Roland “RJ” Wischer was 8 years old when a crane known as Big Blue collapsed over the construction site of what became Miller Park, killing his father Jeffrey Wischer along with two coworkers. This week, the Milwaukee Brewers brought him back to that same stadium for Game 2 of the World Series, this time with his wife and two children sitting beside him.
Wischer was living in Waukesha in 1999 when his father died in the collapse, according to TMJ4 News. Jeffrey Wischer, 40, died alongside William DeGrave, 39, and Jerome Starr, 52, when the 567-foot-tall crane collapsed on July 14, 1999, while lifting a 450-ton section of the stadium roof, per a report from archive.jsonline.com. A separate account from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that the three ironworkers were in a suspended personnel platform when it was struck by the collapsing heavy-lift crane, sending them falling roughly 300 feet.
RJ Wischer followed his father into the trade, becoming an ironworker himself 13 years before his story was told by the station's report. After the Brewers clinched their World Series berth, the organization called RJ Wischer directly, offering him and his family four free tickets to Game 2, according to jsonline.com. The Brewers rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 that night, October 24, taking a 2-0 series lead, the same outlet reported.
A Stadium Built On Loss, Now Marked By Memory
The Brewers have spent years formally honoring the three men who died building their home ballpark. In July 2024, the team erected a permanent memorial for Jeffrey Wischer, William DeGrave and Jerome Starr, according to WBAY. Outside home plate stands a sculpture called “Teamwork,” depicting three ironworkers, as noted in the archive.jsonline.com account of the tragedy.
That same 2024 effort included a ceremony honoring the men's families and the building trades workers who constructed the stadium, with a video tribute planned as part of the recognition, per a 2024 report from jsonline.com. Ironworkers Local 8 also hosted a ceremony at American Family Field to mark the collapse, according to Milwaukee Magazine.
RJ Wischer was not the only family member reached out to this postseason. WBAY reported that the Brewers also contacted William DeGrave's family, offering four tickets to James DeGrave, William's son. TMJ4 News reported that the team contacted the local ironworkers union to offer tickets to the families of all three men killed in the collapse.
Passing The Story To The Next Generation
Over the years, Wischer has made a habit of bringing his own children to Brewers games and pointing out the plaque that honors his father and the other men who died during the stadium's construction, according to TMJ4 News. Sitting in the stands for Game 2 with his wife and kids carried a different weight entirely. “It was a full circle moment for us of being able to go back there,” Wischer told the station.
The Brewers' connection to the families affected by the Big Blue collapse reportedly goes back decades, including support tied to longtime broadcaster Bob Uecker and former commissioner Bud Selig. One relative recalled Uecker and Selig attending a cousin's funeral, according to a separate TMJ4 News report on the team's history with the victims' families.
