Brewers mourn Kuenn, 'mom' to '80s Crew

MILWAUKEE -- Audrey Kuenn, the wife of the Brewers’ only World Series manager, Harvey Kuenn, and who was affectionately known as “mom” to many of the players of that era, has passed away, the team announced Monday.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Audrey Kuenn, wife of Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn and mother of longtime Brewers scout Harvey Kuenn Jr.,” the Brewers said in a statement. “Our deepest condolences go to her family and loved ones.”

Audrey Kuenn was the second wife of Harvey, a native of West Allis, Wis., who won an American League batting title with the Tigers before a second career as a hitting coach and manager. When he took over an underperforming Brewers team in May 1982 and instituted a more hands-off managerial style, “Harvey’s Wallbangers” surged to the franchise’s first-ever division title and eventually won the American League pennant.

Audrey Kuenn was a visible partner. After Robin Yount converted a ground ball to shortstop for the final out of Game 5 of the 1982 AL Championship Series, sending the Brewers to the 1982 “Suds Series” against the Cardinals, ABC’s telecast showed Audrey in the stands, head tilted back and screaming with elation. After so many years of waiting for a moment like that, Brewers fans knew the feeling.

Future Hall of Famers Yount and Ted Simmons are among those who say Harvey Kuenn was like a dad, and Audrey like a mom. In Spring Training, the Kuenns had players over for dinner. During the season, they often gathered a few blocks away at Cesar's Inn on 56th St. and National Ave., a tavern in the shadow of County Stadium run by Audrey and Harvey. Both tended bar, Harvey getting around on a wooden leg after his right lower leg was amputated in 1980.

"We were like a family," Audrey Kuenn once said. "It was just the neatest group of people you ever wanted to meet. I don't think we'll ever see it again, not like it was then. Where can you find a one-legged manager that has a tavern across the street from the ballpark?"

After Harvey Kuenn’s death in 1988, Audrey Kuenn remained connected to the team, appearing on Harvey’s behalf in 2005 when Harvey was inducted to the Walk of Fame at Miller Park, and more recently in '17 at a gathering of the 1982 team. Her son, Harvey Jr., until recently worked as an amateur scout for the Brewers.