Milwaukee's Famous Racing Sausages Set for First World Series Appearance

By The Arena Staff

MILWAUKEE, Oct. 22, 2026 — For the first time since they started running in 1993, the Milwaukee Brewers' Famous Racing Sausages are headed for the World Series, Sports Illustrated, USA Today and Sports Business Journal reported this week.

The Brewers open the Fall Classic against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, Oct. 23, at American Family Field. And when the sausages take the field, it will be a first in their 33-year history.

## Who Are the Racing Sausages?

The lineup has five runners, each one a giant costumed sausage: the Bratwurst, the Polish Sausage, the Italian Sausage, the Hot Dog and the Chorizo, according to USA Today and Sports Business Journal.

The race is a home-game tradition in Milwaukee. The sausages sprint toward home plate while the crowd picks favorites and cheers them on.

Who is inside the costumes? That's part of the fun. USA Today notes that you never really know who might be tapped to wear one.

## It Started as a Cartoon

Before there were real sausages, there were drawn ones. Both Sports Illustrated and USA Today report that the race began as an animated contest on the scoreboard at Milwaukee County Stadium, the team's old home.

Then the cartoon came to life. The first live race took place on June 27, 1993, at County Stadium, according to Sports Illustrated and Sports Business Journal. The costumed runners came out of the left-field corner and raced toward home plate, as both Sports Illustrated and USA Today describe it.

## Why This World Series Is Different

Here's the twist. The Brewers have been to the World Series before, but only once, in 1982. That was more than a decade before the live sausage race existed.

That means the sausages have run through decades of home games, playoff runs and summer nights without ever getting baseball's biggest stage. Sports Illustrated, USA Today and Sports Business Journal all point to the same fact: this is the first time the sausages and the World Series will share a ballpark.

USA Today adds that Friday's Game 1 is Milwaukee's first World Series game since 1982.

## The Sponsor's Big Moment

The race is sponsored by Johnsonville, the Wisconsin sausage company, Sports Business Journal reports. For the brand, a World Series race means a national TV audience for something Milwaukee fans have watched for years.

## When to Watch

Game 1 is Friday, Oct. 23, in Milwaukee. Keep an eye on the warning track during the home team's in-game entertainment, and pick a favorite. Nobody knows who will win, and that's exactly the point.

> What We Know
> - Who: The Famous Racing Sausages: Bratwurst, Polish, Italian, Hot Dog and Chorizo
> - What: Their first-ever World Series race
> - When: Game 1, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026
> - Where: American Family Field, Milwaukee, vs. the Tampa Bay Rays
> - First live race: June 27, 1993, at Milwaukee County Stadium
> - Last Brewers World Series: 1982

Reported by Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Sports Business Journal

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