The concept of a team mascot first emerged back in 1970 when the expansion team needed to draw more fans to the ballpark. That year, the original "Bernie Brewer," 69-year-old Milt Mason, camped out in a trailer atop the scoreboard in late June, vowing not to come down until a crowd of at least 40,000 attended a game. A bat day crowd of 44,387 showed up to bring their adopted hero down from his perch on August 16.
The demand for Bernie Brewer grew, and by 1973, he emerged as a character who cheered on the home team from a beer-barreled chalet. He would slide down from his perch into a beer stein following each Brewers home run and victory. Bernie Brewer became a fixture at home games through the organization's powerful years, when homers came with regularity for teams known as "Bambi's Bombers" and "Harvey's Wallbangers."
In 1984, the Brewers rebuilt the bleachers, replacing Bernie's Chalet with a sound tower, sending the mascot into temporary retirement. But, by popular demand in 1993, Bernie returned and has been a fixture at every home game since.
In April 2010, Bernie joined Twitter. He has the largest following of any Major League Baseball mascot on the social network. Fans can follow him on Twitter at @Bernie_Brewer.