The Milwaukee Brewers handed out 10,000 hats designed by a local artist and illustration professor at American Family Field on Tuesday, when the club hosted the Seattle Mariners at 6:40 p.m. The navy cap features an embroidered American robin — Wisconsin's state bird — dressed in a powder-blue baseball jersey bearing Robin Yount's retired number 19 and a blue-and-yellow cap, a design meant to fold two pieces of Wisconsin identity into a single piece of wearable art.
An Artist Rooted in Mount Pleasant
The cap was designed by Ric Stultz, a Milwaukee artist and illustration professor who runs his own art business, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee. Stultz grew up in Mount Pleasant, and he drew inspiration from that childhood as he worked on the design, per the same report. He is also an adjunct faculty member teaching illustration at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design in the Historic Third Ward, and his commercial portfolio includes work for Nike and MTV, according to the school's faculty profile of Stultz.
Stultz's aesthetic blends pop art, comic books, vintage nostalgia and Saturday morning cartoon imagery across illustration, painting and woodworking, a style TMJ4 News has described as rooted in his childhood love of cartoons and comics. This was not his first project with the Brewers — he previously made a poster and wood designs for the team's City Connect shoe drop, and the club has worked with him before, the FOX6 report notes.
Chasing a Classic Look
Stultz received the hat-design assignment earlier in 2026 and said he started working just six minutes after his first planning call with the team, according to FOX6. He set out to create something that felt more classic than trendy, aiming for a design intended to remain appealing for 10 to 15 years rather than fade with a passing style.
His first concept featured a robin, tapping into the Wisconsin state bird before the design evolved toward its final form. Robin Yount stood out to Stultz during the Brewers' early-1980s success, and the artist described Yount as a quintessentially cool baseball player — a two-time American League MVP who spent all 20 seasons of his career with Milwaukee before his 1999 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, winning MVP honors at shortstop in 1982 and in center field in 1989.
From Anxiety to a Finished Design
Stultz said he wanted to add something to the Brewers' deep legacy, and described the way the hat design came together as one fulfilling connection, per FOX6. He also said he turns anxiety into fuel and propulsion, and that trusting ambition and following one's true interests can lead to wonderful things. Reflecting on the giveaway, Stultz said he felt overwhelmed and grateful at the thought of 10,000 people wearing his art.
Part of a Growing Local Art Series
Stultz's cap is the third and final installment of the Brewers' 2026 Wisconsin Artist Series, following an April 14 “414 Day” t-shirt by Ali Acevedo of All Goods MKE with ACM Designs and a June 2 hat featuring a modernized Barrelman by Ka Lee of Madison, according to Urban Milwaukee. The statewide campaign is sponsored by Wisconsin personal injury law firm Hupy and Abraham, the outlet reports.
The series began in 2025 as “T-Shirt Tuesdays,” a promotion spotlighting local creators with four t-shirt giveaways; in 2026, the Brewers expanded it to three apparel giveaways that now include custom hats alongside shirts, according to MLB.com. Earlier local creators featured in the team's artist collaborations include Milwaukee streetwear brand Unfinished Legacy, Racine apparel brand Lost Files, and Wisconsin illustrators Whitney Nettles and Emily Balsley, per the league's promotional materials.
Tuesday's giveaway is the latest in a string of gate promotions at American Family Field, following a rookie-themed t-shirt drop for pitcher Jacob Misiorowski last year and other fan traditions the team has leaned on to keep game days memorable beyond the score on the field.
