Only 22 days ago, on July 22, the Milwaukee Brewers were on a hot streak – 11 wins, only one away from triggering George Webb’s long-running free burger promotion. The local family restaurant chain gives out free burgers if the hometown team wins 12 straight games, a tradition dating to the 1940s. But in July, the Brewers lost 0-1 to the Seattle Mariners, breaking the streak and thwarting the hopes of burger-hungry Milwaukeeans.
But here we are again!
The Brewers, in the midst of a remarkable run, solidified an 11-game streak with a 14-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. That means if the team beats the Pirates again today at 1:10 p.m. they’ll hit that magical 12, and George Webb will, for only the third time in over half a century, deliver on its free burger promise.
What exactly that looks like remains to be seen. George Webb’s most recent giveaway, in 2018, took the form of free vouchers to be redeemed later, while the first giveaway in 1987 had lines winding out the chain’s doors. According to a press release, the restaurant says they will announce plans for the burger giveaway (if the Brewers win) on Thursday, Aug. 14 at noon.
Here’s a little background information on the giveaway, taken from the last article we wrote about it just 22 days ago:
The timeline of this longtime giveaway is a little murky, but the generally accepted narrative is that in the 1940s, the man behind the namesake restaurant chain predicted a 12-game winning streak for what were then the Milwaukee Braves – and offered free burgers to customers if his wish came true.
Well, it didn’t. At least not for a while. Then in April, 1987 the Milwaukee Brewers actually managed to hit Webb’s 12, and the restaurant chain made good on its promise. George Webb handed out 168,194 free burgers three days after the Brewers big win.
The 12-game free burger promise continued for decades after that streak to no avail until 2018, when the Brewers once again hit a dozen wins. That time, the restaurant handed out 100,000 free burger vouchers and gave out burgers after the playoffs.
