MILWAUKEE – Sunday, July 14th will mark 25 years since the Big Blue Crane Collapse at Miller Park. Three construction workers were killed in the tragic incident: Jeffrey Wischer, William DeGrave and Jerome Starr.
A special ceremony honoring the ironworkers will take place before the Brewers game at 10:15am Sunday, according to Ironworkers Local 8. It will be held at the memorial statue near the home plate entrance.
Former WTMJ Traffic Reporter Tom Carr was on the air that Wednesday afternoon in 1999, providing traffic reports to WTMJ from a small plane.
“I heard the sheriff’s dispatcher say ‘We have a report of a roof collapse at Miller Park,'” he recalled. “You could hear the tense-ness in her voice.”
“I looked to my left (where the stadium was located) and all you could see was smoke in the air.”
Carr and his pilot immediately flew to the area.
“You could tell right away (it was a major problem),” Carr said. “You could see the crane crumpled over the side of the stadium. People were running around. You looked and you knew this was not a good situation.”
When the Brewers returned from the All Star Break to play the Royals at County Stadium, a somber broadcaster Bob Uecker addressed the tragedy.
“It’s a very tough day to work, folks, take my word for it,” he said during the first inning. “It’s even worse (to see it in person).”
“I am utterly shocked.”
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