ever.
“Like a Huddle House?” Woodruff asked.
Well, now, there’s an unexpected twist in the conversation. But yes, George Webb does fall into the same category as that chain that has locations in 21 states, including Woodruff’s native Mississippi.
“We were in Washington for the first time around (approaching 12 straight wins), and I had no idea about it,” Woodruff said.
“But I’ll tell you what, if we pull it off I want one of those burgers.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Brewers' George Webb knowledge light despite winning streak
Category: Baseball
