Allan H. “Bud” Selig instinctively knew something was wrong when he saw the name on his caller ID. It was JoAnne Anton informing him of former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl’s passing. 

The former owner of the Brewers and commissioner of MLB was in Phoenix last Wednesday and Selig was stunned when he heard the news about his longtime friend. “I was on a walk with my friend Steve Marcus. I looked at my ringing phone and said to myself, uh-oh,” Selig told Milwaukee Magazine. 

Kohl had an immense impact on the state and sports in Wisconsin. He purchased the Milwaukee Bucks in 1985 and preserved NBA basketball in this small market.

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In 2014, Selig and Kohl were each honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award presented by Wisconsin Alumni Association. The award has presented this award to UW graduates whose professional and philanthropic achievements embody the Wisconsin Idea.

Whenever Kohl and Selig were in Milwaukee together, there was one meeting on the calendar etched in stone. 

“We’d have lunch nearly every Thursday,” Selig said. Unfortunately for Selig, the last time they had lunch together was the last time he saw Kohl. The former senator had to cancel their luncheon tradition. “He wasn’t feeling well,” Selig said. Part of the charm in the friendship seems to be the opportunity to joke with each other. “We had fun, we kidded a lot,” Selig said. 

A friendship lasting nearly 80 years is as special as it gets, and equally as rare. Kohl and Selig attended Sherman Elementary School together, then Steuben Junior High and Washington High School. After high school the friendship moved on to UW-Wisconsin where Kohl and Selig pledged the same fraternity. 

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“We were roommates in college,” Selig said. “Herb was always very smart, very dedicated, and we were both huge sports fans.”

While attending school in Madison, in March of 1953, Milwaukee reached a deal with the Boston Braves ownership to bring the team to Milwaukee. 

“Herb and I drove to Story Parkway on a hill,” Selig recalls. “We just stared at the ballpark, thinking that Major League Baseball will soon be played below us,” Selig said. “It was like a dream come true. I can still remember Herbie and I standing there and looking at all the beautiful red bricks and envisioning baseball’s future in Milwaukee. Herb and I became Braves fans overnight and attended many games at County Stadium throughout our years as students in Madison.”

Kohl attended Bucks games regularly at the old MECCA, the Bradley Center and the Fiserv Forum. He could often be seen enjoying dinner at the Five O’Clock Steakhouse on State Street.

Kohl also co-founded Kohl’s department stores, with more than 1,100 nationwide.

Selig said he was not surprised at the successes in Kohl’s life. “He was also very loyal to Milwaukee and Wisconsin. And I don’t mean just with sports,” Selig said. “I saw that over and over again, how big of a heart he had.”

More Remembrance

Jim Paschke worked as the Bucks’ play-by-play television announcer for 35 years and said it’s hard to imagine a life better lived than the life executed by Senator Kohl.

“He was a true servant leader in every sense,” Paschke said of Kohl. “He valued others before himself, in business, in politics and all areas of his life. He was perpetually authentic. He had an unfailing ability to let colleagues know that they were truly appreciated. He did that in many ways, many times.”

Paschke said one of Kohl’s greatest gifts, and what he appreciated in others, was loyalty. “It was an easy part of the culture around him. Try to think of people you have known who have so positively impacted so many people in so many different areas of life. Senator Herb Kohl will be on your fairly short list.”